Loaned loot

Nigerian officials have indicated that they may be willing to accept the return of the Benin Bronzes on long-term loan rather than on a permanent basis. The plaques, one of which is pictured here, were plundered from the ancient kingdom of Benin (in what is now southern Nigeria) during a punitive expedition in 1897 which saw the ancient city burned and looted. Two hundred of the objects are currently at the British Museum.