British Museum under pressure after Netherlands hands back Benin Bronzes
Eppo Bruins, the Dutch culture minister, said that the bronzes – looted and then sold off after a 1897 British military raid on Benin City, the capital of the historical kingdom of Benin – were 'indispensable to Nigeria'.
Nigeria responded by saying it hoped that the Dutch decision would serve as a 'good example'.
Britain has long faced calls to return Benin Bronzes held by its museums, and the Horniman Museum, University of Cambridge, and the University of Oxford have all sought to return their collections.
However, the British Museum is bound by law not to give away objects in its own collection.
On Wednesday, the Netherlands said that it would return 119 artefacts, comprising 113 bronzes that are part of the Dutch state collection, and the remainder from the municipality of Rotterdam.
A statement from the Dutch embassy in Abuja said: 'The Netherlands is returning the Benin Bronzes unconditionally, recognising that the objects were looted during the British attack on Benin City in 1897, and should have never ended up in the Netherlands.'
Mr Bruins added: 'This restitution contributes to redressing a historical injustice that is still being felt today. Cultural heritage is essential for telling and living the history of a country and a community.
'The Benin Bronzes are indispensable to Nigeria. It is good that they are going back.'
The historical kingdom of Benin is now part of Nigeria's Edo state.
Olugible Holloway, the director general of the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments, said the Dutch return would be the biggest single repatriation of Benin antiquities linked to the 1897 British expedition.
He said: 'We thank the Netherlands for their cooperation and hope this will set a good example for other nations of the world in terms of repatriation of lost or looted antiquities.'
British forces captured Benin in 1897 and looted 900 brass relief plaques, probably dating between from 1500 to the mid-1600s, according to the British Museum.
The plaques decorated pillars in the ruler's palace compounds, and depicted court life and ritual, as well as successful military campaigns.
The British Museum currently holds more than 900 objects from the historical kingdom of Benin.
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