Switzerland returns famed Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
Hundreds of the artefacts were taken from the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now part of Nigeria, after British forces attacked in 1897
Swiss authorities on Monday returned 18 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in a ceremony at the National Museum in Lagos, the latest addition to the nation’s growing collection of repatriated treasures.
Countries across Africa have been pushing in recent years for the restitution of artefacts and artworks taken during the colonial period – including Nigeria’s famed Benin Bronzes, which were looted as spoils of war by the British and today are scattered in museums and private collections across the world.
Hundreds of the priceless sculptures and plaques were taken from the royal palace in the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now part of modern-day Nigeria, after British forces attacked Benin City in 1897.
Monday’s restitution represents the return of “evidence of civilisation that already mastered bronze casting to a standard of technical, artistic and extremely intricate sophistication” before colonisation, Nigeria’s culture minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said at the ceremony.
The handover also included a bronze bracelet and four Ikom monoliths from the Niger Delta region, “seized in Switzerland as part of criminal proceedings and subsequently transferred to the state”, Switzerland’s federal department of home affairs said in a statement.
The bronzes came from the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich, the Museum Rietberg and the Musee d’Ethnographie de Geneve.
“The artefacts returned today carry a painful history,” Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, a Swiss federal councillor, said at the ceremony.