BENIN CITY, Nigeria —
Nigeria’s government has handed over two bronze treasures to a
traditional royal palace in part of a series of restorations of artifacts
looted during colonial times.
اضافة اعلان
In a ceremony
accompanied by songs, drums, and dancers on Saturday, a bronze cockerel and a
king’s bust were given to King Uku Akpolokpolor Ewuare II, one of the
traditional rulers in Africa’s most populous country.
Thousands of
Nigeria’s Benin Bronzes — 16th to 18th century sculptures and art — were
pillaged from the palace of the ancient Benin Kingdom and held in museums
across the US and Europe.
The two artifacts, which include a bronze cockerel and a bust that were looted from Nigeria over 125 years ago by the British military. (Photo: AFP)
Nigerian officials
negotiated the return of the two objects held in Aberdeen and Cambridge and
plan to build a museum in Benin City in southern Edo state, where it hopes to
keep more bronzes.
“This return gives
us a lot of joy because they symbolized that for us, the hope that all the
stolen artifacts will be returned,” Charles Edosomwan, Benin Kingdom High Chief
said.
“They’re stolen if
they are with you, they are not with us, until you return them, you are in
receipt of stolen goods.”
The bronzes are
considered some of the most highly regarded works of African art.
“We have been
consulting, we have been interacting with various institutions, various
museums, and various governments across the world,” said Abba Tijani, director
of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
The return of the
two artifacts comes as calls grow in Africa for Western countries to return
colonial spoils from their museums and private collections.
France, Britain,
Belgium, the Netherlands, and
Germany have all received requests from African
countries to return lost treasures.
France last year
handed back 26 royal treasures to Nigeria’s neighbor Benin, and President
Patrice Talon on Saturday officially opened an exhibition of the objects to the
public in Cotonou.
Germany has agreed
to start giving back hundreds of ancient pillaged artworks to Nigeria.
The Ethnological Museum in
Berlin has 530 historical objects from the ancient kingdom, including 440
bronzes — considered the most important collection outside London’s British
Museum.
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