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: June 3, 2024 by Shweta Sai Sakthivel
Objects in themselves carry no value. But when an object is viewed in the context of its history, culture and belief, it is not an object anymore. The ‘Idol’ of Lord Nataraja (Dancing God Shiva) that returned to Kallidaikurichi village in India is not an object but a once-lost god. For those who smuggled the […]
Posted on: April 2, 2024 by Siyi Wu
In the captivating world of art restitution and repatriation, each artefact whispers tales of ancient times and distant lands, waiting to be heard. Among these, the story of the recently repatriated Feng Xingshu Gui (丰刑叔簋) stands out – a narrative not just of rediscovery but of bridging cultures and epochs. My tenure at the Art […]
Posted on: November 6, 2023 by Elizabeth Pearson
The Anindilyakwa People will hold an on-country return celebration on Groote Eylandt on 21 November 2023 for 174 cultural heritage items repatriated from Manchester Museum. The repatriated cultural heritage items include 70 culturally significant dadikwakwa-kwa (toy dolls used by Anindilyakwa girls, decorated with ochre designs and cloth), seven errumungkwa (arm bands), a turtle shell map, […]
Posted on: March 19, 2023 by Elizabeth Pearson
The fate of four Aboriginal spears taken by the crew of the HM Bark Endeavour in 1770 now rests with the English Charity Commission, after Trinity College Cambridge decided to seek approval to permanently return the items from its Cook-Sandwich collection to Traditional Owners in Australia. The hunting spear and pronged fishing spears were amongst […]
Posted on: February 15, 2023 by Stephanie Drawdy
What connection exists between the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Benin Bronzes? This is the query that now entangles the seemingly straightforward return of Benin Bronzes to their original home of modern-day Edo State in southern Nigeria. The person raising this compelling point, Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, filed a class action suit and moved for emergency action in late […]
Posted on: January 16, 2023 by Stephanie Drawdy
In Addressing Cultural and Historic Injustices Against Native Americans In the last days of 1890, U.S. cavalry silenced the voices of approximately 250 Lakota at South Dakota’s Wounded Knee Creek during a murderous attack on the group that included a majority of women and children; opportunists then thieved their makeshift graves. The human remains and sacred […]
Posted on: December 19, 2022 by Alexander Herman
2022 was a year of great change, both in the world at large and for art law in particular. We saw the end of most of the worst effects of the covid pandemic, accompanied by what appears to be a final farewell to the era of lockdowns. We saw war in Europe for the first […]
Posted on: August 5, 2022 by Alexander Herman and Emily Gould
Today, Arts Council England released its guidance on restitution and repatriation for English museums. Restitution and Repatriation: A Practical Guide for Museums in England offers guidelines, best practice and case studies for the museum sector, helping institutions act appropriately and considerately in the context of claims for the return of collection objects. It replaces previous […]
Posted on: September 30, 2021 by Alexander Herman
This piece first appeared on The Art Newspaper website on 28 September 2021. *** Much is happening in the global debate over the rightful place of cultural objects. Not a week goes by, it seems, without an important return being announced. Last week it was the return at a ceremony in Washington DC of the ancient […]