Posted on: October 23, 2024 by Alexander Herman
In What have we here? the artist Hew Locke has taken a flashlight to the British Museum’s collection; he has also taken a chisel to its somewhat staid reputation. The artist now occupies the central exhibition space at the museum, just behind the newly reopened library with its grand Victorian dome. Locke had been given […]
Posted on: November 15, 2019 by Alexander Herman
The following commentary first appeared in The Art Newspaper print edition (November 2019) and on The Art Newspaper website on 12 November 2019. A year ago this month, authors Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy submitted their controversial report to French President Emanuel Macron. The report recommended the return of a vast number of Sub-Saharan African artefacts currently in […]
Posted on: July 8, 2019 by Emily Gould
A fascinating day was enjoyed by all who braved London’s hottest day so far this year to attend IAL’s latest Study Forum held on 29th June. Topics ranged from the origins of modern copyright law to international laws on restitution to the treatment of human remains. Dr Elena Cooper (Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, CREATe) gave a […]
Posted on: June 4, 2019 by Alexander Herman
The following commentary first appeared on The Art Newspaper website on 29 May 2019. The British Museum seems to enjoy telling the world about its statutory restrictions. Whenever would-be claimants approach the museum seeking restitution of an object from the collection, the almost mechanical response from the museum is that its trustees are prevented from doing so, […]
Posted on: December 23, 2018 by Alexander Herman
In 1897, British troops marched on Benin City, capital of the fabled West African kingdom of Benin, ruled over by a powerful Oba. The attack was called a ‘punitive expedition’ because it was a retaliatory response to the Oba having massacred a British delegation of eight officials, two traders and local escorts the previous month. […]
Posted on: February 9, 2018 by Alexander Herman
The story begins 150 years ago. In 1868, deep in the deserts of east Africa, a British expedition led by General Robert Napier, was attacking the capital of the Abyssinian Empire, Maqdala, ruled over by King Tewodros. The British were looking to teach Tewodros a lesson for having imprisoned a number of British envoys and […]
Posted on: September 7, 2015 by Alexander Herman
There was a story this morning in the Guardian which once again brought to light the requests by Ethiopia for the return of the remains of one of the country’s royal princes, Prince Alemayehu, currently buried at Windsor Castle near London. The young prince had been brought to England in 1868 following the destruction of the Abyssinian fortress town of Magdala at […]