As of: 07/01/2022 5:01 p.m
On Friday, representatives from Germany and Nigeria signed a declaration of intent to return the stolen Benin bronzes. What kind of objects are they? And what happens now?
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Dealing with colonial art has been discussed for a long time. In concrete terms, this involves, among other things, valuable Benin bronzes. Now Germany and Nigeria are paving the way for a new way of dealing with the art treasures. This afternoon, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth signed a declaration of intent with their Nigerian counterparts to return the property.
Benin bronzes in the inventory of around 20 German museums
They are precious bronzes that can be found in around 20 German museums: around 1,100 of the pieces from the palace of what was then the Kingdom of Benin, which today belongs to Nigeria. For example, finely crafted sculptures from the 16th century and interesting historical objects such as hairpins or altarpieces.
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