Netherlands Will Repatriate 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
134Feb. 21, 2025
The Dutch government will return 119Benin Bronzesto Nigeria, making the Netherlands the latest country to repatriate the priceless works of art, part of a trove of thousands of brass, bronze, and ivory objects stolen from the Kingdom of Benin, as Nigeria was then known, in 1897 by British troops and dispersed across the Continent and parts of the West. Among the objects being returned are sculptures, plaques, pendants, tusks, and an ivory mask. Of these, 113 resided in the Dutch state collection, while six were in the possession of the municipality of Rotterdam.
Ownership of the objects was legally transferred to Nigeria at a February ceremony at the Wereldmuseum in Leiden. “With this return, we are contributing to the redress of a historical injustice that is still felt today,” said Dutch minister of culture Eppo Bruins in a statement. “Heritage is essential for telling and experiencing the history of a country and community. The Benin Bronzes are therefore indispensable for Nigeria. It is good that they are returning.”
While many of the Benin Bronzes had been in storage, about fifty had been on display at the Wereldmuseum. They will remain on view through March 9, after which the antiquities will be physically returned to Nigeria, whose government will decide where and when they will go on display. The country in 2020 announced the construction of the David Adjaye–designed Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City, meant to house the looted treasures. The institution is expected to open next year.
Olugbile Holloway, director-general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, called the return the “largest repatriation of Benin antiquities.” Countries that to date have returned Benin Bronzes include Germany, Ireland, Scotland, and the US. The sizable repatriation will undoubtedly turn up the heat on institutions that have not yet returned their own artifacts, including the British Museum, which has long been under pressure to repatriate its nine-hundred-plus-piece collection but has been prevented by Parliament from doing so.