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
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: No new date or venue has been set for the meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff, and no negotiations will take place until the outcome is guaranteed
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted

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

Senate blames Secret Service failures for Trump assassination attempt

South Korea warns US chip tariffs threaten economy, global supply

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

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

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