Returning Benin Bronzes
In 2004, a chance encounter in Nigeria led to the return of two looted art treasures
Witness History · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
In 2004, a chance encounter in Nigeria led to the return of two of the country’s ancient artworks, the looted Benin Bronzes.
The treasures were among thousands stolen from Benin City by the British Army in 1897, and acquired by museums around the world.
More than a century later, Tim Awoyemi and Steve Dunstone were on a charity trip when they were approached by campaigners demanding the bronzes return.
The two men vowed to help, but it took them 10 years before they were able to fulfil that promise, as Tim Awoyemi tells Jane Wilkinson.
(Photo: Benin Bronzes, Nigeria, 2014. Credit: Kelvin Ikpea/AFP via Getty Images)