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Benin: France Hands Back Looted Artifacts to Benin
DW, 10 November 2021
French forces stole the artifacts from the West African nation amid a bloody colonial takeover. After over a century, the items are finally heading home. Read more »
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Africa: France Hands Back Benin Cultural Treasures At Historic Museum Ceremony
RFI, 28 October 2021
French President Emmanuel Macron attended a ceremony to formally hand back 26 items taken from the kingdom of Dahomey in the south of present-day Benin, currently exhibited at the… Read more »
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Nigeria: British University Hands Over Stolen Benin Bronze Cockerel to Nigeria
Premium Times, 27 October 2021
The Nigerian delegation is expected to decide decide how and when to move the Okukur. Read more »
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Nigeria: 124 Years After, Cambridge University Hands Over Benin Bronze Cockerel to Nigeria
This Day, 28 October 2021
The Jesus College at Cambridge University, London, has handed over to Nigeria the Okukor, a sculpture that was looted by British troops in 1897, setting a precedent expected to put… Read more »
France Hands Back Looted Artifacts to Benin
France has handed back 26 treasures that were looted from Benin during the colonial period, fulfilling a promise made by President Emmanuel Macron to restore a lost part of Africa's heritage.
Benin President Patrice Talon and Culture Minister Jean-Michel Abimbola travelled to Paris to bring home the artefacts that were stolen by French troops from the royal treasure-house of Abomey in 1892.
The Benin Bronzes are a group of more than a thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin. Most European former colonial powers have begun a process in recent years, of returning looted artefacts to the former colonies in Africa and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Britain returned to Nigeria a statue of a bronze cockerel looted from the Kingdom of Benin, now Nigeria's Edo State, during the colonial era. The statue, known as the "Okukur", was taken by British colonial forces in 1897 and given to Jesus College in 1905 by the father of a student.
InFocus
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After years of pressure, western countries are finally returning priceless artefacts and artworks that were looted from from Nigeria during colonial times and put on display ... Read more »
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Archaeologists and provenance researchers argue, that looted artifacts continue to circulate on antiquities markets with impunity. In their view, collectors and dealers are not ... Read more »
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French President Emmanuel Macron last year announced the return of 26 historic artifacts to Benin. Europe is believed to have about 90% of Africa's cultural heritage. Benin was the ... Read more »
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French authorities have said it will return 26 artworks looted from Benin during the colonial era. The pieces are at the Quai Branly museum in Paris. Senegal will also ... Read more »
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Abby Tijani, the director-general of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, has said that the German, Nigerian and British governments have agreed to build a museum in ... Read more »
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The University of Aberdeen in Scotland is set to return a Benin bronze sculpture to Nigeria, saying it was acquired by British soldiers in 1897 in "reprehensible ... Read more »
