The Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in Cologne, Germany has handed over ownership of 92 Benin bronzes to Nigeria.
After a vote by the Cologne City Council, the agreement was signed last week by Henriette Reker, the mayor of Cologne, and Abba Tijani, the director-general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM).
Repatriation negotiations between Germany and Nigeria have been taking place over the past year. There are an estimated 1,100 Benin bronzes held at around 20 museums in Germany.
“This is a milestone in a difficult debate lasting decades about the restitution of looted art, with national and international significance,” Reker told Deutsche Welle (via Artnet News).
Three of the artefacts will be returned to Nigeria this month, with a further 52 to be sent back from 2023. The remaining pieces will stay in Cologne on loan for at least 10 years.
Repatriation talks between Germany and Nigeria
The Benin bronzes were stolen by the British army during the Benin Expedition of 1897. The artefacts were then auctioned off to European buyers.
London’s Horniman Museum and Gardens is returning a total of 72 artefacts, including 12 Benin bronzes, to their place of origin in Nigeria. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art has also returned 29 Benin bronzes .
Meanwhile, Pope Francis has announced plans to return the 2,500-year-old Parthenon marbles held at the Vatican Museums to Greece.
In a statement, the Vatican said the pope is returning the marbles as a “donation” and “a concrete sign of his sincere desire to follow in the ecumenical path of truth”, reports the Associated Press.
Images: Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum / Francis Oghuma
