World · Europe · 1 hr ago
Swedish museums return Benin objects to Nigeria and sacred items to Bolivia
Swedish museums are returning objects to Nigeria and Bolivia after agreeing to requests for their return three years ago.
At a ceremony in Lagos, 39 objects from the former Kingdom of Benin were handed to Nigeria.
The objects were among thousands taken by British troops in 1897 from the Edo people, in what is now Nigeria.
Sweden also began sending 77 objects to Bolivia, including the skull of a Kallawaya healer, for the National Museum of Archaeology in La Paz.
Those objects date from around 600 to 1000 AD and were looted from graves in the 1970s before being sold to a Swedish museum.
Six Benin objects will stay in Sweden on a ten-year loan.
The returns follow similar moves by Germany, the Netherlands and Cambridge University, while the British Museum has ruled out an imminent return of its Benin collection.
Swedish museums have begun returning cultural objects to Nigeria and Bolivia.
At a ceremony in Lagos, 39 objects from the former Kingdom of Benin were formally restituted to Nigeria.
A further 77 objects from Bolivia’s Niño Korin village, including a healer’s skull, were taken from storage in Gothenburg for transport to La Paz.
The Benin objects were looted by British troops in 1897, while the Bolivian objects were taken in grave robberies in the 1970s.
Six Benin objects will remain in Sweden on a ten-year loan.
- Who
- Sweden’s National Museums of World Culture returned objects to Nigeria and Bolivia.
- What
- It formally restituted 39 Benin objects to Nigeria and began transferring 77 objects to Bolivia.
- When
- The return process began last week, according to the article.
- Where
- The Nigerian handover took place in Lagos; the Bolivian objects were moved from storage in Gothenburg for transport to La Paz.
- Why
- The returns followed restitution requests and signals from Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments that it would welcome the objects.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Swedish government agreed to two restitution requests.
Swedish museums began the final phases of returning objects to Nigeria and Bolivia.
39 Benin objects were formally restituted to Nigeria.
77 objects from Niño Korin village were set to be transported from Gothenburg to the National Museum of Archaeology in La Paz.
- Nigeria handover
- 39 Benin objects
- Bolivia transfer
- 77 objects from Niño Korin village
- Healer’s remains
- Skull of a Kallawaya healer included among the Bolivian objects
- Benin loan
- Six objects to remain in Sweden for ten years
- Benin looting
- British troops looted the objects in 1897
What people are saying
Returning violently looted belongings to their communities of origin is a necessary first step.
I hope [this] is part of a broader shift in how our museums relate to the world around us
It is seen as common sense, moral justice and in line with the Swedish self-perception of being a progressive country which takes international responsibility.