London Museum returning 12 Benin bronzes to Nigeria
The Horniman Museum and Gardens in London has announced that it will return 12 plaques from the Benin bronzes to Nigeria. The bronzes is a selection of items that were seized by British soldiers from Benin in 1897.
The Horniman said that it was returning the ownership of the bronzes, along with 60 other objects, including brass bells and a piece of an alter, to Nigeria. Still, the repatriation of the objects themselves has yet to be confirmed.
The Benin bronzes are considered by some to be symbols of painful colonial conquest. They arrived in England after a violent expedition in which 200 Africans were killed. They had originally been placed in the British Museum in London as part of a loan deal. Several cache items are still on display today, while many others were sent across Europe after being sold.
Eve Salomon, the chair of the Horniman’s board of trustees, said, “The evidence is very clear that these objects were acquired through force, and external consultation supported our view that it is both moral and appropriate to return their ownership to Nigeria.”
The move comes after Germany had revealed that they would be returning their Benin bronzes in 2020. Following this, several museums worldwide said they would also perform a similar gesture, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institute.
The University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford announced last week that they would be returning 213 objects to Nigeria as part of the biggest repatriation in British History.
Abba Tijani, the Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments in Nigeria, said, “We very much welcome this decision by the Trustees of the Horniman Museum and Gardens.”
While the Horniman’s repatriation is a good start for Nigeria, the British Museum are still in the ownership of the most extensive collection of Benin bronzes in the UK, with an estimated 900 artefacts still on show in the space.
