Restitution

Booksreview

Contested prospect: two new books see the Parthenon through the eyes of a legal expert and a lifelong scholar of Greek history

The great temple to Athena has emerged from the vicissitudes of earthquakes, war, looting and rebuilding to be caught up in a monumental restitution debate

After-shock: why the Parthenon Marbles negotiations must continue

Discussions about the return of the ancient Greek artefacts have likely slipped down the British Museum's list of priorities. Here, Alexander Herman, the author of a just-published book on the subject, tells us why the museum can ill afford to neglect the matter for long

Diaryblog

Escape from the British Museum—tale of a teapot returning to China goes viral

Two social media influencers—Pancake Fruit and Summer Sister—are behind the series posted on Douyin

California museum returns nearly 1,300 pre-Columbian artefacts to Mexico

The repatriation ceremony at the San Bernardino County Museum was timed to coincide with the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month in the US and Mexican Independence Day

US authorities return seven Schiele works to heirs of cabaret performer murdered by the Nazis

The seven drawings, seized from public and private collections throughout the US, are collectively valued at nearly $10m

The Met and Yemeni government reach agreement for long-term display and care of two ancient sculptures

The artefacts, dating from the third millenium BC, will remain in New York as Yemen’s civil war drags on

German culture minister promises new powers for Nazi-looted art panel

Claudia Roth says the commission’s current mandate is “inadequate” and “we are not living up to our responsibilities"

Allegedly Nazi-looted Egon Schiele works valued at nearly $4m are seized at US museums

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office ordered the seizure of works at the Art Institute of Chicago, Carnegie Museums and Allen Memorial Art Museum

German Nazi-looted art panel calls for more powers and a new law

The advisory commission said it sees the current framework as “unsatisfactory” and “in need of an urgent overhaul”

'The last remaining argument against restitution has now been lost'

To make the British Museum fit for the 21st century it must create a comprehensive publicly accessible database of its entire collection, argues Dan Hicks, curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford

Parthenon Marbles deal still on the table despite British Museum theft scandal

Other Greek treasures would come to London in exchange for a loan of the contested sculptures

Barrister Hannatu Musawa is appointed Nigeria's culture minister

The lawyer and activist may play a key role in negotiating the return of Benin bronzes

Dresden museum returns four objects to Australia’s Kaurna community

The spear, digging stick, cudgel and net were brought home by German missionaries nearly 200 years ago

Officials from three countries have called on Denver Art Museum to return eight artefacts in its collection

Six of the eight allegedly looted objects were donated to the museum by Emma C. Bunker, an associate of smuggler Douglas Latchford

Chrysler Museum of Art will return disputed sculpture of Indigenous man

The museum has agreed to return the life-size marble statue “Wounded Indian” to the Boston-based Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association

Maya skull carving found in German antique shop returned to Mexico

A skull relief carving hailing from the ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá has been repatriated

Yet again, a US court dismisses Nazi-era Guelph Treasure art lawsuit

The descendants of the €200m collection's Jewish former owners had appealed a 2022 regional court ruling

Italy seeks the return of seven possibly looted works from the Louvre

The museum's director says works with dubious provenance are 'a stain in the collections of the Louvre'

Bitter row rages over ownership of marble sculpture of Indigenous man

Restitution dispute between Chrysler Museum of Art in Virginia and Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association came close to a deal in 2020

US museum returns centuries-old Bakor monolith to Nigeria

The Chrysler Museum of Art repatriated the ancient sculpture following the recent discovery of photographic evidence

Netherlands to repatriate nearly 500 looted objects to Indonesia and Sri Lanka

The Rijksmuseum will return six colonial artefacts, for the first time in its history

Maasai families receive cows in recognition of 'culturally sensitive heirlooms' in Pitt Rivers Museum

After taking guidance from the community's traditional elders and religious leaders, the Oxford museum presented the "symbolic gift" on the weekend

Switzerland returns stolen fragment of ancient Ramesses II statue to Egypt

The fragment, plundered in the 1980s or 1990s, was seized in a criminal case in Geneva

Tel Aviv museum cancels art restitution conference with Christie’s over $202m auction linked to Nazi fortune

The event was scheduled to mark the 25th anniversary of the Washington Principles, which helps guide the return of artwork looted during the Holocaust.

Less than half of California State University campuses are complying with federal Native American restitution regulations, audit finds

The California universities “generally lack the policies, funding and staffing necessary to follow the law and repatriate their collections”, the report found.

Ancient Mesoamerican artefact with ties to ritual ball game returned to Mexico

An auction house in Austria intended to sell the artefact before officials stepped in, according to the Mexican government

Ireland sets up panel to advise on return of contested cultural heritage

The committee is led by Donnell Deeny, chairman of the UK government’s Spoliation Advisory Committee

Germany returns two Indigenous masks to Colombia after more than a century

During their time in Berlin, the two sacred masks were treated with a pesticide that may still be dangerous