Switzerland Returns 23 Artifacts Including 18 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
Switzerland has returned 23 cultural artifacts to Nigeria, featuring 18 Benin Bronzes sourced from three Swiss institutions. The items were previously housed at the Geneva Ethnography Museum, Museum Rietberg in Zurich, and the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich. Additionally, five objects, including a bracelet and four monolithic structures from the Niger Delta, were returned after being seized due to illegal import. This action is part of ongoing efforts by the Benin Initiative Switzerland, which began its provenance research in 2021. The restored items will be showcased at Nigeria's National Museum in Lagos and in Benin City.
Key facts
- Switzerland returned 23 artifacts to Nigeria, including 18 Benin Bronzes.
- The Benin Bronzes were from the Geneva Ethnography Museum, Museum Rietberg, and the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich.
- Five items (a bracelet and four monoliths) were confiscated after illegal import from the Niger Delta.
- Repatriation follows the Benin Initiative Switzerland, started in 2021 by Museum Rietberg.
- The Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich returned 14 items; Museum Rietberg and Geneva Ethnography Museum each returned two.
- Swiss Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider and Nigerian Minister Hannatu Musa Musawa signed a cultural property agreement.
- Some objects go to the National Museum in Lagos; others to the Oba Ovonramwen Storage Facility in Benin City.
- Nine treasures remain on loan at Museum Rietberg, one at Geneva Ethnography Museum.
- The British Museum holds the largest Benin Bronzes collection and has not returned any.
- The Benin Bronzes were looted during the British Punitive Expedition of 1897.
Entities
Institutions
- Geneva Ethnography Museum
- Museum Rietberg
- Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich
- Benin Initiative Switzerland
- National Museum in Lagos
- Oba Ovonramwen Storage Facility
- National Commission for Museums and Monuments
- British Museum
- Humboldt Forum
- Artnet News
- National Museum Lagos
- Musee d’Ethnographie de Geneve
- Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs
- Kingdom of Benin
Locations
- Switzerland
- Nigeria
- Geneva
- Zurich
- Niger Delta
- Benin City
- Lagos
- London
- United Kingdom
- Berlin
- Netherlands
- Kingdom of Benin
- Germany