Three Swiss Museums Return 18 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in Historic Handover

On Friday, three Swiss museums returned 18 royal and religious artifacts from the Kingdom of Benin to Nigeria. The handover ceremony occurred at the University of Zurich between Swiss Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider and Nigeria’s Minister of Culture Hannatu Musa Musawa. This event marks another significant step in the repatriation of the so-called Benin Bronzes.

Details of the Artifact Return

The returned items include 14 objects from the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich, two from Museum Rietberg Zurich, and two from the Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève. The Benin Bronzes consist of approximately 5,000 bronze sculptures and ceremonial objects looted during the 1897 punitive expedition by British forces.

Among the notable items returned is a Benin Eroro, a four-sided ceremonial bell integral to royal rites and political functions. This bell features depictions of deceased kings and queens, and its toll was believed to invoke ancestral spirits. Another returned artifact is a container for herbs and medicines, depicting the head of Ofoe, a divine emissary.

Future of the Returned Artifacts

According to the University of Zurich, some of the returned artifacts will be exhibited at the National Museum in Lagos, while the majority will be transferred to Edo State for temporary housing at the National Museum in Benin City. The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) will oversee the artifacts' care.

This handover is part of a broader trend of restitution, with the NCMM having received 113 Benin Bronzes from the Netherlands last year. This return was the largest single repatriation linked to the 1897 British looting.