Benin bronzes returned by Annalena Baerbock: The Oba hands them back

A few months after Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock returned Benin bronzes from German museums to Nigeria at the end of 2022 , it was announced that outgoing Nigerian President Mohammedu Buhari had transferred the bronzes from the historic kingdom of Benin to the successor of the kings of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, a private citizen. The process sparked outrage in Germany, as it now seemed in doubt whether the Nigerian people would ever see the bronzes. Now the British news agency Reuters is reporting that - as originally thought - Nigeria's National Commission for Museums (NCMM) will be responsible for recovering and storing the priceless Benin bronzes.

The commission took on this task with the consent of the Oba, according to its Director General Olugblile Holloway, who took office in March 2024. This is because the Oba does not have the infrastructure to take care of the bronzes. Although the Oba had announced that he wanted to build a separate museum for the objects, this was probably an unrealizable fantasy.

Now an African solution has been found. The Oba's ownership of the bronzes is not being questioned, but the NCMM will take care of this in the future. "The Oba has given the NCMM his blessing to exhibit, preserve and restore these objects. So there is no longer any ambiguity," says Holloway. It is likely that the artefacts will be shown in the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMWAA), which is still under construction. Germany has already invested four million euros in this project.

In mid-February, Holloway posted a photo on his Instagram channel showing himself with the Oba in his palace. Both are keeping the contract in which the new regulation is laid down. Holloway promises in his post to work closely with the Oba and makes it clear that he intends to exhibit the objects publicly - with the aim of educating and informing people. This should also satisfy the European public. The question has always been whether they even have the right to set conditions for the return of looted art.

One person who has spoken out against it from the beginning is Hermann Parzinger, the president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin. Almost half of the bronzes that Annalena Baerbock presented in Nigeria at the end of 2022 came from the foundation, twelve in total.

Hermann Parzinger has shown foresight when it comes to the Benin bronzes

Although he too was surprised that Nigeria's president gave the Benin bronzes to the Oba, he also said in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung that "we have transferred ownership back because it is completely undisputed that these artefacts were acquired in a clearly unlawful context. That is why you cannot set any conditions for their return." Parzinger showed foresight when he said that the royal court was closely connected to the objects due to their origin. "It is clear that the king must be involved in the fate of the objects. And I would not rule out the possibility that the state and the royal court will come to an agreement. It is often the case when objects are returned: debates start in these countries, there are diverging interests and these must be brought together." This has now happened.

Nigeria is searching for thousands of bronze sculptures and bronze castings that were looted by British soldiers in 1897 during a raid on the then independent Kingdom of Benin in what is now southern Nigeria. They are among the most beautiful and significant objects of African cultural heritage and are mostly located in Europe.

However, after the bronzes were donated to the Oba, the entire policy of returning artifacts from European museums to African countries seemed to be at stake. The German state of Saxony, where 262 Benin bronzes are kept in museums, put its return on hold. The University of Cambridge Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology temporarily halted the return of 116 Benin bronzes . Now Holloway says it is only a matter of time before an agreement is reached with Cambridge University on the return of the artifacts. "Returning these objects is not just about displaying them in the museum or caring for them. It is about the dignity of our people and about undoing the injustice of 1897."

Olugbile Holloway has already made his inaugural visit to Berlin

Olugbile Holloway has already made his inaugural visit to Berlin at the end of 2024 at the invitation of the Ethnological Museum. The discussions included the physical return of further Benin bronzes from Berlin to Nigeria as well as possible future cooperation between the NCMM and the Ethnological Museum with the aim of implementing joint exhibition projects. Holloway visited the depots of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin-Dahlem and inspected the Benin objects stored there. "I am confident that we will be able to implement the return of further Benin objects in a timely manner," he said afterwards.

Lars-Christian Koch, Director of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art, added: "The visit and the very fruitful exchange with Olugbile Holloway show that the transfer of ownership should not be seen as a provisional conclusion to the process. On the contrary, it was the starting point for a sustainable, future collaboration, which we are very much looking forward to."

In August 2022, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation transferred ownership of 512 Benin objects from the collection of the Ethnological Museum to Nigeria. All of these objects had come to Berlin as a result of the so-called British "punitive expedition" of 1897. It was the largest transfer of ownership of collection objects from a colonial context to date. In agreement with Nigeria, around a third of the transferred objects will remain in Berlin on loan for an initial period of ten years; they are on display in the Humboldt Forum.

The return from Europe now seems to be getting underway again. Just a few days ago, the Netherlands returned cultural treasures stolen from the former Kingdom of Benin to Nigeria. The Ministry of Culture and representatives of Nigeria signed an agreement to this effect. 119 Benin bronzes would be returned to the West African country at Nigeria's request, the Ministry of Culture in The Hague announced.

Most of the objects are still in the World Museum in Leiden; they are pendants, sculptures, depictions of kings, but also everyday objects.