Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Trump: We are very close to an agreement in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump: I will most likely go to Egypt.
Russian agency: Russia will conduct a nuclear test if the US does
Al-Nakhalah: We are the rightful owners, and we must fight to retrieve our rights
Al-Nakhalah: The enemy and its allies must know that we can never surrender to their terms and diktats after all the sacrifices made
Al-Nakhalah: The prisoner exchange clause can be completed in the next few days, and thus we will have pulled the [explosion] fuse and removed the enemy's justifications for aggression
Al-Nakhalah: The Resistance has expressed its willingness to negotiate on the basis that there are items that can be dealt with positively, the first of which is the prisoner exchange item
Al-Nakhalah: Trump's plan entails the Palestinian people's declaration of complete surrender to the enemy
PIJ Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, in an address aired on Al Mayadeen: The Resistance is engaging in a fierce negotiating battle under the so-called Trump plan
Russian Federation Council approves joint military cooperation agreement with Cuba

New York Museum Returns 3 Artworks Looted from Nigeria

  • By Al Mayadeen
  • Source: Agencies
  • 23 Nov 2021 18:41
3 Min Read

In a western bid to compensate for their colonization of Africa, the New York Met Museum returned three artworks to Nigeria, which were looted under British rule.

  • x
  • Tuesday's ceremony featuring the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States and the Director-General of the Met museum (Credit: the Metropolitan Museum of Art)
    Tuesday's ceremony featuring the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States and the Director-General of the Met museum (Credit: the Metropolitan Museum of Art)

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art returned Monday three artworks looted from Nigeria under the British colonial rule of the African nation.

Museums in countries exploited by western nations over the past centuries have been making increasing efforts to repatriate treasures stolen from their land by colonizers.

The artworks returned to Nigeria are two 16th-century brass plaques and a 14th-century brass head from the Kingdom of Benin, which is now part of modern-day Nigeria.

  • “Warrior Chief,” a 16th-century brass plaque, one of the artifacts the Met Museum returned to Nigeria
    “Warrior Chief,” a 16th-century brass plaque, one of the artifacts the Met Museum returned to Nigeria (Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art)

The British occupation had stolen the artifacts from the Nigerian Royal palace in 1897. They then moved them to the British Museum in London until 1950, when the United Kingdom repatriated them.

  • The interior of the Benin king’s compound burned during the siege of Benin city in 1897, with bronze plaques in the foreground (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
    The interior of the Benin king’s compound burned during the siege of Benin city in 1897, with bronze plaques in the foreground (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Related News

Trump hints at visit to Egypt amid ongoing Gaza truce talks

US Air Force worker sentenced for leaking data on dating app

Following their return to the National Museum in Lagos, the artifacts re-entered the art market, eventually ending up in the hands of a private investor, who then donated them to the Met in 1991, where they were exhibited until now.

Nigeria had made efforts in early October to retrieve artworks looted by Britain by offering them a piece of his own making in return for looted artworks. Britain then accepted his artwork without repatriating any artifacts.

On Monday, the transfer of the artwork was confirmed at a signing in New York by Met director Max Hollein and Aba Isa Tijani, the director-general of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments of Nigeria.

Tijani, quoted in the release, congratulated the Met "for the transparency it has shown" with Nigeria's minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, calling on "other museums to take a cue from this" decision.

"The art world can be a better place if every possessor of cultural artifacts considers the rights and feelings of the dispossessed," Mohammed said.

  • “Junior Court Official,” the second plaque from the Met
    “Junior Court Official,” the second plaque from the Met (Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art)

"The Met is pleased to have initiated the return of these works and is committed to transparency and the responsible collecting of cultural property," Hollein claimed after his museum exhibited these stolen treasures for some 30 years.

The restitution of stolen artworks in Africa by colonial armies has affected institutions across the western world who had been reaping the benefits of the work of others, which it is no stranger to.

Earlier this month, Benin welcomed back nearly 30 royal treasures looted from the West African state during France's colonial rule more than 130 years ago.

Hopes for retrieving stolen treasures and artifacts from the west have risen throughout Africa, colonialism's most affected country in terms of looted artifacts.

  • United States
  • Nigeria
  • New York
  • Benin
  • France
  • United Kingdom

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025
The Palestinian resistance and the people of Gaza showed that after combating Israeli aggression for two years, they remain victorious in the face of oppression (Mahdi Rteil/Al Mayadeen English)

Al-Aqsa Flood two years on, a tale of victory

  • Politics
  • 6 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
An Israeli armored vehicle moves on a street of a local market during a military raid in the West Bank refugee camp of Balata, Wednesday, October 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli settlers kill Palestinian youth near Ramallah amid raids

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran interested in resuming nuclear talks: Lavrov

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a news conference at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, April 25, 2025 (AP)
Politics

IMF head flags US budget, Europe Defense spending challenges

Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at UN headquarters (AP)
Politics

Meloni faces ICC complaint over Gaza genocide complicity with Israelis

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS