Videos · September 23, 2026 · 35 seconds

The Benin Bronzes the British Museum Can't Give Back

Name: The Benin Bronzes the British Museum Can't Give Back
Uploaded: 2026-09-23T16:59:00.000Z
Duration: 35 s
Description: Berlin, Washington, Cambridge, and Zurich have all handed Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria. The British Museum, which holds more of them than anyone, cannot. A 1963 Act of Parliament forbids it, a judge ruled that no moral obligation overrides it, and Parliament just spent two years making sure it stays that way.

Berlin, Washington, Cambridge, and Zurich have all handed Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria. The British Museum, which holds more of them than anyone, cannot. A 1963 Act of Parliament forbids it, a judge ruled that no moral obligation overrides it, and Parliament just spent two years making sure it stays that way.

Read the full articleby Adam Canissario

Transcript

THE BENIN BRONZES LONDON CAN'T RETURN

[THE LOOT] Benin City, 1897.

In 1897, British troops burned the royal palace in what is now Nigeria and took about 2,500 objects.
Most of these "Benin Bronzes" are really brass plaques and heads from the royal court.
The British Museum now holds 944 of them, more than any other museum.

[THE LAW] It can't give one back.

A 1963 law bars the museum from giving away anything in its collection.
In 2005 a judge ruled that it could not return even art the Nazis stole.
Berlin and Cambridge returned theirs. London cannot until Parliament changes the law.

Read the full article at noozify.com. Images: Vassil (CC0), R. K. Granville (PD) Igor Sporynin / Unsplash. Music: an original score for Noozify.