1. Proactive provenance research
The returns followed years of collaborative work under the Benin Initiative Switzerland (launched 2021). Swiss museums proactively examined their collections, identified around 100 Benin objects, and confirmed that half were linked to the looting during the British punitive expedition of 1897, when approximately 10,000 objects were taken from the royal palace. Crucially, Nigeria did not make a formal request. Switzerland acted proactively.
Pictures courtesy Benin Initiative Switzerland
2. Bilateral legal framework
Alongside the returns, Switzerland and Nigeria signed a bilateral cultural property agreement. This establishes an institutional framework for cooperation, information exchange, and prevention of illicit trafficking.
Edo Heritage adds on this: The agreement aligns with the 1970 UNESCO Convention. It establishes a legal framework to regulate the import, export and return of cultural property. It also strengthens cooperation against the illicit trafficking of cultural objects.
3. Recognition of moral obligations
Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider acknowledged that the objects left the Kingdom of Benin “as a result of violence, looting and deeply unequal power relations”.
4. Source country capacity
The returned objects will be displayed at the National Museum in Lagos and eventually transferred to a world-class gallery in Benin City, Edo State. Nigeria is building the infrastructure to preserve and present its cultural heritage. This addresses a longstanding objection to restitution: that source countries lack capacity. Nigeria is demonstrating otherwise.
The UK’s position, by contrast, remains constrained by domestic legislation. The 1963 British Museum Act prohibits trustees from disposing of collection objects, effectively preventing the return of the British Museum’s approximately 900 Benin Bronzes.
Some UK institutions (Cambridge University, the Horniman Museum, Aberdeen University) have overcome this through their own independent decisions, citing “moral obligations”, but the British Museum cannot follow suit without parliamentary intervention. This is a legal obstacle, which is increasingly out of step with international practice.
