The Benin Bronzes: Why Repatriation Matters

The Benin Bronzes, displayed in museums around the world, have been steeped in controversy for more than a century. We’re talking about thousands of treasures stolen from the Kingdom of Benin, in present-day Nigeria, by British troops during colonial times. Since the 1930s, Africans have campaigned for these artworks to be returned. For decades, some of those Benin Bronzes were on display at Smithsonian’s National Museum for African Art, in Washington. The Smithsonian has now joined European museums in repatriating some of the looted artifacts in their collections. Hayde Adams, host of Straight Talk Africa, visited the museum to find out if their repatriation could change the way African art is acquired and exhibited in future.