Netherlands to return stolen Benin statues to Nigeria

The Netherlands says it’s going to return greater than 100 Benin Bronzes that British troops looted from Nigeria within the late nineteenth Century and which ended up in a Dutch museum.

1000’s of those culturally vital sculptures and carvings have been stolen in the course of the violent destruction of Benin Metropolis, in modern-day Nigeria’s Edo state, in 1897.

The treasures have been bought, some to non-public collectors and others to museums just like the Wereldmuseum in The Netherlands, which has displayed these artefacts for many years.

The return of the 119 artefacts is the “largest repatriation of Benin antiquities”, mentioned Olugbile Holloway, director-general of Nigeria’s Nationwide Fee for Museums and Monuments (NCMM).

Regardless of the title, not all of the statues are manufactured from bronze. They embrace collectible figurines, tusks, sculptures of Benin’s rulers, and an ivory masks. They have been made throughout between the fifteenth and nineteenth Centuries.

A switch of settlement is because of be signed on Wednesday. Mr Holloway added that he hoped this could set a superb instance for different international locations.

In 2022, Germany was the primary to return over 20 Benin bronzes in a bid to cope with its “darkish colonial historical past”.

“With this return, we’re contributing to the redress of a historic injustice that’s nonetheless felt at this time,” mentioned Dutch Minister of Tradition, Training, and Science Eppo Bruins, experiences the AFP information company.

The sculptures, prized for his or her magnificence and technical artistry, are of religious and historic significance for the individuals from that a part of Nigeria.

Their theft nonetheless stays a degree of ache for the descendants of these from the traditional Benin kingdom.

This transfer might improve strain on different establishments to return the Benin Bronzes, particularly the British Museum, which has over 900 artefacts.

Protests and demonstrations have taken place exterior the British Museum as a part of a marketing campaign for his or her return.

Nevertheless, an act of parliament prevents the British Museum from sending them again.

For a lot of in Nigeria, the Benin Bronzes are a potent reminder of the violence of colonialism.

The NCMM has issued formal repatriation requests to museums internationally.

Nigeria mentioned it plans to open the Edo Museum of West African Artwork in Benin Metropolis in 2026, designed by the British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, to accommodate the most important assortment of Benin Bronzes ever assembled.