An online archive collating information on thousands of bronze artifacts from Benin in museums around the world is expected to go online at the end of next year, one of the organizers said on Friday.

The Benin bronzes, which are mostly found in Europe, were stolen from Benin City in Nigeria during colonialism and are among the most important heritage objects in Africa. The statues were created from at least the 16th century, according to the British Museum.

Barbara Plankensteiner, director of the Museum am Rothenbaum – World Cultures and Arts, which leads the bronzes documentation project around the world, said data has been received from 110 museums around the world.

“For many years, we wanted to create a possibility to show all the collections from Benin scattered around the world on a single digital platform,” Plankensteiner told the Reuters Next conference.

READ ALSO | Nigerians donate artwork to British Museum in new version of looted Benin bronzes

“It will be a major source of research and knowledge on Beninese art and the cultural history linked to this art.

In October, the University of Aberdeen and Jesus College at the University of Cambridge returned two bronzes from Benin to Nigeria.

The returns were seen as likely to increase pressure on the British Museum in London, which holds by far the largest and most important collection of Benin bronzes.

READ ALSO | Humboldt Forum tackles colonial problem with new museums

Abba Tijani, head of the National Commission on Museums and Monuments, said Nigeria was looking to build new museums to house the bronzes from Benin that were being sent back to the country.

He said he had recently returned with three artifacts from the United States and that in the future Nigeria would seek to organize joint exhibitions of the artifacts with some Western museums.

“We are planning to have new museums in Benin City of international standard which will house these artefacts,” he said.

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter

This story was posted from an agency feed with no text editing.