We submitted images of Benin cultural material that we hold in support of the creation of a digital data base. This database, which was launched on the 4 November 2022, has images of over 5,240 objects looted during the nineteenth century British punitive expedition on the Kingdom of Benin.

The digital images of these objects are drawn from 131 museums and institutions from 20 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Israel, as well as 14 European countries. Digital Benin brings together objects, historical photographs and rich documentation material from collections worldwide to provide a long-requested overview of the royal artefacts from Benin Kingdom. The historic Benin objects are an expression of Benin arts, culture and history, and were originally used as royal representational arts, to depict historical events, to communicate, to worship and perform rituals. This digital platform introduces new scholarship which connects digital documentation about the translocated objects to oral histories, object research, historical context, a foundational Edo language catalogue, provenance names, a map of the Benin Kingdom and museum collections worldwide. Our involvement in the Digital Benin as Manchester Museum is a reflection of our commitment in making what we hold visible in order to help people and institutions leading on repatriation in Nigeria and across the diaspora to select and prioritise cultural heritage material for return and to access their cultural heritage virtually.