Nigeria says Boston's Museum of Fine Arts has returned two Benin Bronzes, a move officials call a "historic moment" for cultural restitution. NCMM director Olugbile Holloway and Culture Minister Hannatu Musa Musawa said the transfer restores an important part of Nigeria's history as talks continue to repatriate more pieces. The Bronzes — made from the 1500s and looted after the 1897 British capture of Benin City — remain dispersed worldwide. Disputes persist over custody: the Oba asserts royal ownership, while MOWAA denies plans to assume automatic custody.
Boston Museum of Fine Arts Returns Two Benin Bronzes to Nigeria — A "Historic Moment" for Cultural Restitution
Nigeria says Boston's Museum of Fine Arts has returned two Benin Bronzes, a move officials call a "historic moment" for cultural restitution. NCMM director Olugbile Holloway and Culture Minister Hannatu Musa Musawa said the transfer restores an important part of Nigeria's history as talks continue to repatriate more pieces. The Bronzes — made from the 1500s and looted after the 1897 British capture of Benin City — remain dispersed worldwide. Disputes persist over custody: the Oba asserts royal ownership, while MOWAA denies plans to assume automatic custody.
08:54 PM, 11/18/2025Culture
Boston Museum of Fine Arts returns two Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has returned two of the famed Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, officials said on Monday. Nigerian heritage authorities described the handover as a significant step in a long-running effort to restore artefacts taken during the 1897 British expedition to Benin City.
Olugbile Holloway, director of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), called the handover "the return of a huge part of Nigeria's history." Culture Minister Hannatu Musa Musawa described it as "a historic moment" and said negotiations to repatriate more pieces are ongoing.
The Benin Bronzes are a group of hundreds of plaques and sculptures produced in the Kingdom of Benin (in what is now southern Nigeria) from as early as the 1500s. Many were taken as spoils after British forces captured Benin City in 1897 and are now scattered across museums and private collections worldwide.
"While this moment is deeply symbolic for Benin, it also reflects Nigeria's wider struggle," Holloway said.
Several Western institutions — including museums in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany — have returned several hundred items in recent years, but many artefacts remain unaccounted for. Negotiations between Nigeria's government and Benin's traditional rulers have been ongoing for years as both sides seek a durable solution for restitution and custodianship.
Tensions continue over who should hold returned objects: the Oba of Benin maintains the works belong to the royal line, while some local officials have expressed concern that the newly built Museum of West African Arts (MOWAA) in Benin City might automatically assume custody. Leaders of MOWAA say they do not intend to take automatic ownership without agreement from appropriate authorities.
The Boston return forms part of a broader global movement toward restitution that raises complex questions about ownership, cultural heritage, conservation and public access to historically significant works.