The University of Oxford owns 145 artefacts plundered by British forces during an attack on the city of Benin in 1897 that are likely to be returned to Nigeria, according to a report.
The university’s Pitt Rivers Museum owns over two-thirds of the looted artefacts, while 45 are on loan. Brass plaques, bronze figures, carved ivory tusks, musical instruments, weaving equipment, jewellery, pottery and coral pieces from the 13th century are among the items on display.
According to a preliminary investigation by Dan Hicks, a curator at the museum, another 15 articles may have been seized during the military raid, but their origin has not been determined.
Jesus College, Cambridge, and Aberdeen University became the first British universities to repatriate Benin bronzes to Nigeria. Germany has also pledged to return the bronze medals from Benin in the upcoming year.
“We look forward to a similar return of our artefacts by other institutions that are in possession of them,” Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s minister of information and culture, said.
Around 10,000 artefacts taken from Benin are currently in 165 museums and private collections worldwide. About 900 of them are displayed in the British Museum.
