For centuries, his ancestors ruled over a powerful kingdom in what is now Benin, but the first time sculptor Euloge Ahanhanzo Glèlè saw his great-great-great grandfather's throne was in a Paris museum a decade ago. The throne, then surrounded by artworks looted by French colonial forces in the 19th century, is now back in Benin after France returned 26 artifacts last year. More than 200,000 people have visited a free exhibition in the presidential palace, "Art of Benin From Yesterday and Today: From Restitution to Revelation." 90% of them are Beninese. Children have asked their parents to bring them because they didn't want to miss what friends were discussing at school, and spiritual leaders have traveled from across Benin to contemplate the ancient artifacts. The exhibition is also showcasing 34 contemporary artists. When the exhibition finishes at the end of August, the objects will travel to Ouidah, once a slave port, where a new slavery museum is being built.
More: