Repatriation
Looted archaeological artefacts worth more than $20m returned to Italy
The 60 objects included some that had been on display at the Metropolitan Museum and several that had been bought by billionaire collector Michael Steinhardt
US returns stolen artefact to Palestine as part of investigation into New York collector Michael Steinhardt
The US government has returned a looted ivory spoon in the first repatriation exchange between the two countries
US government returns looted sarcophagus to Egypt
A trafficked coffin that may have belonged to an ancient priest has been returned
Museums and heritage in 2022: industrial unrest, climate protests and damage to historic artefacts in Ukraine
New and refurbished museums open in Antwerp, Los Angeles and Sydney as Italian archaeologists make the "discovery of a generation" in a hilltop town in Tuscany
US officials return antiquities looted from Iraq Museum in 2003
The artefacts, cylinder and stamp seals dating back thousands of years, were seized after a US collector tried to sell one in an online auction
The Year in Art: We take a look at 2022’s biggest stories—and what they mean
Plus, our writers sit down to discuss their favourite works of the year
Parthenon Marbles: is a breakthrough in sight?
Plus, Afghan culture in crisis and Kiki Smith’s New York murals
The Netherlands returns more than 200 pre-Hispanic artefacts to Mexico
In all, 223 pre-Hispanic objects have been repatriated to Mexico by the Dutch government, largely through the power of social media
Secret talks between British Museum and Greece to return Parthenon Marbles in 'advanced stages'
If a deal is finalised, the contested sculptures are expected to be returned to Greece in early 2023, and will be displayed at the Acropolis Museum in Athens
National Museum of Scotland to repatriate looted totem pole
The museum will transfer the totem pole to the Nisga’a Nation of British Columbia
Canada’s museums urged to overhaul practices to empower Indigenous peoples
Country’s museums association says institutions must involve Indigenous people in “every element” of their work
Massachusetts museum repatriates Wounded Knee Massacre artefacts to Lakota and Sioux nations
The Founders Museum, a small institution housed in a library, returned a variety of tribal objects to their rightful owners in South Dakota
Alleged Native American scalp seized from auction house specialised in Confederate and Nazi memorabilia
Authorities received an anonymous tip regarding an object listed for sale on the auction house’s website and described as a Mescalero Apache scalp
Manhattan district attorney returns 187 artefacts tied to disgraced dealer Subhash Kapoor to Pakistan
The objects associated with Kapoor, along with another five pieces returned to Pakistan, were cumulatively valued at $3.4m
Three decades ago, US museums were told to report all Native remains in their collections—so why are they still there?
American institutions have catalogued 208,698 entries since the law went into effect in 1990—but less than half of those holdings have been repatriated
Stolen statue linked to antiquities trafficker Doris Wiener repatriated to Cambodia
The sandstone vishnu statue was stolen from a seventh-century temple and smuggled to Manhattan in 1995, when it was sold to a private collector
Anthropologist opposed to Indigenous repatriation sues university for alleged threats to her free speech
Professor Elizabeth Weiss has filed a lawsuit against San José State University claiming she was disciplined for expressing her view that repatriation favours religion over science
Trove of Benin bronzes in US museum collections repatriated to Nigeria
The National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum marked the return of the sculptures with a ceremony in Washington, DC
London's Wellcome Collection returns remains of death camp victim to Denmark
Research carried out in 2019 helped identify the remains as Preben Holger Larsen, a 26-year-old artist and member of the Danish resistance
FBI returns 2,000-year-old Roman mosaic discovered in Los Angeles to Italy
The mosaic, which features a portrait of Medusa and had been cut into 16 pieces, was returned to Rome by the FBI’s Art Crime Team
‘Return Rosetta Stone to Egypt’ demands country’s leading archaeologist Zahi Hawass
The former Egyptian antiquities minister leans into the current restitution conversation, calling again for the return of three prized antiquities from European museums
The Metropolitan Museum returns two looted artefacts to Nepal
The two works, given to the museum in the 1990s, were looted from temples in Kathmandu according to recent internal provenance research
National Museum of Scotland urged to return First Nations totem pole stolen by Canadian anthropologist
The pole was stolen in 1929 and, if returned, would be only the second totem pole to be repatriated to a First Nation by a European institution
US museums and Indigenous tribes receive $2m grant to boost repatriation efforts
The National Park Service has awarded grants totaling $2.1m to 20 museums and nine tribes
British Museum proposes new ‘Parthenon partnership’ with Greece in bid to end deadlock over Marbles
Officials will loan the ancient sculptures only if they are returned to London
Oxford and Cambridge universities approve returning 213 looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria
Charity Commission could veto the decision to repatriate objects from Ashmolean Museum and Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Pope Francis addresses forced assimilation in Canadian tour amid calls for repatriation of Indigenous artefacts from Vatican Museums
Francis delivered a speech in Maskwacis as part of a week-long visit to apologise for the role of the Catholic church in the cultural genocide of Indigenous communities
Copies of the Parthenon Marbles—carved by a robot—to go on show in London
Project by Oxford’s Institute for Digital Archaeology fuels debate about restitution of controversial sculptures
Political pressure and protest at British Museum keeps Parthenon Marbles restitution issue in the spotlight
Clamour grows for reunification as Acropolis Museum in Athens marks 13th anniversary
Artefacts long held by the Smithsonian will go on view at new Mi’ kmaw cultural centre in Nova Scotia
The $50m centre is scheduled to open in 2025 and showcase works on long-term loan from the National Museum of the American Indian