Three Swiss museums have returned 18 royal and religious artifacts from the Kingdom of Benin to Nigeria, marking another significant repatriation of the so-called Benin Bronzes. A handover ceremony took place today at the University of Zurich between Swiss Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider and Nigeria’s Minister of Culture, Hannatu Musa Musawa. The university returned 14 objects from its Ethnographic Museum, while two additional Benin Bronzes came from Museum Rietberg Zurich and another two from the Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève.  Related Articles The Benin Bronzes refer to the approximately 5,000 bronze sculptures, ceremonial objects, and ivory carvings looted by British forces from the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Nigeria, during the 1897 punitive expedition. Scattered across museums and private collections worldwide via illicit channels, the bronzes have become emblematic of efforts by formerly colonized countries to reclaim cultural heritage, as well as the broader—and often contentious—debate over the ethics of ethnographic collections.  Among the artifacts returned by Switzerland is a Benin Eroro, a four-sided ceremonial bell that played a central role in royal rites, …