Germany signed an agreement on Thursday to transfer ownership to Nigeria of the Benin Bronzes, among Africa's most culturally significant artefacts which were looted in the 19th century. British soldiers took hundreds of bronzes - intricate sculptures and plaques dating back to the 13th century onwards - when they invaded the Kingdom of Benin, located in what is now southwestern Nigeria, in 1897. The artefacts ended up in museums around Europe and the United States. African countries have for years fought to recover them. FILE PHOTO: Benin bronzes objects are displayed at the Linden Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday June 29, 2022 . (Bernd Weissbrod/dpa via AP) Germany returned the first of the sculptures to Nigeria in July. On Thursday, the Foundation of Prussian Cult...
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London's Horniman Museum said on Sunday it would return 72 artefacts, including 12 brass plaques known as Benin Bronzes, looted from Benin City by British soldiers in 1897 to the Nigerian government. Created from brass and bronze in the once mighty Kingdom of Benin in what is now southwestern Nigeria from at least the 16th century onwards, the Benin Bronzes are among Africa's most culturally significant artefacts. A square bronze pendant or ornament, one of the objects that London's Horniman Museum says was looted from Benin City by British soldiers in 1897 and will be returned to Nigeria's government, is pictured in this undated handout image. Horniman Museum and Gardens/Handout via REUTERS They were seized, along with thousands of other items, in a British military incursion, a...
Read MoreBenin Bronzes: Germany ready but Britain reluctant to return colonial loot
Germany and Nigeria have signed an agreement paving the way for the return of hundreds of artifacts known as the Benin Bronzes that were taken from Africa more than 120 years ago — an accord that Nigerian officials hope will prompt other countries to follow suit. Governments and museums in Europe and North America have increasingly sought to resolve ownership disputes over objects that were looted during colonial times. A British colonial expedition looted vast quantities of treasures in 1897 from the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now southwestern Nigeria, including numerous bas-reliefs and sculptures. The artifacts ended up spread far and wide. Hundreds were sold to collections such as the Ethnological Museum in Berlin, which has one of the world’s largest gro...
Read MoreA new guild of artists from Nigeria's Benin City has offered to donate artworks to the British Museum in London as a way to encourage it to return the priceless Benin Bronzes that were looted from the city's royal court by British troops in 1897. Created in the once mighty Kingdom of Benin from at least the 16th century onwards, the bronze and brass sculptures are among Africa's finest and most culturally significant artefacts. European museums that house them have faced years of criticism because of their status as loot and symbols of colonial greed. Nigerian traditional chiefs stand next to a life-size ram made out of spark plugs, one of the artworks offered as a gift to the British Museum by a new guild of artists, at the unveiling of the artworks in Benin City, Nigeria, July 31,...
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