Nigeria rejects the prospect of borrowing the Benin Bronzes from the British Museum. 'Such a proposal as an insult to a nation seeking the return of artefacts looted by British forces in 1897.' Holloway said that restitution must involve 'transferring ownership, not merely temporarily returning objects'.
As Ghana does not have a modern equipped museum to receive and display returned artifacts, it is going to build one. That said Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa at the 81ste UN General Assemblee.
The Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) announced partnership with the Ethiopian Heritage Authority (EHA). At the center of the partnership is the acquisition of a collection of approximately 380 Ethiopian artworks. The museum will immediately return two 15th century religious manuscripts. Further returns will be prepared.
[in German] The (open access) Guideline, Koloniale Kontexte in Bibliotheken. Ein Leitfaden, is aimed at public and academic libraries in Germany and Austria. A contribution to reflective and responsible library practice. It advocates making colonial entanglements in collections visible, critically questioning existing routines, and further promoting professional exchange on how to deal with colonial contexts.
British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan pointed to the recent Bayeux Tapestry loan, agreed between Britain and France, as "a very compelling example of international partnership" that demonstrated the value of "reciprocal exchange." And: has PM Andy Burnham reversed his pro-restitution position?
Five years after the return of 26 objects from the royal treasures of Dahomey, Benin has submitted a new restitution request to Paris for 35 colonial works and archives. This action is based on a French framework law that came into effect in May, designed to facilitate such transfers. Benin's approach resonates what more ECOWAS states are after.
Okechukwu Uwaezuoke argues: The homecoming of Yinka Shonibare’s work from the 2024 Venice Biennale “Monument to the Restitution of the Mind and Soul” to Benin City seemed to complete one historical circle while quietly opening another debate.
Ghana is set to receive over 2,000 cultural artefacts from the Netherlands, while Germany has also identified items linked to the Kpando traditional area for return, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa during the “Accra Next Steps” discussions on cultural restitution. The move forms part of ongoing international efforts on cultural restitution and Ghana’s push to recover artefacts taken during the colonial era.
The rejection by the city of Bordeaux of a private donation of 53 art objects allows for the direct repatriation of these works to their countries of origin, especially Gabon, which will receive 33 pieces from the collection. The other recipients are Nigeria, Niger, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, and Togo.
1. The text of the law [in French]. 2. Outcome of as poll among French population. 3. The law and Macron's Africa policy. 4. Bénédicte Savoy praises the new law.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has called for the return of the priceless Koh-i-Noor diamond from the UK. The 105-carat diamond is part of the Crown Jewels but its ownership has been disputed by India, who claims that it was stolen during British rule. Mamdani was born in Uganda but has Indian roots.
France has officially returned the sacred Djidji drum to Ivory Coast. It is among 148 cultural belongings claimed by the Africab country in 2018. The text of the special law is included.
President John Dramani Mahama has sent a clear message to the international community: the time for "ceremonial language" regarding Africa’s historical injustices is over.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has formally handed over an inventory of Ghanaian cultural artefacts held in Dutch collections, marking a major step toward the restitution of objects looted during the colonial era.
Eight years after French president Emmanuel Macron pledged to return African heritage to the continent, his government has adopted a bill facilitating the deaccession of cultural items plundered from former colonies. The text will be submitted for a vote in the senate on 24 September.
[ in German ] In a new book, German author and former SPD politician Mathias Brodkorb denounces the development of ethnological museums in Europe, especially Leipzig, Hamburg, Berlin and Vienna.
In Benin, a 'kataklè' – a ceremonial stool, and the final piece of the royal treasure of Abomey – has been returned by Finland, 133 years after being looted by French troops and later transferred to the National Museum of Finland. It began with an investigation by a Radio France International (RFI) journalist.
The director of the British Museum, Nicholas Cullinan, has ruled out any move towards allowing restitution from its collections as he focuses instead on fostering global collaboration.
Objects taken from former colonies have been incorporated into collections. They express universality, which should be valued, without ignoring the need to trace their journey and restore their ownership.
In an unprecedented move for a United States arts institution, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, will return a promised gift of Benin Bronzes to collector Robert Owen Lehman and close the collection’s dedicated gallery on April 28.
The Paris museum has invited African researchers to study the archives of the expedition, which took place between 1931 and 1933, and to carry out field studies to retrace the conditions of the undercover raid on artifacts.
The British Museum must not succumb to pressure to return the Benin Bronzes to Africa, as the case for their restitution is 'weak', Sir Trevor Phillips says.
Resistance hero Ras Desta Damtew was executed by Italian fascists in 1937, after which some of his belongings are believed to have been stolen. Now his grandchildren and the Ethiopian government are fighting to bring them home.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order targeting the Smithsonian Institution, which operates more than 20 museums and research centres visited by millions yearly in Washington DC and New York City. It also affects the Smithsonian's restitution policy. J.D. Vance will lead the purge.
The British Museum has welcomed a new slate of trustees, including Dr. Tiffany Jenkins, an academic and author staunchly opposed to returning stolen antiquities like the Parthenon Marbles.
Julien Volper argues that the Netherlands practises double standards when it comes to restitution. On the one hand, the country returns 119 Benin objects to Nigeria. On the other, it was reluctant to return to Belgium parts of a 16th-century altarpiece by Pasquier Borman, stolen from a church of in Boussu (Belgium) in 1914, and it cut back its international assistance to the global south.
[ in French, Italian subtitles ] This year it is seventy years ago that Alain Resnais, Chris Marker, and Ghislain Cloquet released their documentary Les statues meurent aussi about historical African art and the effects colonialism has had on how it is perceived.
The Pennsylvania Museum’s Cultural Center in Philadelphia is launching a study that examines 450 museum collections, collecting policies and practices in the US and formulates a collection framework.
