Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art hide caption toggle caption Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art Junior Court Official is one of two 16th-century plaques produced at the Court of Benin that will be returned to Nigeria by the Met. Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art Beautiful bronze sculptures and castings from West Africa have long been exhibited in some of the world's most august institutions, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced Wednesday it's returning three of these artworks to Nigeria. They include two 16th-century brass plaques created at the Court of Benin, and a brass head produced in Ife around the 14th century.