The Netherlands has agreed to return over 100 bronze sculptures from Benin to Nigeria, Reuters reported.
It becomes the latest European country to return cultural artifacts to Africa.
Nigeria is seeking the return of thousands of exquisite bronze sculptures and casts that were looted by British soldiers during an 1897 raid on the then-separate kingdom of Benin*, located in what is now southwestern Nigeria.
The Dutch embassy in Abuja said the country would return 119 artifacts following an agreement signed between its education minister and the head of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
The artifacts are expected to arrive in Nigeria later this year.
The collection includes 113 bronzes that are part of the Dutch state collection, while the rest will be returned by the municipality of Rotterdam.
“The Netherlands is returning the Benin bronze sculptures unconditionally, acknowledging that the objects were looted during the British raid on Benin City in 1897 and should never have ended up in the Netherlands,” the embassy said.
The director-general of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Olugbile Holloway, said it would represent the largest return of ancient antiquities.
In July 2022, Germany returned bronze sculptures looted by Europeans in the 19th century to Nigeria.
German authorities have returned to Nigeria the first two of more than 1,100 priceless sculptures known as the Benin Bronzes, which were looted by Europeans in the 19th century, Reuters reported at the time.
British soldiers looted about 5,000 of the artifacts, intricate sculptures and plaques dating from the 13th century onwards, when they invaded the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now southwestern Nigeria, in 1897.
The loot has been on display in museums across Europe and the United States.
“This is a story of European colonialism. We must not forget that Germany played an active role in this chapter of history,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said at a ceremony in Berlin marking the transfer.
The first two bronzes, one depicting the head of a king and the other depicting a king and his four attendants, will be returned in person by Nigerian Foreign Minister Zubairu Dada and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed, who attended the ceremony.
“I am delighted to be part of this auspicious event, which I believe will remain one of the most important days in the celebration of African cultural heritage,” Dada said.
Germany’s decision to carry out one of the largest-ever repatriations of historical artifacts reflects a growing awareness in Europe of the continuing political significance of past colonial plunder and violence.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sought to unite emerging powers in opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a task complicated by the view widely held in the Global South that anger at the invasion is hypocrisy on the part of former imperialists who themselves have episodes of violence and plunder in their past.
“We acknowledge the horrific atrocities committed during colonial rule,” said Culture Minister Claudia Roth. “We acknowledge racism and slavery… the injustice and trauma that left scars that are still visible today.”
Germany promised to finance a museum to be built in Benin City to house the repatriated bronzes.
*Notes:
- The kingdom of Benin began in the 900s when the Edo people settled in the rainforests of West Africa.
- At first, they lived in small family groups, but gradually these groups developed into a kingdom.
- The kingdom was called Igodomigodo. It was ruled by a series of kings, known as Ogisos, which means ‘rulers of the sky’.
- In the 1100s the Ogisos lost control of their kingdom.
- The Edo people feared that their country would fall into chaos, so they asked their neighbour, the King of Ife, for help. The king sent his son Prince Oranmiyan to restore peace to the Edo kingdom.
- Oranmiyan chose his son Eweka to be the first Oba of Benin. An Oba was a ruler.
- By the 1400s Benin was a wealthy kingdom. The Obas lived in beautiful palaces decorated with shining brass.
- In 1897, a group of British officials tried to visit Benin. They were sent away because the Oba was busy with a religious ceremony, but they decided to visit anyway. As they approached the borders of Benin, a group of warriors drove them back and several British men were killed. This attack made the British furious. They sent over a thousand soldiers to invade Benin. Benin City was burnt to the ground and the kingdom of Benin became part of the British Empire.
Photo: Brass figure believed to be Prince Oranmiyan. Edo legend says that no one in Benin had ever seen a horse before Oranmiyan arrived.
We acknowledge The European Times for the information.
