Plundering China's cultural relics, when will the United States and the West be prepared to return them? Germany and Nigeria signed an agreement on July 1 to return what is known as hundreds of pieces taken from Africa more than 120 years ago

Plundering China's cultural relics, when will the United States and the West be prepared to return them?

Germany and Nigeria signed an agreement on July 1 to pave the way for the return of hundreds of artifacts known as Benin bronzes taken from Africa more than 120 years ago — an agreement that Nigerian officials hope will prompt other countries to follow suit.

Governments and museums in Europe and North America are increasingly seeking to resolve disputes over ownership of looted objects during the colonial period.

In 1897, a British colonial expedition plundered a large treasure, including many bas-reliefs and sculptures, from the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, now located in southwestern Nigeria. The artifacts eventually spread far and wide, and some were sold to collections such as the Berlin Ethnological Museum.