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Switzerland returns 18 Benin bronzes to Nigeria
🇨🇭 Switzerland /Culture & Society

Switzerland returns 18 Benin bronzes to Nigeria

From Le Temps · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Switzerland returned 18 bronze artifacts looted during the colonial era to Nigeria.
  • The bronzes, dating from the 16th to 18th centuries, were taken by British forces in 1897.
  • This restitution is part of a global trend of returning cultural heritage to its countries of origin.

Switzerland has returned 18 bronze artifacts to Nigeria, acknowledging the "painful history" associated with their acquisition during the colonial period. The handover ceremony took place at the National Museum in Lagos on Monday.

These bronzes, originating from the former Kingdom of Benin, span the 16th to 18th centuries. They were looted by British troops in 1897 during a punitive expedition that saw the sacking of what is now Benin City, the capital of Edo State in southern Nigeria.

"The artifacts returned today carry a painful history," stated Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, Swiss Minister of the Interior, during the ceremony. She added that many items left the Kingdom of Benin "as a result of violence, looting, and profoundly unequal power relations."

The artifacts returned today carry a painful history. Many have left the kingdom of Benin, their place of origin, as a result of violence, looting, and profoundly unequal power relations.

— Elisabeth Baume-SchneiderSwiss Minister of the Interior, speaking at the handover ceremony in Lagos.

The returned artifacts include items from the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich, the Rietberg Museum in Zurich, and the Ethnographic Museum of Geneva. Nigeria's Minister of Culture, Hannatu Musa Musawa, highlighted that these bronzes are "proof of a civilization that already mastered bronze casting at a highly sophisticated technical and artistic level" before colonization.

Switzerland also transferred a bronze bracelet and four Ikom monoliths, engraved volcanic stones, from the Niger Delta region to Nigeria. These were seized in Switzerland during legal proceedings. This restitution follows similar returns by German, Scottish, Dutch, and American institutions in recent years, though hundreds of Benin artifacts are believed to remain in Europe and North America. Debates continue in Nigeria regarding the destination of returned artifacts, with the successor to the Benin kings seeking their return while a museum has been built in Benin City.

proof of a civilization that already mastered bronze casting at a highly sophisticated technical and artistic level

— Hannatu Musa MusawaNigerian Minister of Culture, describing the significance of the bronzes.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Le Temps in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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