Feature
Bronze statues from the Kingdom of Benin. Native American ceremonial objects. Architectural fragments of Indian temples. In 2023, all these objects were returned by British museums to the places from which they originated. In the UK, the Museums Association – which sets ethical standards for the sector – has backed initiatives to repatriate artefacts. Across the globe this trend has been gathering pace, with governments and indigenous communities making claims to items held by museums in the United States and Europe. Every few months we hear of new repatriations – in July, for example, Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum returned an 18th-century cannon and other precious artefacts to Sri Lanka.
Why is this happening? The reasons
