They carved masks for ceremonies and they moulded sculptures of gods out of mud. In Benin City, craft workers were organised into groups known as guilds. There were guilds for wood carvers, ivory ...

in the Kingdom of Benin, which was incorporated into British-ruled Nigeria. They were carved out of ivory, brass, ceramic and wood. Many of the pieces were cast for the ancestral altars of past ...

On the bustling streets of Nigeria's Benin City, residents cannot wait to get their Bronzes back - for them their return symbolises reparations for some of the wrongs committed by British troops ...