Germany returns looted art from Nigeria. These are statues and other objects from the former Kingdom of Benin that were stolen by the British and ended up in German museums.
The German government spoke of a historic agreement that had been negotiated over the years. According to Berlin, these works are among the greatest treasures in Africa. Meanwhile, its history is also one of colonialism and violence, stressed Foreign Minister Annalena Birbock. Among the oldest bronze statues today is a bust of a king standing on an altar in honor of a king.
When British soldiers invaded Benin in 1897, they looted the royal palace and stole more than 5,000 valuables. More than a thousand of these items are still in Germany.
As such, Billbook describes moving the first business to Nigeria as the beginning. “It’s bad to steal bronze, it’s bad to preserve and preserve.”
The Kingdom of Benin emerged from the 17th century until the British invasion of 1897. The empire existed in what is now the state of Edo in Nigeria. The kingdom had nothing to do with what is now the West African state of Benin.