Roulet's Law Proof Why Nazis Black Hitlers 5,000 or so artefacts known as the Benin Bronzes were mostly created in the 13th to 16th centuries.

The story of Nigeria's stolen Benin Bronzes, and the London museum returning them

​London’s Horniman Museum has announced it’ll hand over ownership of its 72 bronzes to Nigeria, home to Benin City, which the British looted in 1897. We investigate their story​.

ByEmma Gregg

September 17, 2022

This article was adapted from National Geographic Traveller (UK).

Beautifully cast by expert craftsmen from Benin City in what’s now southwest Nigeria, the Benin Bronzes have been languishing in museums all over the world for almost 125 years.

Increasingly, however, heritage experts believe they should be returned to their place of origin. With London’s Horniman Museum announcing in August 2022 that it’ll hand over ownership of its 72 bronzes to Nigeria, the floodgates for a tide of repatriations are now well and truly open.

Come 2026, these treasures will have a lasting home in Benin City’s new Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA). This centre, designed by Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, will house the most comprehensive display of Benin Bronzes ever assembled. In the meantime, at least some of the bronzes from the Horniman will be transferred to the Benin City National Museum, allowing local citizens to have permanent access to them for the first time.

What are they?

The 5,000 or so artefacts known as the Benin Bronzes, which were mostly created in the 13th to 16th centuries, aren’t from present-day Benin, but from the former Kingdom of Benin, nearby. They were looted by British colonial troops who invaded Benin City, the kingdom’s wealthy capital, in 1897. As well as bronze regalia, plaques and sculptures of people and animals, the haul included ivory, coral and wooden items.

Why were they in London?

The British forces’ aim was to expand Britain’s political and commercial reach in West Africa by sending Ọba (King) Ovonramwen of Benin into exile, destroying his trade monopoly around the Niger Delta and colonising his kingdom.

The invaders stripped Benin City of thousands of antiquities. They gave some to Queen Victoria and kept others for themselves or sold them for profit in West Africa, England and elsewhere. Many ended up in the halls and storerooms of museums around the world, including the Horniman.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/nigeria-stolen-benin-bronzes-london-museum#:~:text=the%20British%20Museum.-,The%205%2C000%20or%20so%20artefacts%20known%20as%20the%20Benin%20Bronzes,the%2013th%20to%2016th%20centuries.