Will the British Museum ever return the stolen artifacts?
In contrast, the British Museum has specifically said that it has no plans to repatriate stolen artifacts.
The British Museum Act, a law from 1963, prevents the museum in London from doing the same. The law does set out limited exceptions (such as if the object is a duplicate), but returning the loot of empire is not one of them. Still, there is precedent for governments relaxing such restrictions.
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.
Returning cultural objects which were obtained under colonial regimes to their countries of origin does not make up for the destruction of colonialism. Most objects in museums and collections, at the time of their acquisition, were legally obtained and therefore have no reason to be repatriated.
The British Museum has been accused of exhibiting “pilfered cultural property”, by a leading human rights lawyer who is calling for European and US institutions to return treasures taken from “subjugated peoples” by “conquerors or colonial masters”.
The British Museum in London has refused to repatriate some of its most notable items and biggest visitor draws, including marbles from the Parthenon in Athens that were traded to a British noble during the Ottoman Empire's occupation of Greece in the early 1800s.
If the return of these artifacts cannot guarantee their proper safety and preservation, many museum curators argue that they should not be returned. There is also the bigger concern of private companies and museums that would lose financial opportunities from the loss of artifacts.
Britain should return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt, the head of the country's new national museum has said. Dr Tarek Tawfik said the British Museum in London – where the artefact has been on display for more than two centuries – could replace it with a virtual reality replica.
Yes because… Artefacts belong to their country of origin; repatriation is the right thing to do. They have a unique connection with the place where they were produced and are an essential part of the cultural history of that area.
Should stolen African art be returned? | Inside Story - YouTube
Should Egyptian artifacts be returned to Egypt?
According to the agreement, artifacts are the property of their country of origin and pieces smuggled out must be returned.
Museums have a valuable role in preserving and transmitting a nation's history and heritage to new generations. Free access will encourage more people to find out about their country and help to promote feelings of national unity and identity, while promoting greater understanding and acceptance of foreign cultures.
The British Museum is home to around 8 million objects. The reality that many of these artefacts – around 99 percent of which are not placed on public display, but hoarded away in the institution's private archives – were forcibly taken has led to decades-long demands for their restitution.
This research paper categorically refuted British moral assertions. Patnaik concluded that Britain plundered almost $45 trillion from India between 1765 to1938, based on nearly two centuries of precise tax and trade data. This amount is almost 17 times the current combined GDP of Britain and India.
The British Museum is among 160 institutions worldwide to hold some of the 10,000 items stolen from Benin, which was annexed by the British Empire into what is now southern Nigeria, after a violent invasion by an expeditionary force of 1,200 personnel.
Over the years The British Museum has bought large parts of its collection from individual collectors, dealers and the commercial market, developing and expanding upon the founding collections.
They collectively control over $1 trillion worth of Africa's most valuable resources. The UK government has used its power and influence to ensure that British mining companies have access to Africa's raw materials. This was the case during the colonial period and is still the case today.
Its ownership of a small percentage of its most famous objects originating in other countries is disputed and remains the subject of international controversy through repatriation claims, most notably in the case of the Elgin Marbles of Greece, and the Rosetta Stone of Egypt.
It's important that we preserve artifacts from history so that future generations learn how movements, laws and social change affect them and how they can go about changing things.
Most commonly, museums get the artifacts they need for an exhibit by either buying or borrowing them. Common sense would say that it is cheaper to borrow than buy, but in the world of museums that isn't always true.
Why should the British Museum keep the Benin bronzes?
The British government believes that the museum is the right home for the bronzes as it makes them accessible to the largest number of people and, as a leading museum in one of the world's most global cities, has the best facilities for their upkeep.
The British Museum promotes a culture of honesty and integrity in research and expects and requires its researchers to adhere to the highest standards of research integrity. To facilitate this, a code of good research practice has been produced.
Pierre Bouchard, one of Napoleon's soldiers, was aware of this order when he found the basalt stone, which was almost four feet long and two-and-a-half feet wide, at a fort near Rosetta. When the British defeated Napoleon in 1801, they took possession of the Rosetta Stone.
In 1816, Parliament created a commission to assess Elgin's offer that priced the marbles at £35,000. The sale was approved by a margin of two votes. In 1832, the marbles were relocated to the Elgin Room in the British Museum—the same year Greece won independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Art theft typically conjures pieces ripped from the walls of world-class museums, and while art heists take place frequently, they are not the only means by which priceless treasures are taken. Throughout history, masterpieces have plundered, looted, and stolen, and taken far away from the original locales.
Museums also collect items, whether objects, photographs, books or manuscripts, to preserve the past. These items are used to educate others through programs, displays and research.
For centuries, museums have played an integral role in preserving the history of our society. Exhibits tell us stories about how our nation, our communities and our cultures came to be and without them, those stories could be forgotten. Museums serve our communities in a multitude of ways, as we have seen firsthand.
They are living sources of knowledge, objects of worship and expressions of life. For example, human remains, including the skulls of African ancestors, may be buried following local traditions. Cultural items could become sources of knowledge and storytelling.
Art historian Chika Okeke-Agulu says returning these objects lets people reconnect with a history that was stripped away from them.
| # | Country | Subregion |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Djibouti | Eastern Africa |
| 2 | Seychelles | Eastern Africa |
| 3 | DR Congo | Middle Africa |
| 4 | Comoros | Eastern Africa |
Is it illegal to own Egyptian artifacts?
30) that will restrict the importation of Egyptian artifacts to the United States. "Under the agreement, the United States will impose import restrictions on archaeological material representing Egypt's cultural heritage dating from 5200 B.C. through 1517 A.D.," reads a statement from the U.S. Department of State.
While there are indeed a number of laws governing the sale and purchase of items of cultural patrimony (antiquities), as long as an item has been legally imported into the United States, it's legal to sell and purchase.
The greatest number of acquisitions were made in the first decade of the 20th century, when 7,406 objects were acquired by the British Museum between 1900 and 1910. In 1904, 2,160 items were received alone, which was the largest acquisition of Egyptian objects.
An entrance charge is necessary in order to protect institutions such as museums and art galleries. After all, we pay for every other cultural activity, for instance theatre, cinema, and so on. It seems quite reasonable to contribute to the financial needs of museums as well.
The government provided direct funding through the DCMS (and in some cases the Department of Education) to compensate the museums for lack of income due to ticket sales.
1. The Tutankhamun Gold Mask — Egyptian Artifact (Link) The most valuable item in the world—the Tutankhamun gold mask—was discovered in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Lomekwi 3 is the name of an archaeological site in Kenya where ancient stone tools have been discovered dating to 3.3 million years ago, which make them the oldest ever found. Lomekwi is near the west bank of Lake Turkana, which is pictured in green on this satellite image.
Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Mona Lisa'
It has an appraised value of nearly $800 million and holds the highest insurance value of any painting in history.
Germany will return the Benin Bronzes that were stolen from present-day Nigeria, but the path for India to get back its colonial treasures from the UK is still bumpy. The list of Indian artifacts that were stolen in colonial times and are now in the United Kingdom is long.
The British Museum is among 160 institutions worldwide to hold some of the 10,000 items stolen from Benin, which was annexed by the British Empire into what is now southern Nigeria, after a violent invasion by an expeditionary force of 1,200 personnel.
How much of the British world has been looted?
This research paper categorically refuted British moral assertions. Patnaik concluded that Britain plundered almost $45 trillion from India between 1765 to1938, based on nearly two centuries of precise tax and trade data. This amount is almost 17 times the current combined GDP of Britain and India.
Over the years The British Museum has bought large parts of its collection from individual collectors, dealers and the commercial market, developing and expanding upon the founding collections.
Refusing to monitor the government efforts for getting the Kohinoor back to India from the United Kingdom, the Supreme Court on Friday said the court cannot order the diamond's return or say that the UK should not auction it.
The legendary Kohinoor diamond may never return to India. The government today told the Supreme Court that it cannot force the United Kingdom to return the famous jewel to India since it was neither stolen nor forcibly taken away, but gifted to the British.
The British Museum is home to around 8 million objects. The reality that many of these artefacts – around 99 percent of which are not placed on public display, but hoarded away in the institution's private archives – were forcibly taken has led to decades-long demands for their restitution.
Made nearly two million years ago, stone tools such as this are the first known technological invention. This one is the oldest objects in the British Museum. It comes from an early human campsite in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.
Its ownership of a small percentage of its most famous objects originating in other countries is disputed and remains the subject of international controversy through repatriation claims, most notably in the case of the Elgin Marbles of Greece, and the Rosetta Stone of Egypt.
A British museum will return 72 artifacts to the Nigerian government that were forcibly taken over a hundred years ago. The Horniman Museum and Gardens agreed to hand over the artifacts, including several sculptures known as Benin bronzes, after receiving a request for the artifacts from the Nigerian government.
Drawing on nearly two centuries of detailed data on tax and trade, Patnaik calculated that Britain drained a total of nearly $45 trillion from India during the period 1765 to 1938.
The London that we are talking about was rebuilt after 1666 when most of its buildings were mutilated in the great fire. £37 billion were spent in reconstructing London. This money came from the taxes that the East India Company was paying to the Crown. It came not only from India but several other colonies.
What did Britain steal from Africa?
Like other European powers, Britain rushed to control African land not just for palm oil but also gold, ivory, diamonds, cotton, rubber and coal.
Rosetta Stone
Egypt, 196 BC. The key that unlocked ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Rosetta Stone is one of the Museum's most famous objects.
In a provocative move taking aim at museums that proudly display the priceless stolen fruits of colonial-era plunder, Vice World News has created an unauthorised tour of the British Museum's 10 most disputed items, "as told by the people from the countries they were taken from".
The greatest number of acquisitions were made in the first decade of the 20th century, when 7,406 objects were acquired by the British Museum between 1900 and 1910. In 1904, 2,160 items were received alone, which was the largest acquisition of Egyptian objects.
