25-05-2025
Netherlands prepares to return looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria
The Wereldmuseum in Leiden is preparing to return 113 ancient sculptures to Nigeria, as pressure mounts on Western governments and institutions to hand back the spoils of the colonial era.
The Dutch museum has removed 113 Benin bronzes from display and is restoring them, ahead of shipping them back to Lagos in June.
The bronzes were looted from the ancient Kingdom of Benin, in modern-day Nigeria, more than 120 years ago by British colonisers.
The Netherlands agreed to return 119 Benin bronze statues to Nigeria in February.
"These don't belong here. They were violently taken, so they need to go back," museum director Marieke van Bommel told French news agency AFP. "This is a typical example of looted art."
Netherlands agrees to return 119 Benin statues to Nigeria
While the majority of these 19th-century African sculptures remain in France and the UK, van Bommel hopes the Dutch example will be noted around the world.
"I think we all agree that this collection doesn't belong in European museums. We do hope that other countries will follow this example," she said.
According to her, the collection is priceless: "It's a cultural value, so we never put a price on it."
"We want to talk about the expedition, but also about the whole subject of restitution," she explained.
(with AFP)
Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:How an RFI investigation helped return an ancient treasure to BeninNetherlands agrees to return 119 Benin statues to NigeriaHistoric cultural treasures to be returned to Ghana's king
