Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock personally returned the first batch of 20 Benin bronzes from five German collections that were looted by British colonial forces from the former Kingdom of Benin, today’s Nigeria, in what she called a “long-overdue” step.
The so-called Benin Bronzes refer to several thousand metal plaques and sculptures stolen during the British conquest of the former kingdom and subsequently sold to various European museums.
“It was wrong to steal these bronzes, it was wrong to keep them, and it is long overdue that they return to their home,” Baerbock said during a visit to Nigeria on Tuesday.
While many of the objects today are held by the British Museum in London, about six of the artworks are currently in German museums. After Nigeria’s government had called for the return of the sculptures, the German government signed an agreement with the country for the handover of 1,130 objects.
The first 20 bronzes were returned during a ceremony in Nigeria’s capital Abuja attended by Baerbock and her Nigerian colleague Geoffrey Onyeama.
Baerbock stressed this was a “first step,” adding that Germany is working on restoring more of the sculptures.
Several museum directors were among the German delegation to Nigeria – a step that many observers saw as a sign of a rethink in Germany’s cultural institutions, which had blocked the restoration of looted artwork until recently, citing the allegedly lacking capacity of formerly colonised states like Nigeria to take proper care of the artefacts.
(Julia Dahm | EURACTIV.de)
Source: euractiv.com
