August 25, 2022
Going Home: Germany Returns the Benin Bronzes
In 2022 Germany transferred ownership of more than 500 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria — the largest single restitution of colonial-era objects to date.
Looted by British forces during a brutal raid on the Kingdom of Benin in 1897, the exquisite Benin Bronzes were scattered into museums across Europe. In August 2022, Germany signed over ownership of 512 of them — held in Berlin — to Nigeria.
It was the most extensive transfer of colonial-era museum objects ever agreed. The first works were physically returned to Nigeria that December, destined for a new museum in Benin City.
About a third remain on long-term loan in Berlin, displayed in dialogue with contemporary Nigerian art. The deal became a landmark in the global reckoning over how museums acquired their treasures.
Image: “Single-figure plaque, Benin Kingdom court style, Edo peoples, Benin City, Nigeria, mid 16th to 17th century, cast copper alloy - Dallas Museum of Art - DSC04934” — Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.