Lambeth Palace to return Benin bronzes to Nigeria
The sculptures were a gift to a former Archbishop, the late Lord Runcie, in 1982
LAMBETH PALACE
Bronze statues that were presented to Archbishop Runcie in 1982 by the Kingdom of Benin, in West Africa
Bronze statues that were presented to Archbishop Runcie in 1982 by the Kingdom of Benin, in West Africa
LAMBETH PALACE has agreed to return to Nigeria two bronze busts that were a gift to a former Archbishop of Canterbury, the late Lord Runcie, 40 years ago.
The statues were presented to Archbishop Runcie while in office in 1982 by the Kingdom of Benin in West Africa — now southern Nigeria — and are among a large collection of gifts held at the Palace. Although the artefacts were, therefore, not among those looted by British forces during a military campaign in Benin in 1897, there have been widespread calls for African treasures to be repatriated.