Two Benin bronzes were returned to a traditional palace in Nigeria on Saturday, more than a century after being plundered by British troops, adding hope that thousands of artifacts could eventually be returned to their ancestral homeland.
Most of these artifacts were stolen in Europe by explorers and colonists from the once-mighty Kingdom of Benin (now southwestern Nigeria) and are one of Africa's most important legacies. According to the British Museum, they began as early as the 16th century.
In a colorful ceremony commemorating the sculpture of the rooster and the return of the head of Oba or the king, Charles Edosonmwan, a spokesman for the Oba Palace in Benin City, noted that some of the bronzes were preserved in New Zealand, the United States and Japan.
The two artifacts were handed over to the Nigeria High Commission in October by the University of Aberdeen and Jesus College at the University of Cambridge, but their ancestral homes have not yet been returned.
"They're not just art, they're things that emphasize our spiritual importance," Edosonmwan said in an interview during a ceremony attended by traditional leaders.
This return is another milestone in the struggle of African countries for many years to recover looted works, as many European institutions are grappling with the cultural heritage of colonialism.
French art historians estimate that about 90 percent of Africa's cultural heritage is believed to be in Europe. The Brownlee Dock Museum – Jacques Chirac in Paris alone has a collection of around 70,000 African objects, and the British Museum in London has tens of thousands of items.