The University of Cambridge today announced that it has transferred legal ownership of 116 Benin artefacts in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) collections to Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), operating under a management agreement with the Benin Royal Palace.
The decision follows the formal request from the NCMM, made in January 2022, for the return of artefacts taken by British armed forces during the sacking of Benin City in 1897. The University’s Council supported the claim and authorisation from the UK Charity Commission was subsequently granted.
Physical transfer of the majority of the artefacts will be arranged in due course. A small number of artefacts will remain on loan and on display at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, to be accessible to museum visitors, students and researchers.
The University’s decision is in line with similar commitments made by other UK, US and European museums.
The 116 objects, primarily made of brass but also including ivory and wooden sculptures, were taken when British soldiers sacked Benin City in February 1897, during the so-called ‘Punitive Expedition’ mounted in response to a violent trade dispute the previous month.
As one of several UK museums with significant holdings of material taken from Benin in 1897, the MAA has been involved in long-term research and engagement projects in partnership with Nigerian stakeholders and representatives from the Royal Court of the Benin kingdom, as well as artists, academics and students from Nigeria.
MAA curators have participated in study and liaison visits to Benin City since 2018, meeting the Oba, members of the Court, state and federal government leaders, and cultural representatives. The University also hosted the Benin Dialogue Group in 2017, and welcomed NCMM and Royal Court representatives to Cambridge in 2021.
Olugbile Holloway, Director-General of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, said: “This development marks a pivotal point in our dialogue with the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at University of Cambridge and it is our hope that this will spur other museums to head in a similar direction. The return of cultural items for us is not just the return of the physical object, but also the restoration of the pride and dignity that was lost when these objects were taken in the first place. We would like to thank the Honourable Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa for all her invaluable support in making this happen and also we applaud Cambridge for taking this step in the right direction. We look forward to welcoming the artefacts back home soon.”
Professor Nicholas Thomas, Director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, said: “It has been immensely rewarding to engage in dialogue with colleagues from the National Commission of Museums and Monuments, members of the Royal Court, and Nigerian scholars, students and artists over the last ten years. Over the period, support has mounted, nationally and internationally, for the repatriation of artefacts that were appropriated in the context of colonial violence. This return has been keenly supported across the University community.”
