Swiss authorities on Monday returned 18 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in a ceremony at the National Museum in Lagos, the latest addition to the nation's growing collection of repatriated treasures.
Countries across Africa have been pushing in recent years for the restitution of artifacts and artworks taken during the colonial period, including Nigeria's famed Benin Bronzes, which were looted as spoils of war by the British and today are scattered in museums and private collections across the world.
Hundreds of the priceless sculptures and plaques were taken from the royal palace in the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now part of modern-day Nigeria, after British forces attacked Benin City in 1897.
Monday's restitution represents the return of "evidence of civilization that already mastered bronze casting to a standard of technical, artistic and extremely intricate sophistication" before colonization, Nigeria's culture minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said at the ceremony.
The handover also included a bronze bracelet and four Ikom monoliths from the Niger Delta region, "seized in Switzerland as part of criminal proceedings and subsequently transferred to the state," Switzerland's federal department of home affairs said in a statement.
