Many years after British authorities looted the statues, the University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom has announced that it will return a Benin bronze to Nigeria.
The UK University made the announcement in a statement sent on Thursday, March 25. The school also announced that they had recently repatriated religious objects and historical remains to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The bronze sculpture depicting a Benin Oba (king) was purchased by the University at an auction in 1957 and is considered a fine example of Benin Late Period Art. Thousands of metal and ivory statues, as well as carvings, were looted by British troops after an invasion of Benin City in 1897. They were sold to collections, offered to museums as gifts, or auctioned off by art dealers.
This is a statement tweeted by the university ;
