A UK public museum returns its bronze collection to Nigeria for the first time

For the first time, a public museum in the United Kingdom has returned its bronze collection to Nigeria. It is theHorniman Museum and Gardens, located in South London, which handed back during an official ceremony on Monday, November 28, 2022, to Nigerian officials six objects looted from Benin City in 1897. These anticipate the return of seventy-two objects that London museum trustees agreed to transfer ownership of in July as a “moral and appropriate” response to a request from the National Commission for Museums and Monuments of Nigeria (NCMM). Four of the six objects that were returned had been on display in the Horniman’s World Gallery, and now in their place are blank mounts next to labels communicating that the objects are to return to Nigeria.

The six objects redelivered at the ceremony held are a brass plaque depicting Oba Orhogbua (c. 1550-1578) holding a staff, symbolizing authority and power, and with Iwu tattoos; a brass plaque depicting Agban, the Ezomo (deputy commander-in-chief of the Benin army), toward the end of Oba Orhogbua’s reign and the beginning of Oba Ehengbuda’s reign (c. 1578-1608); a brass hip ornament depicting a face or mask; an ivory staff depicting a figure of an Oba carved in relief; an ivory bracelet carved with heads and abstract shapes, part of the royal insignia; a carved wooden frame, probably for a mirror.

Museum founder Frederick Horniman purchased the ivory objects and wooden frame from Mr. WJ Hider, of the British Navy, in March 1897. Hider participated in General Rawson’s military raid on Benin City in February 1897 and was personally involved in the looting. Richard Quick, the first curator of the Horniman Museum, purchased the plaques and hip ornament on October 4, 1899, as part of a collection of high-ranking Benin City objects, from James Tingley who lived in Forest Hill near the museum, but it is unclear how he acquired the objects.

Horniman Museum and Gardens Trustees Chairman Michael Salter-Church said, "The Horniman trustees’ decision to return the objects looted from Benin City in 1897 culminates today with the transfer of ownership to Nigeria. However, it does not represent the end of the process. We hope it actually marks the beginning of a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship between the Horniman and colleagues in Nigeria."

“The National Commission for Museums and Monuments is delighted with this signing of the relocation agreement in Nigeria and looks forward to mutual collaborations with the Horniman Museum and Gardens, including object loans, exchanges, traveling exhibitions, research, and so on,” commented the director general of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments of Nigeria (NCMM), Professor Abba Tijani. “I call on other museums to follow Horniman’s example,” he concluded.

Photo by Joshua Bratt

A UK public museum returns its bronze collection to Nigeria for the first time

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