Sketch of a Nereid locked up by the British museum

• THE letter on the Benin bronzes by Mike Wells seemed sincere, well-informed, and interesting, (There are complex stories concerning the Benin bronzes, May 6).

But there were gaps in his analysis. Why has Africa not improved after decades of “Christian” missionaries and British so-called “civilisation”?

Mr Wells noted that he saw Benin sculpture far inferior to that of the pre-British period.

Moreover if a Benin bronze is currently being held captive in Windsor Castle, its presence there is one more example of a copious royal racism. It should be returned to Nigeria at once.

The real issue is the dirty corruption of the London art scene. The Sackler controversy has indicated just how mercenary the capital’s museums and galleries can be in accepting corporate sponsorship, however tainted.

There is neither conscience nor principle at the less than pristine British Museum. The British Museum is caging not only the Benin bronzes, but also the “Elgin” marbles.

Ridiculously, a bullied Greece is not allowed its own Parthenon art, thanks to the chauvinistic arrogance of that edifice at Great Russell Street.

Please see above my tentative sketch of a Nereid locked up by the “British” museum. She seems free and graceful despite all her tragic erosion.

Our modern society, of callous machines and brutal money, cannot recreate the beauty of the Greek past.

ZEKRIA IBRAHIMI, W12