Benin reclaims 17th-century looted royal chair from Finland
Finland has returned a ceremonial stool that was looted from what is now Benin by French forces more than a century ago, a gesture that officials from both countries described as a milestone in the restitution of the West African country's cultural heritage.
The katakle, a three-legged stool, dates back to the Kingdom of Dahomey, which was founded in the 17th century off the coast of modern-day Benin.
"This is the epilogue, and we are now looking ahead to other areas of restitution, return and circulation," Benin's culture minister, Jean-Michel Herve Abimbola, said during a ceremony on Tuesday in Cotonou amid a round of applause.
In 1892, French colonial forces looted 27 artefacts from the royal palace of the Kingdom of Dahomey, including two katakles, which were transferred to the Ethnographic Museum of the Trocadero in Paris, according to the National Museum of Finland.
It was a ceremonial portable throne symbolising stability and power, according to the museum, which added the king had a larger throne.
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