Paris has returned 26 royal antiquities looted by French soldiers in the late 19th century. The haul, including statues, thrones and palace doors, began the journey to Cotonou, Benin’s largest city, in November, before an exhibition at the presidential palace, and a ‘royal tour’ now in progress across the country
Main image: Face to face with King Ghézo, depicted as a hybrid bird-man, at Musée de Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris. The king has now joined other looted Benin treasures back in their homeland Photograph: Patrick Zachmann/Magnum PhotosWe three kings: Ghézo flanked by a half-man, half-lion statue of the king of Glélé, and a half-man, half-shark depiction of the king of Béhanzin.
The three royal statues, dating from the second half of the 19th century, are seen at the Musée de Quai Branly in Paris before their return to BeninA throne from the late 18th to early 19th century represents the king, surrounded by his servants, under a parasol overlooking a line of shackled slaves. It was carved from single blocks of wood and comes from Cana, 20km from Abomey, capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey from the 17th to the beginning of the 20th century.
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