I researched the status of the Benin Bronzes. These sculptures of brass and bronze, numbering in the thousands, date largely from the 14th-16th centuries and were produced by royal guilds of the Oba (king) of Benin City (formerly a city-state, and located in present-day Nigeria). Among these sculptures and panels are pieces used for worship and ritual, as well as a set of plaques that once decorated the royal palace and recorded the kingdom’s history, serving as a form of public memory. The objects were looted during a British colonial assault upon Benin City in 1897. More than 900 Benin Bronzes are in the British Museum’s collection. Others were sold, mostly to European and American museums (one of the largest collections is in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin).

Since the time of its independence in 1960, Nigeria has been demanding restitution of these looted items. In recent years (2021), the Nigerian Government has demanded—in person, through its representatives, and by written request—return of the 1,130 Benin Bronzes held by German museums as well as those housed in the British Museum. Representatives of the Benin Royal Palace have also advocated for return of the objects. The Benin Dialogue Group, a working group including representatives from many prominent European museums, has become the primary channel for talks about restitution of the artworks. Although some objects have been repatriated, with Germany having taken the lead in restitutions, the British Museum has been a conspicuous holdout. The British Museum seeks to negotiate long-term “loans” of the looted work (back to the state from which it was looted) rather than restitution; it also pledges, through the Benin working group, “to work together to establish new museums in Benin City to facilitate permanent displays of objects." 

Another complicating matter is the question of to whom (or what entity) repatriated works belong. Both the Nigerian government and the Benin Royal Palace have advocated for restitution of the works. In March 2023, Nigerian President Buhari declared all restituted Benin Bronzes the personal property of the Royal Family in Benin City. The prospect of consigning works to the status of private property rather than public possessions has stalled some restitutions.

One useful resource that has emerged from the Benin Dialogue Group is the Digital Benin Project ( https://digitalbenin.org/ ), which offers virtual access to the artworks and a site for collecting information about works’ provenance.