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[restitution matters]

News about colonial collections and restitution

RM* reports news about collections from former colonial territories and their future.

RM* enables heritage lovers to inform themselves about developments in this field and reduces the knowledge gap between the global south and the global north.

RM* is for all heritage enthusiasts around the world – both professionals and others – concerned with decolonising collections from colonial areas. 

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Recently in the press on restitution

Returned, but not home: Teuku Umar’s Qur’an

  • 17 Apr 2026
Myra Mentari Abubakar writes: When Dutch soldiers burned the home of Acehnese resistance leader Cut Nyak Dhien in 1896, they recorded the objects they took under her husband’s name. More than 130 years later, the Netherlands has returned one of those objects—but to Jakarta, not Aceh, and still under Teuku Umar’s name. The gendered absence built into colonial records-keeping continue to live on in the efforts to return colonial loot.

France’s approach to cultural relics restitution is worth learning for Japan

The Restitution Law, approved by the French parliament, evokes all sorts of reactions. RM* summarises them in a few posts. In this post, the Chinese Global Times writes that while countries around the world have been progressively engaging in the repatriation of cultural relics, Japan stands out as a negative example.

Practical consequences new French Restitution Law

The Restitution Law, approved by the French parliament, evokes all sorts of reactions. Most are explaining the law and positive in tone. In a previous post, an opponent of the law had his say. In this post, Saeed Saeed, journalist in Abu Dhabi, points to practical consequences for countries such as Algeria, Jordan, and Egypt.

Does the new French Restitution Law open a Pandora box?

The Restitution Law, approved by the French parliament, raises all sorts of reactions. Most are quite similar (and positive). Senegalese philosopher Souleymane Bachir Diagne has serious doubts about it.

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Dedicated to a mask, its maker and first users

Long ago, I held this Congolese mask in my hands. The dealer claimed it to be very old; he was keen to sell it. But unlike other wooden pieces, which he offered for little money, he asked a big sum for this one. Perhaps, it was indeed old and valuable. Back then, the mask struck a chord with me. Nowadays, it still does.

Jos van Beurden

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Recent publications on restitution

Skušek Collection of precious Chinese belongings in the Ethnographic Museum of Ljublijana

The fact that cultural possessions, which were brought from China at the beginning of the twentieth century, are spread throughout Europe and the US is proven by the Skušek Collection in the Ethnographic Museum of Ljublijana. Ivan Skušek had served in the Austro-Hungarian navy and was in a Chinese prison from 1917-1920, had several dozens of boxes filled Chinese art objects. The circumstances under which he had acquired such a mass of Chinese art are not yet completely clear.

Why nobody talks about restitution in natural history museums

Paul P. Stewens wonders: The restitution of cultural property has become a hot topic. Museums grapple with restitution claims and colonial legacies. Did I say museums? I meant to say: cultural museums that house artworks, antiquities, or ethnological collections. Natural history museums, on the other hand, have barely been touched by the general turn to restitution. Why is that?

Zim Bird: Rhodes took it, Zimbabwe has taken it back

Lloyd Makonya writes: The systematic removal of cultural heritage formed part of a broader colonial strategy to undermine African civilisation. Against this historical backdrop, the handover of the Zimbabwe Bird and ancestral human remains by South African authorities to Zimbabwean officials marks the latest victory in Zimbabwe’s sustained push to reclaim its cultural inheritance.

The archive of decolonising knowledge

Books, oral histories, artefacts, images, textiles, posters, manuscripts, architectural documentation, and cultural records across Africa, the diaspora, and the Global South. It contains 70 locally indexed records · 300,000+ archive horizon · static-hosted discovery architecture, etc.

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Events on restitution

Connected minds

Recent blog items

The Warlpiri Project and Yuendumu community uses repatriation to create a better future for the next generations

Since 2019, a number of sacred objects and ancestral remains have been repatriated to the Warlpiri people of Yuendumu community north-west of Alice Springs in the middle of Australia. For them repatriation is about healing the community, but in particular healing the young men and women of their community, writes Jamie Hampton*. In this Blog, he shares his story about the Yuendumu community and how repatriation has helped them heal from past injustices, providing pathways for the next generations of Warlpiri to ensure they live a life grounded in culture in a changing world.

>>>
20 Apr 2026

Namibia pursues genocide compensation with a focus on restitution

While Germany appears keen to expedite the conclusion of the negotiations with Namibia concerning the genocide committed against the Ovaherero and Nama communities between 1904 and 1908, the Namibian position reflects that the matter remains unresolved. Namibia continues to advocate for a comprehensive reparative framework grounded in five key elements: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, guarantees of non-repetition, and satisfaction. Sarah Negumbo, the Director of Namibia Library and Archives Service, provides further insight into the historical, legal, and ethical dimensions underpinning these demands.

>>>
16 Apr 2026

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