The Benin Bronzes return gathers pace in 2026 as three Swiss museums sign over 28 looted pieces and Nigeria builds a new home in Benin City.
NIGERIA · CULTURE
Key Facts
—Looted in 1897: The Benin Bronzes are thousands of artworks taken from the Kingdom of Benin, in today’s southern Nigeria, by British troops in 1897.
—Swiss returns: In 2026, three Swiss museums agreed to transfer ownership of 28 Benin pieces back to Nigeria.
—A 2025 wave: The Netherlands handed back 119 bronzes in 2025, the largest single return so far.
The Benin Bronzes were artefacts stolen during the UK’s imperial plunder of Benin, modern-day southern Nigeria.
Les sculptures, datant du XVIe jusqu’au XVIIIe siècle, avaient été volées dans l’ancien royaume du Bénin il y a plus de 120 ans,…
The public display of artefacts looted by British colonial forces at the new Museum of West African Art was supposed to be the…
Western museums, including those in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, have in recent years returned several hundred…
They include items looted by British colonial soldiers and others from the AngloGold Ashanti mining firm.
Nigeria’s stunning new Museum of West African Art (Mowaa) finds itself in the crosshairs of local power politics.
