Restitution
Rotterdam becomes first Dutch city to restitute colonial objects
The city has returned 68 objects to Indonesia, a former Dutch colony
US authorities return four artefacts from Ban Chiang archaeological site to Thailand
The items, which include a vessel and bracelet, had been gifted to a US soldier more than 50 years ago
Seven years on from Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to return Africa’s heritage, frustration grows about the lack of progress
An Ivorian drum will be returned—though only under a special “deposit agreement”—while a crucial colonial bill has stalled
Fit for a king: Egyptian museum in Turin unveils new galleries for monumental ancient sculptures
The dramatic revamp of the Italian institution’s Gallery of the Kings is part of a broader renovation that is due to complete in 2025
Remembering Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow, the Unesco boss who fought for the dispossessed
The headline-making director-general of Unesco, who clashed with Reagan and Thatcher, died recently at the age of 103
Kunstmuseum Basel settles on Pissarro painting with Jewish collector’s heirs
Richard Semmel, a Jewish textiles entrepreneur in Berlin, was forced to sell the painting after fleeing Nazi persecution in 1933
A Slevogt triptych, restituted to the heirs of a Nazi-persecuted collector, is to be auctioned in Munich
The painting depicting the prodigal son was sold by Eduard Fuchs, a Communist writer, after his escape into exile in 1933
Indonesia's national museum reopens after devastating fire
Exhibition of 2,500 repatriated objects, including the "Lombok treasure", inaugurates the newly refurbished space
US Supreme Court declines to hear case challenging Smithsonian's restitution of Benin Bronzes
A New York-based organisation had sought to block the artefacts’ return to Nigeria
Bone of contention: Rijksmuseum and Church disagree on final resting place of Dutch privateer's remains
A bone and lock of hair apparently belonging to Piet Hein have been in storage at the Dutch museum for centuries—now there are calls to have them returned to his grave
Nazi-looted Monet returned to heirs after FBI traces it to New Orleans
Missing for more than 80 years, the 1865 pastel will be handed over in a ceremony today after the couple who bought it relinquished it voluntarily
The case for a cross-border approach for recovering Europe's Nazi-looted art
If governments are committed to the Washington Principles, they should create a co-ordinating body
Maqdala shield to be repatriated to Ethiopia
Withdrawn from auction in February, the shield will make a stop at the Toledo Museum of Art before going on public display at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa
Netherlands to return 288 items looted in colonial era to Indonesia
The repatriations show policy continuity despite the new right-wing government, experts say
New California law could reverse outcome in dispute over Nazi-looted Pissarro
The new law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom is intended to resolve a decades-long restitution claim in a California family’s favour
Three looted objects from ancient Egyptian graves returned by the Netherlands
The restitutions are seen as reflective of the way museums are paying closer attention to the provenance of works in their collections
Holocaust-restitution firm Mondex settles legal feud with heir over fees for $24m Chagall painting
"Over Vitebsk" by Marc Chagall hung at the Museum of Modern Art for decades until 2020, when it was restituted to the the heirs of a Jewish-owned art gallery in 1930s Berlin
Cranach portrait will be sold in accord between Pennsylvania museum and Jewish heirs
The portrait of the Duke of Saxony, attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop, will be auctioned by Christie’s in New York in January 2025
Jala Wahid confronts the colonial legacy of the British Museum in London exhibition
The Kurdish artist delves into the histories of looted artefacts and questions the ethics of their existence in Western museums
The US needs an independent commission for Nazi loot claims
‘If an artwork is located in the US, its fate cannot be decided in any other state, and any wrong decisions cannot be corrected elsewhere’
Another Schiele work returned to the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum
The 1918 drawing had been in the possession of another Austrian Jewish family, which recently became suspicious of the work's provenance and contacted Grünbaum’s heirs directly in order to “do the right thing”
Famed Egyptian archaeologist pledges to ‘join together’ with Italy to secure return of Mona Lisa
The former antiquities minister is also demanding that three Egyptian treasures, including the Rosetta Stone, be sent to his home country
Iowa museum becomes first in US to return looted Benin bronzes to royal ruler
The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art has defended its decision to hand back two objects to the Oba rather than the government
Looted Asante treasures find a new palace home in Ghana
Objects from the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum are on loan to the Asante king, while the Fowler Museum has transferred ownership of seven items
‘Like a child in a messy divorce’: Mary Beard and David Olusoga tackle Parthenon Marbles debate in British Museum panel
Complexities of restitution, the relevance of the universal museum and burgeoning collections were all on the event's agenda
Jordaens painting to be sold after settlement with heirs of Jewish bank shareholders
The work, to be auctioned at Sotheby’s today, was one of more than 2,500 held as collateral and sold, shortly before the Nazi invasion, by the Dutch bank Lisser & Rosenkranz
Bührle Foundation’s provenance research is inadequate, report finds
The report by Raphael Gross calls for more research and details how Jewish owners are omitted from the published provenance
Stedelijk Museum restitutes Matisse Odalisque to Jewish arts patrons’ heirs
Albert Stern, the former owner, sold the painting “out of necessity” in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, the Dutch Restitutions Committee says
Rubens sketch illegally sold in aftermath of Second World War returned to museum in Germany
The oil sketch “Saint Gregory of Nazianzus” (1621) is one of five works by the Old Master that were unlawfully taken from the Friedenstein Foundation, with two still missing
Judge dismisses Holocaust restitution claim to Guggenheim’s Blue Period Picasso
Karl and Rosi Adler’s heirs had claimed that “La repasseuse” (1904) had been sold under duress as the couple fled Nazi persecution