In a movement that proliferates in the relationship between Europe and Africa after pressure from governments and civil society, Germany returned this Tuesday (20) to Nigeria more than 20 objects removed from the country’s territory at the time of British colonization.
Sculptures and metal pieces from the 16th and 18th centuries, considered valuable examples of African art, were removed by British troops from the region, which then corresponded to the Kingdom of Benin, and were later placed in museums in the United States and Europe.
The return of bronze objects to Nigeria, an independent country since 1960, comes in the wake of similar measures. In August, a London museum announced that it would return two looted pieces to the country.
In July, Belgium returned a historic mask taken from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The artifact, traditional of the Suku people, until then was exhibited at the Museum of Africa, based in the Belgian city of Tervuren.
The German chancellor, Annalena Baerbock, went to Abuja, the Nigerian capital, for the ceremony of returning the objects. “We are giving back a part of your history, a part of who you are,” she said. “We are here to correct a mistake.”
Many of the objects were taken from the region in 1897, when a British military expedition attacked and destroyed the city of Benin, located in the current Nigerian state of Edo, stealing thousands of sculptures.
Similar moves from Berlin are expected to be observed soon. Earlier this year, Germany signed a declaration with Nigeria to release some 1,130 bronze pieces captured in the country.
Benin, Nigeria’s neighboring nation, inaugurated this year an exhibition of works of art and treasures returned by France after two years of diplomatic negotiation. The 26 pieces were stolen in 1892 by colonial troops.
The Kingdom of Benin, which corresponds to part of the current territory of Nigeria, expanded through military conquests and trade. With the arrival of European colonizers in the 16th century, it became a stage for the trade of enslaved people, ivory and spices.
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