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Switzerland repatriates Benin bronzes
Switzerland returned Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in a ceremony at the National Museum in Lagos on Monday, with Swiss authorities handing over 18 Benin Bronzes as part of a growing set of repatriated treasures.
“Home Contact Mentions légales Kit média Pages Site map * The Team Africa Cambridge Restitutes 116 Benin Treasures to Nigeria Cambridge University announced the restitution to Nigeria of 116 artifacts from the Benin Kingdom, marking a new step in the return of African works preserved in Europe”
The returned works were taken from the royal palace in the Kingdom of Benin after British forces attacked Benin City in 1897, and the handover included a bronze bracelet and four Ikom monoliths from the Niger Delta region.
Nigeria’s culture minister Hannatu Musa Musawa said the restitution represented “evidence of civilisation that already mastered bronze casting to a standard of technical, artistic and extremely intricate sophistication” before colonisation.
Swiss federal councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider said at the ceremony, “Many of them left the Kingdom of Benin, their place of origin, as a result of violence, looting and deeply unequal power relations.”
Provenance research and museum plans
tv5monde said three Swiss museums were preparing to restitute treasures looted during the British punitive expedition of 1897 in the former Kingdom of Benin, with the transfer of ownership described as the result of an “unprecedented provenance investigation.”
The same report said that in total, 96 objects were kept by participating institutions in German-speaking Switzerland and French-speaking Switzerland, including the Ethnography Museum of the University of Zurich (18), the Rietberg Museum (16) and the MEG (9).
tv5monde also reported that some objects would join Abuja while others would undergo a legal transfer but remain on display in Swiss vitrines under the status of long-term loan.
In a joint statement, the directors of the three Swiss museums, Carine Ayélé, Alice Hertzog and Annette Bhagwati, said, “The restitution of these cultural assets contributes to the study, preservation and transmission of a Nigerian collective memory.”
Broader restitution momentum
L’observateur reported that Cambridge University announced the restitution to Nigeria of 116 artifacts from the Benin Kingdom, describing it as a new step in the return of African works preserved in Europe.
“Switzerland is about to return to Nigeria 28 bronze objects from the former Kingdom of Benin, seized during the British punitive expedition of 1897”
The same article said the restitution followed Nigeria's official request in 2022 and quoted Olugbile Holloway, director-general of the National Commission on Museums and Monuments of Nigeria, calling it a “restoration of the pride and dignity lost during their looting.”
Le Figaro said the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) at the University of Cambridge announced on Sunday, February 8, the restitution to Nigeria of 116 artifacts from the former Kingdom of Benin seized by British soldiers during a punitive expedition in February 1897.
Le Figaro also quoted Olugbile Holloway saying, “It is also about restoring the pride and dignity lost during their looting,” as the official hoped the British institution’s initiative would encourage other museums to follow.
