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A mask bought in 2011 by the Rietberg Museum in Zurich: even a decade ago, the fact of it having been looted in 1897 was mainly viewed as a sign of its authenticity.
Museum Rietberg Zürich
This sculpture of an “Oba”, or a King from the Kingdom of Benin, was looted in 1897 and bought by the Museum of Cultures in Basel in 1899.
Museum Der Kulturen Basel / Omar Lemke
A 19th-century snake figure, looted in 1893 and sold by W.D. Webster to the Museum of Cultures in Basel.
Museum der Kulturen Basel / Omar Lemke
An 18th-century figure, looted in 1893, and which is now in Basel’s Museum of Cultures.
Museum der Kulturen Basel / Omar Lemke
An altar bell, probably looted in 1893, and bought in 1958 by the Musée d’ethnographie in Geneva.
Musée d'ethnographie de la Ville de Genève
This content was published on
February 15, 2023 - 09:00
Helen James
Born in England, I've lived in Switzerland since 1994. I trained as a graphic designer in Zurich between 1997 – 2002. More recently I have moved on to work as photo editor and joined the team at swissinfo.ch in March 2017.
Some 5,000 Benin Bronzes can be viewed on the “Digital BeninExternal link ” portal.
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