Benin Bronzes: Nigeria will also drop objects

Created: 2022-06-29Updated: 2022-06-29 13:13

Sculptures from Nigeria are on display in the Linden Museum in Stuttgart.

© Christoph Schmidt/dpa/archive image

After the agreement between Germany and Nigeria on the so-called Benin bronzes, not all of the art objects considered colonial loot should be brought back to the African state.

"We don't want to create a vacuum here, so we will also leave some objects behind so that they can be exhibited and researched on," promised the director general of Nigeria's National Museums and Monuments Authority, Abba Tijani, on Wednesday in Stuttgart.

Stuttgart - He thanked Germany for the planned declaration of intent between the two countries, which is to be signed in Berlin on Friday.

Around 1,100 of the ornate bronzes from the palace of what was then the Kingdom of Benin, which today belongs to Nigeria, can be found in around 20 German museums, including 64 of the bronzes considered colonial loot.

Dozens are kept in the Stuttgart Linden Museum.

Most of the objects come from the British looting of 1897. The joint declaration is intended to pave the way for the transfer of ownership of the valuable art objects.

Tijani praised the German handling of the topic.

“Nigeria was not colonized by Germany.

And yet Germany is the first country to opt for this restitution,” he said.

He assured that his country was prepared for the return.

Nigeria is not just about “getting the objects out of Germany”.

dpa