Restoring Royal Legacy: The Return of 119 Benin Bronzes from the Netherlands to Benin City

Between 2019 - 2026, Open Restitution Africa (ORA) set out to map and document the processes that underpin the restitution of African heritage material from the perspective of Africans actively engaged in restitution work. Data gathered from 2023 - 2025 yielded a first-of-its-kind qualitative dataset comprising 25 in-depth restitution case studies from 13 African countries. Collated through a bespoke research methodology that prioritised oral history and the lived experiences of African communities, ORA worked with case study researchers from various countries to document how restitution happens and who or what is involved in moving restitution forward at a grassroots level. The result is a data set that encompasses 200 years of African restitution efforts structured into a series of ‘events’ - consolidated moments, occurrences, and/or activities related to the restitution of a belonging or human ancestor within each case study. It is designed to offer a comparative and synthesized analysis of the processes that underpin the restitution of African material cultural heritage. It also serves as evidence-based that can influence future decision-making around restitution structures, policies, and governance frameworks. The case studies are drawn from Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This dataset focuses on The Return of 119 Benin Bronzes. Benin Bronzes are belongings from the historic Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria. The term refers to the vast collection of Edo belongings that were violently pillaged by the British during a punitive military expedition on the Royal Palace of Benin in 1897. This case study walks through the efforts that have been made to locate and repatriate these belongings to Nigeria and return them to the people of Edo State. It specifically hones in on the Benin Dialogue Group's efforts, and the physical and digital infrastructure that were put in place through it, which led to the repatriation of 119 Benin Bronzes from the Netherlands; the largest return of looted belonings to Nigeria to date.