| In 1897, British soldiers looted these objects from the Kingdom of Benin (in present-day Nigeria) and many of these ended in Dutch museum collections.
The ‘Benin Bronzes’ are of great importance to Nigerian society and an important source of the history of the Kingdom of Benin. The objects consist include plaques, pendants and figures, and are currently in the collection of the World Museum.For this return, intensive collaboration between experts and representatives from both countries. The Commission Colonial Collections, which advises the Minister, has based its conclusion on the provenance research, carried out by the Wereldmuseum. The return occurs one week after the different stakeholders in Nigeria signed a historical agreement, which grants the (federal) National Commission for Museums and Monuments permission to manage all aspects pertaining to the Benin antiquities, from repatriation, conservation, storage and exhibition. Link 1 gives the Press release of the Dutch government. The advisory reports [ in English ] can be read via the link 2. The other links are articles [ in Dutch ] from national Dutch newspapers. |
