Britain's cultural institutions are under pressure to repatriate artifacts acquired during the colonial era. Precisely for this reason, the Horniman Museum and Gardens, in southeast London, agreed this Sunday to return a collection of Benin bronzes looted at the end of the 19th century from what is now Nigeria.
The Horniman Museum and Gardens in southeast London said it would transfer a collection of 72 items to the Nigerian government. The decision comes after the Nigerian National Museums and Monuments Commission formally requested the return of pieces earlier this year and following consultation with community members, artists and school children in Nigeria and the UK, the museum said. .
"The evidence is very clear that these objects were acquired by force, and the external consultation supported our view that it is both moral and appropriate to return their property to Nigeria," said Eve Salomon, chair of the museum's board of trustees, in a statement. a statement. "Horniman is pleased to be able to take this step, and we look forward to working with the NCMM to ensure the long-term care of these valuable artifacts."
Horniman's collection is a small part of the 3,000 to 5,000 artifacts seized from the Kingdom of Benin in 1897 when British soldiers attacked and occupied the city as Britain expanded its political and commercial influence in West Africa. The British Museum alone has over 900 objects from Benin, and the National Museums of Scotland has a further 74. Others were distributed to museums around the world. artists working for the royal court of Benin.
The general term Benin Bronzes is sometimes applied to items made of ivory, coral, wood, and other materials, as well as metal sculptures. Countries such as Nigeria, Egypt and Greece, as well as indigenous peoples from North America to Australia, are increasingly demanding the return of pieces amid a global reassessment of colonialism and the exploitation of local populations.
Nigeria and Germany recently signed an agreement for the return of hundreds of bronzes from Benin. That followed French President Emmanuel Macron's decision last year to sign more than 26 pieces known as the Abomey Treasures, priceless works of art from the 19th-century kingdom of Dahomey in present-day Benin, a small country just off western Nigeria. But British institutions have been slower to respond. The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Information and Culture formally requested the British Museum to return its Benin Bronzes in October last year. The museum said on Sunday that it is working with several partners in Nigeria and is committed to an "open and thorough investigation".
