British soldiers carried them out of the burning palace. In February 1897, a British military force attacked Benin City, capital of the Kingdom of Benin in what is now southern Nigeria. They looted thousands of artworks, including brass plaques, cast heads and carved ivory tusks, from the royal palace. Known collectively as the Benin Bronzes, the objects became some of the most famous African art in the world and the centre of a long fight for restitution.
The Kingdom of Benin
The Kingdom of Benin was a powerful West African state ruled by the Oba. Its royal guilds of brass casters and ivory carvers produced works that recorded history, honoured ancestors and decorated the palace.
The art
The Benin Bronzes include plaques showing court scenes, warriors and Portuguese traders, commemorative heads of past Obas and queen mothers, and carved tusks. Many are made of brass rather than true bronze.
The 1897 attack
In January 1897, a British party led by acting consul James Phillips tried to visit Benin during an important festival, against the Oba’s wishes. Most of the party were killed. Britain responded with the punitive expedition of February 1897.
Looting
The British force captured and burned much of Benin City. Soldiers took thousands of objects, many of which were auctioned to pay for the expedition. Oba Ovonramwen was exiled to Calabar.
Scattered
The bronzes went to the British Museum and to museums in Germany, the United States and elsewhere, as well as private collections.
Calls for return
Nigeria and the Benin royal court have long demanded the return of the objects. For decades, many museums refused.
Germany returns
In 2022, Germany signed an agreement to transfer ownership of more than 1,100 Benin Bronzes in its museums to Nigeria and returned an initial group of objects. Other institutions, including some in the United States and Britain, have also returned items.
Ownership questions
In 2023, a decree recognised the Oba of Benin as owner of returned bronzes, raising questions about where they would be displayed.
The British Museum
The British Museum holds the largest collection, about 900 objects. British law restricts it from permanently giving away items, and it has not returned them.
Artists today
Brass casters in Benin City’s Igun Street still practise the craft, continuing the guild tradition.
The Benin Bronzes were made to remember the kings of Benin. For more than a century, they have also been a record of what was taken in 1897.
