German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has returned 20 artifacts stolen in the 19th century to Nigeria at a ceremony in the nation’s capital, Abuja on Tuesday 20 December, 2022
Following an agreement established earlier this year to transfer ownership of more than 1,000 of these priceless items, this collection of Benin Bronzes has finally been returned.
Nigeria said in July that this was the first time a European nation had signed a deal of this nature.
It is part of efforts to address a “dark colonial history,” according to Ms. Baerbock.
She noted that it was a chance to correct some of the mistakes of the past.
Some of the well-known ceremonial heads, an ivory carving, and a painted plaque were among the items that were recovered.
As European nations and museums struggle with how artifacts came into their possession, efforts to return items that were stolen during the colonial era have gained pace recently.
The phrase “Benin Bronzes” refers to tens of thousands of metal carvings, plaques, and sculptures produced between the 15th and 19th centuries that were taken from the West African kingdom of Benin, located in present-day Nigeria’s Edo state, by British troops in 1897.
For the inhabitants of that region of Nigeria, the sculptures have spiritual and historical importance in addition to being valued for their aesthetic beauty and technical artistry. For the descendants of those from the former Benin kingdom, their theft still causes them pain.
According to the German foreign ministry, several items that had been brought to the UK in the late 19th century were auctioned off in London and some were purchased by German collectors.
According to a statement, the nation has been keeping about 1,100 of the 5,000 people who were reportedly seized.
Others can be found in the archives of UK museums, such as the British Museum, which is home to the biggest single collection, consisting of some 900 items. The British Museum is unable to return them due to a parliamentary legislation.
The first institution in the UK to formally take such action on this magnitude was London’s Horniman Museum, a private charity, which handed back hundreds of objects, including some Benin Bronzes, to Nigerian ownership last month.
The official repatriation requests have been sent to museums all over the world by Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
The biggest collection of Benin Bronzes ever amassed will be housed in the Edo Museum of West African Art, which will open in Benin City in 2026 and be built by British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye.
Up until the end of World War One, Germany ruled over portions of West, East, and Southern Africa during the colonial era.
It formally admitted genocide during the annexation of Namibia last year.
Between 1904 and 1908, German colonizers there killed tens of thousands of Ovaherero and Nama people.
Germany recently sent human remains to Namibia, some of which were employed in now-discredited racial classification research.
