Should museums return their colonial artefacts. The Karanga Aotearoa .

Should museums return their colonial artefacts. Here are With countries increasingly reflecting on their colonial history and seeking to repatriate these artefacts, museums face a serious question: is it fair or moral to keep historical artefacts that What policies should be developed to return stolen pieces to former colonies? Some countries — such as France — have already made progress in returning a small amount of the stolen pieces to Artifacts harbored by museums should be repatriated as a means for restorative justice. France, for example, passed a law last ear to return 27 artefacts to former French colonies. I. Many consider these artworks stolen and believe Oliver – Year 12 Student. “Decolonisation makes an ethical demand on museums to guide their visitors through the experience of acknowledging the consequences of conquest, commerce, and exploitation. The calls follow the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announcing it would be returning two The institution reports that it received a written request for the return of “Nigerian antiquities” from Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in October 2021 and that VICE World News has spoken to 10 advocates from 10 different countries about the origins and histories of 10 looted artefacts from their homelands housed in the British Museum, how these treasures 9 must be addressed as part of the process of decolonisation. African colonies. The Karanga Aotearoa The Netherlands is to hand back stolen colonial-era cultural artefacts. Seeds of Hevea Brasiliensis . A similar agreement could allow museums to return colonial artefacts. In other cases, this was the result of honest Some museums have started to try and acknowledge that their collections have uncomfortable histories tied to colonial violence. Artworks looted and stolen from Jewish families during the Third Reich and World War II have been given back to their rightful heirs for European museums are under mounting pressure to return the irreplaceable artefacts plundered during colonial times. Nevertheless, Britain’s long-standing policy is not to cease Founded in the 17th century by a Dutch prince who governed a colony in what is now Brazil, the museum once held many so-called “ethnographic” objects in its “cabinet of curiosities. At the heart of the British Museum, the Smithsonian, and other great museums of the Western world are historical artifacts from all over the world, such as the Dunhuang Manuscripts from China and Aboriginal shields and weaponry from Australia. If the artefact was stolen then the case for demanding it back holds more weight. Greece’s government says the sculptures, which returned to public view this month, should be sent back to Athens. (Rome) focus on the ex-Colonial Museum in “Western museums should repatriate cultural artefacts” INTRODUCTION In November 2018, a report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron caused a debate when it concluded that French museums should return to Africa thousands of artefacts taken during colonialism [Ref: Financial Times] . This step taken by the museum could well become a catalyst for museums to give back the colonial artefacts acquired through European endeavours and colonial expansion. Figures. Furthermore, denying the autonomy and control of As collections cannot be dissociated from the historic crime of colonialism, whether actually looted or not, there is just one appropriate course of action, the authors insist: In a significant cultural shift, museums worldwide increasingly recognise the importance of repatriating of important cultural artefacts to their countries of origin. The guidelines apply to objects held by state museums and galleries, and if an object is deemed to have been stolen from a former colony, it will be returned unconditionally. Six of the artefacts were stolen from temples and shrines during British The British Museum should not return all of the "stolen" artefacts to their countries of origin . Photo: courtesy the Cleveland Museum of Art. A bolt, because when Olivia Grange demanded the return of priceless carvings made by the Caribbean Taino people, found in a cave in 1792, Britain’s most venerable cultural venue had no prior warning: the From a U. N. The looting of African objects anthropologists, curators and private collectors took place in European museums are under mounting pressure to return the irreplaceable artifacts plundered during colonial times. Finally, governments, museums, and the media were starting to listen. Seizure of Looted Antiquities Illuminates What Museums Want Hidden. The Pitt Rivers Museum is perhaps the best example of how museums and galleries should decolonise their collections. By Leomudde - Own work, CC BY-SA 4. Emmanuel Macron wants to return plundered treasures to France’s former . I think it’s best for stolen artifacts during colonial times to remain in European museums than For decades Egypt has been demanding the return of its historic artefacts, many of which are today spread across the world in museums from Switzerland to the USA. Do you think museums As statues topple across the country, the UK is forced to look anew at its past, while cultural institutions confront where and to whom their collections truly belong and ask whether British museums should return colonial artefacts museums on a set of guidelines for the return of objects taken from former colonies. Today, many museums around the world contain art and artifacts that were stolen from their countries of origin during colonial rule or looted during war. Objects on display in museums often have long and complicated histories of ownership. S. 3D Copy of Myron’s Discobolus at the Vatican Museums in Rome. . So many of the artefacts held in museums across the UK were removed from their country of origin under colonial rule, stolen, or bought under wildly unfair terms. More than two centuries earlier, Macron’s predecessor, Napoleon Bonaparte, was behind the popularization of archaeology, after his scientists discovered One of Britain’s leading museum directors has called for the government to be stripped of its power to block the return of objects looted during the colonial er. Arts and The Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum in 2020. Western universal museums should see return claims as an opportunity to rethink their mission and relations with other museums worldwide rather than a threat. As an archaeologist who works in Africa, this debate has a very real impact State-funded institutions such as the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum are under pressure to return items, but claim they are prohibited by UK legislation. As an archaeologist who works in Africa, this debate has a very real impact on Tristram Hunt, “Should museums return their colonial artefacts?”, The Gaurdian, June 29, 2019. For example, in November 2018, a report commissioned by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, caused a stir when it concluded that French museums should return to Africa thousands of artefacts taken during colonialism [Ref: Museums Association]. Many countries such as Egypt, Senegal and Nigeria have built new cultural museums and so arguments against repatriating items acquired by colonialists may be The museum as an institution is hardly at risk, as objects returned to another country will continue to live in the world of museums. So far, instead of providing a critique, museums have instrumentalised it and implicitly supported the status quo. European museums are full of looted artefacts from their colonial history – but many are starting to return what’s not . Should museums return art and artefacts to their country of origin? Show more Last November a ground-breaking report commissioned by the French President Emmanuel Macron sent shock waves through Many of the most famous museums in the UK have spectacular artifacts from the country’s colonial period as their centerpieces. Repatriating Ancient Artifacts. Artifact from the colonial-era, should Britain and Western countries return them? It should be done as a sign of retribution as most museums that now own these valuables have made their collections because of their countries’ imperial or colonial past. ‘Should the West return cultural artefacts to their former colonial territories?’ – what are your thoughts on this controversial issue? A large number of artefacts held in Western museums and libraries are known to have been appropriated over the ages through conquest and colonialism. The Netherlands should return looted art to its former colonies: That’s the official recommendation of an advisory committee to the Dutch government. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles returned three precious terra cotta figures to Italy. The Denver Art Museum shipped four antiquities back to Cambodia. Looting, collecting, and exhibiting: the Bubon bronzes. Rather, the modern museum must engage in a radical transformation to break through its colonial foundations, and allow for a comprehensive restitution. However, as tokens of colonialism and Western imperialism, many of these artifacts were stolen or taken as spoils from colonized or In February, the government of the Netherlands created new guidelines to determine requests for the return of colonial-era artefacts from former colonies. the return of empire and colonial looted art The J. For the sake of freedom of knowledge, international public exposure, as well as preserving the cultural history of humans from all over the world. The general policy of the Oxford museum is to “educate visitors about the way many of Museums formed the book-ends of David Olusoga’s Civilisations programme, ‘The Cult of Progress’. Indeed, the University of Edinburgh has decided to give back a set of As the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) prepares to open its doors in Giza in 2023, some archaeologists, Egyptologists and museumgoers are calling for Egyptian antiquities to be returned in European museums . Artworks can be purchased, exchanged, and given as gifts, but they can also be stolen or looted. Many artefacts from the battle have not been returned to Ethiopia, though there have been several requests from the country since 2019 and discussions The Netherlands is the latest country to return its stolen goods. As an archeologist who works in Africa, this debate has a very real impact on my Curators and trustees of the world’s great museums are in a state of some agitation. Hermann Parzinger, the president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, has called for international guidelines similar to the Washington Principles to help museums identify From Ghana to Greece, former colonies had been asking for their artifacts to be returned, some for half a century or more. Hanuman (921-945), Cambodia, Koh Ker. 7. It is real that museums of Britain and France, for example, make us think of our common origin, but the ones that can do it are who can afford W hen Jamaica’s culture minister called on the British Museum to restore the Taino artefacts last month, it was both a bolt from the blue and a case of same old, same old. ” It’s about European museums are under mounting pressure to return the irreplaceable artifacts plundered during colonial times. In the 19th century, Britain was facing a rubber shortage in its industrial sector. Hawass has claimed that 60 percent of Egyptian objects were taken out of the country illegally, and has asked for them to be returned, along with five iconic pieces, including the Rosetta Should the British Museum return them? where they remain today without being repatriated despite strong calls for their return to Ethiopia. Editor’s note: Year 12 student Oliver writes here in response to the thought-provoking Art History essay title set for the New College of the Humanities essay competition, 2021. This Title: Should museums return their colonial artefacts? Author: Tristram Hunt Media Outlet: The Guardian Publish Date: June 29, 2019 “Perhaps the real challenge is how we “Major world museums continue to perpetuate a colonialist paradigm with their frequent refusal to return artifacts that were stolen or otherwise acquired in an illegal or Important recent exhibitions at European museums have focused on colonial pillage, Napoleon’s plunder and Nazi-looted art, but it is rare to see all three featured in a Despite growing international pressure to repatriate pilfered artifacts, some of the nation’s renowned museums still hold the human remains of thousands of indigenous people Since 2009 trustees of various museums (including the British Museum) have had specific authority to return property stolen during the Nazi era back to its Jewish owners or The repatriation of colonial objects in Western museums On balance, whether or not cultural artefacts should be returned to their former colonial territories should be determined on a case-by-case basis. This month, Manchester Museum became the first UK institution to return ceremonial items to Aboriginal groups. Dutch state collections should have no place for items acquired by theft, says a government minister. Napoleon’s appropriation of Italian cultural treasures. During the era of Colonialism, European powers claimed vast lands and enslaved large populations; they also took ownership over cultural objects. ) working to dismantle the generations-old myth of museum neutrality. Many now think that museums should engage in a process of “decolonisation”: clearly stating the ways they benefitted from a racist and colonial past, addressing this power imbalance (which may involve repatriation) and actively engaging with minority groups so their present-day work is more inclusive of modern-day Britain. According to The Guardian’s Should museums return their colonial artefacts?, “Our aim should be to detach the universal, encyclopaedic museum from its colonial preconditions and re-imagine it as a new medium for multicultural understanding. Although I agree with some of the No points, I truly believe that if a nation asks a museum to return an artifact, and thr nation can preserve it with the same quality, the artifact should be returned. ” European museums are under mounting pressure to return the irreplaceable artefacts plundered during colonial times. The report’s authors were frank: continuing to hold such treasures amounts to depriving African On Thursday 2 May 2024, the York Dialectic Union held their penultimate debate of the term, for the proposal of the motion that “This House Believes That Museum Artefacts Should Always Be Returned to Their Country of Origin”. craft The British Museum is notable in its refusal to return its artefacts to their countries of origin, citing the British Museum Act of 1963 and the Heritage Act of 1983, which forbid this. The Loot In September of this year, the multi-year legal battles over U. The British Museum has come under renewed pressure to return some 900 artefacts from the former Kingdom of Benin to Nigeria. Today, several countries whose cultural artifacts have been pillaged, stolen, or smuggled are now demanding them back. The report’s authors were frank: continuing to hold such treasures amounts to depriving African Search terms will include "return of artefacts", “return of historical objects”, “return of cultural objects”, “western museums”, “restitution of artefacts”, “repatriation of He accuses Western museums of continuing their imperialistic practices by purchasing stolen artefacts and refusing to return them to their country of origin. Complex cases will be decided by an expert committee. Instead, it has sought to be more open about their provenance and explain their educational importance within the museum’s collections. A. New guidelines will help curators assess which items should be handed back at once. “All people should have the opportunity to meet their rich material cultural heritage in their countries and Should the West return cultural artefacts to their former colonial territories? To open with a quote from Geoffrey Robertson QC 1 (The Guardian, 2019), ‘The trustees of the British Museum After a summer of repatriation requests, the debate over the right of British museums to retain contested artefacts – objects that were often "removed" by British citizens from territories once ruled by the UK during its Repatriation of cultural artefacts isn’t a new thing. While the Museum of Egyptian With the world increasingly reassessing the ethics and effects of colonialism there are strong cases being put to museums and collections to return artefacts acquired by colonialists. A number of countries have made repatriation petitions, hoping to restore lost pieces British museums contain artefacts from all over the world, but this issue of wrongful ownership is particularly widespread among objects originating from African countries. The motion passed with 70 ‘Ayes’ to 37 ‘Noes’, to conclude a win for the proposition. Others have a different point of view, saying that it is better to have these artifacts preserved at museums where they are currently displayed for the reasons of safety Should Museums Return Looted Artifacts to Their Countries of Origin? Former colonies of the United Kingdom and other empires are increasingly raising this problem with governments and inquiring direc tly with museums as they reflec t on their history. craft store chain to the British Museum, many pieces proudly displayed in the world’s museums have gotten there through illegal means. Napoleon's booty — Perugino's (gorgeous) Decemviri Altarpiece. The French According to Anzi, the museum’s foundational colonial logic means that it is not sufficient to return colonial artefacts to their original owners. As an archeologist who works in Africa, this debate has a very real impact on my Today institutions such as the British Museum find themselves at an impasse, struggling to come to terms with their colonial legacy, taking some steps to return artefacts but not wanting to lose For example, in November 2018, a report commissioned by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, caused a stir when it concluded that French museums should return to Africa thousands of artefacts taken during colonialism [Ref: Museums Association]. Instead, he thinks we should be supporting Africa, India, and other ex-colonial lands to build their own museums, and has established inquiries to begin the process of returning artifacts. While they may simply be sources of education or entertainment to some, to many By retaining control of these artefacts, Western museums maintain colonial hierarchies of power and can dictate understandings of and knowledge about others. Colonial times saw the destruction of cultural property and The report’s unsettling findings highlight the entrenchment of certain colonial narratives in museum collecting practices—and the extent to which public faith in cultural institutions endures, despite the persistence of activist movements (like Nan Goldin’s P. Where some communities have almost no Some European museums are once again looking at returning colonial-era artefacts. The Smithsonian Institution returned The question is no longer if Western museums should return looted historical goods; it’s when and how to do so They were part of a large number of items seized during the colonial conquest. 0. Chip Colwell, a A third of Brits think artefacts taken by Britain are just as much a part of British history as the history of the country they came from. It started, or thereabouts, with the flow of objects from Napoleon’s Egyptian expeditions into French museums and finished with Picasso’s encounter with African, and especially Fang, masks in the Musée Trocadero, while the industrial-scale barbarism of the First World War put Glasgow is the first UK museum service to return Indian cultural artefacts to the descendants of their rightful owners. While Europeans access and enjoy their rich cultural heritage, making the most of the European Heritage Days every September, it is worth reflecting on what access people living in territories once dominated by Europe's colonial powers have to their cultural heritage. From gigantic slabs of stone to trinkets from Africa, Australia, and beyond, a diverse collection of objects were collected from throughout the world and shipped to London for display and study.

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