A bronze sculpture of a Nigerian king and 31 other culturally precious objects that had been in the collection of a Rhode Island museum for more than 70 years were returned to the Nigerian government on Tuesday.
The Benin Bronzes including a piece called the “Head of a King” or “Oba” from the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, were transferred to the Nigerian National Collections during a ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
The pieces that were taken away by the British in the late 19th century included 29 that the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents voted in June to return, and one object from the National Gallery of Art, officials said.
The repatriation is part of a worldwide movement by cultural institutions to return artefacts that were looted during colonial wars. In August, the Horniman Museum and Gardens in London announced that it would transfer a collection of 72 Benin Bronzes to the Nigerian government.
Director-general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abba Isa Tijani hopes the transfer inspires more museums to return African artefacts.
Tijani said, ”We hope for great collaborations with these museums and institutions and we have already opened promising discussions with them concerning this. The entire world is welcome to join in this new way of doing things. A way free from rancour and misgivings. A way filled with mutual respect”.
The Benin Bronzes were stolen in 1897 when British forces sacked the Benin kingdom, which is now in modern-day Nigeria.
