Sweden to Return 40 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria and Indigenous Remains to Bolivia

By Elena Vasquez

Sweden will return 40 sacred artifacts from the Kingdom of Benin to Nigeria, one of the largest repatriations to date of the works known collectively as the Benin Bronzes.

Nigerian media report that a delegation from the Benin Palace in Lagos is expected to receive the artworks today. Oba Ewuare II, the monarch of Benin, described the handover as years in the making. Since ascending to the throne, Ewuare has advocated fiercely for the return of bronze sculptures, ceremonial objects, and ivory carvings held in museum and private collections worldwide, with considerable success.

What did the monarch say?

"We have been trying, through my grandfather's efforts, to bring back our artifacts," Ewuare said in a statement. "My grandfather succeeded, my father succeeded more, and I think now history is obvious to everybody. We are doing our best to triple and triple all those efforts of our forefathers."

The quote frames repatriation as a three-generation royal project. In plain terms: each reign has recovered more than the last, and the current monarch intends to accelerate the pace.

Why are the Benin Bronzes contested?

British forces looted roughly 5,000 royal and religious objects from the Kingdom of Benin in 1897, during a punitive expedition through what is now Nigeria. The artifacts were then dispersed through illicit channels among museums and private collections worldwide.

That number gives the scale of the problem: Sweden's 40 objects represent less than one percent of the total plundered. The works have become emblematic of efforts by formerly colonized countries to reclaim their cultural heritage, and of the broader—and often contentious—debate over the ethics of ethnographic collections.

In recent years, public sympathies have shifted toward formerly colonized countries, prompting a wave of repatriations. Museums across the United States have returned Benin Bronzes and other ethnographic objects to their countries of origin, as have institutions in the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland.

What else is Sweden returning?

The Swedish government also announced today that it will return 77 objects belonging to the Kallawaya people, including human remains, to the Archaeological Museum in La Paz, Bolivia.

The remains were taken out of Bolivia illegally. They remained in the collection of the World Culture Museum until 2023, when the Swedish government announced their transfer of ownership.

Sweden's dual announcement—one day, two continents, 117 objects in total—signals that state-level repatriation is moving from isolated gestures to coordinated policy. Whether other holders of the remaining Benin Bronzes follow Sweden's pace will define the next chapter of the restitution debate.