Ownership of all Berlin “Benin bronzes” transferred to Nigeria
The contract concerns 512 works that arrived in Berlin as a result of the so-called British punitive expedition of 1897. It is the largest transfer of ownership of collection objects from a colonial context to date. The first objects will be repatriated to Nigeria this year. Around one third of the objects transferred will remain on loan in Berlin for an initial period of ten years and be exhibited at the Humboldt Forum.
Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth: “This restitution serves as a model for all museums in Germany that own collections from a colonial context. I am very pleased to see that more restitution agreements are to follow in the next few months. All these efforts form the basis for closer, ongoing cultural cooperation between Nigeria and Germany.”
Benin bronzes entered collections worldwide after the conquest of the Kingdom of Benin by British troops in 1897. The last independent king, Oba Ovonramwen, was exiled to the city of Calabar and the royal palace was sacked. Thousands of objects were shipped to London as war booty and sold there. Other looted objects remained in colonial Nigeria for some time, subsequently also ending up in European and North American museums. The Berlin Museum also profited from the colonial system and its “acquisitions” that were gained as a result of the use of violence. Since 2010, the museum has been a member of the Benin Dialogue Group, in which European museums discuss the future of Benin objects in their collections together with Nigerian partners.
Negotiations between Germany and Nigeria began at government level in 2021 and were successfully concluded in July of this year with the signing of a Joint Declaration that provides the framework for restitution from all German museums.
To the complete press release