The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston, has returned two historic Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, handing over a bronze relief plaque and a commemorative head in a ceremony held at Nigeria House in New York.
MFA officials presented the objects to representatives of the Oba of Benin and Nigeria’s diplomatic mission in what the museum described as a long-planned act of restitution. The transfer took place at Nigeria House, the building that houses Nigeria’s permanent mission to the United Nations and its consulate in New York.
The returned works were among thousands of brass and bronze pieces removed from the Benin Kingdom after a British punitive expedition in 1897. Nigerian officials said the artefacts were formally repatriated to the federal government and received in the country later this year, a milestone in ongoing efforts to reclaim cultural heritage taken during the colonial era.
Museum director Matthew Teitelbaum and senior MFA staff took part in the presentation; the MFA said it was “deeply gratifying” to transfer the pieces to their rightful custodians after extended provenance research and discussions with Nigerian authorities. Nigerian cultural and royal representatives who accepted the items described the return as an important step toward restoring the kingdom’s patrimony.
The MFAs’ move followed a wider wave of repatriations this year, including significant returns from European institutions, most notably the Netherlands’ handover of 119 Benin Bronzes in June, and reflected growing international momentum to resolve long-standing restitution claims. Nigerian officials and the Oba’s office emphasized collaboration with museums and the National Commission for Museums and Monuments on conservation and display plans for returned objects.
Officials say the two pieces will join other repatriated works in Nigeria while long-term arrangements for conservation and public display are finalized. For many in Nigeria and the diaspora, each return carries cultural and symbolic weight: the bronzes are not only masterpieces of West African metalworking but also central to the history and identity of the Benin Kingdom.
