The German Foreign Minister is visiting Nigeria where she will personally return twenty works of art looted from the former kingdom of Benin, the current city of Benin City, in the south of the country. The German government has pledged to return a total of more than 1,130 looted treasures.
With our correspondent in Lagos, Liza Fabbian
Germany has made major commitments in recent months for the return of the treasures looted in Nigeria, as explained by Herman Parzinger, the president of the Prussian Heritage Foundation, in Berlin. “ It was clear that we wanted a solution. The agreement which was signed at the end of August records the transfer of ownership of more than 500 Benin bronzes in our possession to Nigeria. And 168 objects will remain here in Berlin as long-term loans “, he specifies.
► Also to listen: Germany: bronzes from the former kingdom of Benin exhibited in Berlin before being returned
The bronzes were looted from the ancient kingdom of Benin, in southern Nigeria. Most of the items were looted in 1897, when a British expedition attacked and destroyed Benin City, taking thousands of ivory and metal carvings in the process.
An agreement had been concluded between Berlin and the Nigerian government after years of negotiations for the restitution of works which are distributed in about twenty German museums. By bringing 20 objects back to Nigerian territory, German diplomacy is taking a further step to “ heal the wounds of the past ” and “ take into account [sa] dark colonial history “, estimated the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock, on Twitter.
An inevitable movement
This movement for the restitution of the treasures looted in the ancient kingdom of Edo is in any case inevitable, according to Peju Layiwola, Nigerian artist and art historian. ” I think Westerners have come to realize that no matter how long these looted works of art remain in their museums, they will never be able to claim ownership. It has become unpopular to show these works, so the best thing to do is to return them “, she believes.
The museums concerned by these restitutions are that of Linden in Stuttgart, of Grassi in Leipzig, the MARKK in Hamburg, the Rauten-Joest museum in Cologne, as well as the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. The Ethnological Museum of Berlin alone has 530 historical objects from the former kingdom of Benin, including 440 bronzes, considered the most important collection after that of the British Museum in London. This initiative is part of a series of measures taken recently by Germany to try to assume the crimes of the colonial period, such as the official recognition in May 2021 of a genocide perpetrated in Namibia.
Nigeria hopes in particular that the British Museum will in turn take up its responsibilities. The London institution alone contains more than 900 works torn from the former kingdom of Benin.
►Also read : The Horniman Museum in London will return to Nigeria works looted in the 19th century (August 9, 2022)