- Germany has around 1,100 of the 16th- to 18th-century artefacts, split between some 20 museums.
- Thousands of Benin bronzes are scattered around European museums after being looted by the British.
- Nigeria plans to build a museum in Benin City in southern Edo state, where it hopes to house them.
Germany signed an agreement on Friday, to begin sending hundreds of Benin bronzes back to what is now Nigeria, marking the most significant effort by a European country to return the looted artworks.
After Germany announced last year that it would begin returning the bronzes, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Culture Minister Claudia Roth signed the agreement with their Nigerian counterparts in Berlin.
The first two artworks — the head of a king and a plaque depicting three warriors — were on Friday handed over to representatives from Nigeria.
“Today we have reason to celebrate, because we have reached a historic agreement — the Benin bronzes are returning home,” Baerbock said.
“These pieces are not only magnificent artefacts — they are some of Africa’s greatest treasures. But they are also telling a story of colonial violence,” she said.
Thousands of Benin bronzes, metal plaques and sculptures that once decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin are now scattered around European museums after being looted by the British at the end of the 19th century.
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