After years of ignored pleas and stonewalled requests, deals were finally coming together to return some of Africa’s most prized treasures to the continent.
The Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the German government announced they were returning scores of sculptures, plaques and ornaments, known as the Benin Bronzes, that British soldiers had plundered in 1897 from Benin City, in what is now Nigeria but was once the center of a kingdom.
Plans were underway for a glittering new museum designed by the British Ghanaian architect David Adjaye to showcase and protect the returned treasures.
At a moment when museums worldwide are trying to come to grips with contested artifacts in their collections, this development underscores how complex restitution efforts can be.
It decreed that any returned artifacts “may be kept within the palace of the oba,” or in any location that he considers secure.
Persons:
David Adjaye, Muhammadu Buhari, oba
Organizations:
Smithsonian Institution, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Locations:
Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, British Ghanaian