The Nigerian government is preparing a formal request for the return of Benin Bronzes held by American collector Robert Owen Lehman. These sacred artifacts, looted during Britain’s 1897 invasion of the Benin Kingdom (now Edo State, Nigeria), have remained in Lehman’s possession despite long-standing calls for repatriation. Sources at Aso Rock told Huhuonline.com that President Bola Tinubu is privately outraged by Lehman’s reversal on an earlier commitment to return the bronzes. “The President feels betrayed,” said one official. “These items are part of our cultural soul.”
The situation escalated when a source at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), where the bronzes were exhibited in April, revealed that US President Donald Trump personally intervened to block their return after Donald Trump Jr. suggested using the bronzes as centerpiece displays at his new Washington, DC $500,000 annual membership club. “These bronzes are not trinkets of conquest. They are sacred expressions of a people’s dignity, violently stolen in an era of colonial darkness,” said the MFA source. “Their retention is a continuing act of dispossession.”
Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) had been in discussions with the MFA over the bronzes’ repatriation. But instead of returning the works to Nigeria, the MFA returned them to Lehman—a major setback. A diplomat at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington condemned the move: “These sacred artifacts are not mere decorations. They are cultural soulprints—testaments to a civilization interrupted by fire, force, and imperial pillage.”
The Nigerian government has contacted the U.S. State Department through diplomatic channels and is exploring legal and public avenues to pressure for restitution. “If voluntary restitution fails, we reserve the right to pursue legal remedies and petition international bodies. In the name of justice, memory, and humanity, we call for the restoration of what was stolen—not only as artifacts but as fragments of our collective soul,” a government official stated.
MFA Reverses Course, Returns Bronzes to Collector
In April 2025, the MFA closed its Benin Kingdom Gallery and returned 29 bronzes to Robert Owen Lehman—banking heir and filmmaker—after failing to reach a donation agreement. Lehman had previously pledged the bronzes to the museum, many of which were looted during the 1897 British expedition to Benin City.
The MFA retains only five Benin Bronzes from previous Lehman donations. These will go on display in the Art of Africa Gallery in June. One additional piece, a commemorative head outside Benin before 1897, remains on loan. “This underscores the legal and ethical complexities of cultural restitution,” said MFA Director Matthew Teitelbaum. “We strive for ethical stewardship, but without an agreement, the gallery was unsustainable.” The MFA had led American efforts in provenance research, but its failure to secure Lehman’s cooperation highlights the fragile nature of private-loan arrangements.
Background: The Looting of Benin
Artists from the Benin Kingdom, located in present-day Nigeria, created bronze and ivory masterpieces that were commissioned by the Oba (king). In 1897, British troops invaded Benin City, occupied the palace, exiled Oba Ovonramwen, and looted approximately 4,000 objects from his treasury. Many works in the Lehman Collection, which was formed in the 1970s and 1980s through purchase at public auction and from dealers, can be traced to the attack on Benin in 1897. Between 2012 and 2020, Lehman donated a total of five Benin Kingdom objects that are now part of the MFA’s collection. While the remaining works from the pledge are being returned to Lehman, several of the objects in the Museum’s collection will go on view in late June in the Art of Africa Gallery. The MFA continues to seek a resolution regarding the ownership and display of the Benin Kingdom works in its collection.
Nigeria is also advancing efforts to recover over 1,000 bronzes from Germany following an agreement with the Oba of Benin. The culture ministry is working with UNESCO to develop a new national museum in Abuja to house the returned treasures.
The situation with the Lehman collection underscores the complexities involved in the restitution of cultural artifacts, particularly when legal ownership and ethical considerations intersect. While some institutions, like the Smithsonian, have taken steps to return Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, the MFA’s experience highlights the challenges that can arise when artifacts are held on loan or under conditional agreements. The broader conversation about the repatriation of cultural heritage continues, with stakeholders advocating for the return of artifacts to their countries of origin. The case of the Benin Bronzes at the MFA serves as a poignant example of the ongoing debates and negotiations in the realm of cultural restitution.
