University of Aberdeen to become one of the first UK institutions to return colonial-era artefact

Benin Bronze artefact was acquired in ‘extremely immoral’ fashion, says university

Neil Curtis, Head of Museums and Special Collections posing by a bronze sculpture depicting an "Oba" (king) of Benin acquired by the University at auction in 1957

(University of Aberdeen/AFP via G)

The University of Aberdeen has pledged to return a Benin Bronze to Nigeria “within weeks”, making it one of the first public institutions to do so.

The sculpture of an Oba, or ruler, of the Kingdom of Benin, had been “blatantly looted” by British soldiers more than a century ago and auctioned to Western museums and collectors.

The Benin Bronze’s presence at the university marked one of the “most notorious examples of the pillaging of cultural treasures associated with 19th century European colonial expansion”, it said.

The artefact was acquired by the university in 1957 at an auction and is considered “a superb example of Benin Late Period Art”.

The university said it reached out to authorities in 2019 to negotiate its return through Professor Bankole Sodipo, professor of law in Babcock University, Nigeria.

The Nigerian Federal Government gave its backing through the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and its minister, Ahaji Lai Mohamed.

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Neil Curtis, Aberdeen’s head of museums and special collections, said that an ongoing review of the University of Aberdeen’s collections “identified the Head of an Oba as having been acquired in a way that we now consider to have been extremely immoral”.

Professor George Boyne, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, welcomed the university’s governing body’s decision to support to return of the Benin bronze.

“This is in line with our values as an international, inclusive university and our foundational purpose of being open to all and dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the service of others,” he added.

“It would not have been right to have retained an item of such great cultural importance that was acquired in such reprehensible circumstances.”

Mr Mohammed described the university’s decision as a “step in the right direction” and urged other institutions in possession of Nigerian antiquities to “emulate this to bring fairness to the burning issue of repatriation”.

Practical arrangements for the sculpture’s return are currently being made and a celebratory event will be held to mark the occasion, said the university.

There has been mounting pressure for the sculptures and other artefacts taken by colonial powers to be returned to their places of origin.

Several museums, including the British Museum which contains hundreds of the sculptures, have formed a Benin Dialogue Group to discuss displaying them in Benin City, with some officially on loan.

Meanwhile, Germany is in talks to repatriate 440 Benin Bronzes as soon as the autumn, according to reports. The University of Cambridge’s Jesus College said it had finalised approvals in December to return another Bronze.

Benin City is the capital of Edo state, where the governor plans to build a centre to study returned artefacts by the end of this year and a permanent museum by the end of 2025.

The governor said: “I am looking forward to working with the Legacy Restoration Trust, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the Royal Palace and the University of Aberdeen  to ensure that this object is returned safely and securely, and eventually housed in the Edo Museum of West African Art.”

Additional reporting by Reuters