The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston will close its Benin Kingdom Gallery on April 28, and most of the Benin Bronzes displayed there will not be repatriated to Nigeria. Instead, all but five of the 34 objects will be returned to their donor, filmmaker and banking heir Robert Owen Lehman, who rescinded his 2008 gift after stalled negotiations with the museum. The MFA had sought to acquire full ownership of the works to ensure their display, but Lehman asked for them back. The five bronzes the museum does own will remain in its collection and be shown in its Art of Africa Gallery starting in June.
This development matters because the Benin Bronzes are at the center of global debates about colonial-era restitution. The MFA’s inability to return the objects—despite Nigeria’s calls for repatriation—highlights how donor-restricted gifts can complicate restitution efforts. The case underscores the tension between museum ethics, donor control, and the claims of source communities, especially as the current oba of Benin, Ewuare II, has empowered Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments to handle repatriation. The outcome leaves most of the bronzes in private hands rather than returned to their place of origin.