2 weeks Ago
All of Benin Oba Ewuare II Welcomes Cultural Treasures
The handover ceremony was held in Edo State and presided over by Oba Ewuare II, traditional leader and guardian of Benin culture. He dubbed the return of the statues a "divine intervention." The repatriation came at the request of the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments. Olugbile Holloway, the chairman of the commission, described it as the biggest return of Benin bronzes yet.
Worldwide Quest to Regain Cultural Heritage
The Benin Bronzes cover thousands of items, many of them looted by British troops from the Kingdom of Benin, now a part of what is present-day Nigeria. These invaluable objects are worth millions of euros and were dispersed in museums around the world, including in The Netherlands. In 2022, Nigeria officially asked for the return of hundreds of objects from numerous international collections. In the year 2002, a total of 72 objects were returned from a museum in London and 31 from a museum in Rhode Island. …There would be an official ceremony on Saturday when these cultural artifacts will return to the National Museum in Lagos.
