Restitution

Maya skull carving found in German antique shop returned to Mexico

A skull relief carving hailing from the ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá has been repatriated

Yet again, a US court dismisses Nazi-era Guelph Treasure art lawsuit

The descendants of the €200m collection's Jewish former owners had appealed a 2022 regional court ruling

Italy seeks the return of seven possibly looted works from the Louvre

The museum's director says works with dubious provenance are 'a stain in the collections of the Louvre'

Bitter row rages over ownership of marble sculpture of Indigenous man

Restitution dispute between Chrysler Museum of Art in Virginia and Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association came close to a deal in 2020

US museum returns centuries-old Bakor monolith to Nigeria

The Chrysler Museum of Art repatriated the ancient sculpture following the recent discovery of photographic evidence

Netherlands to repatriate nearly 500 looted objects to Indonesia and Sri Lanka

The Rijksmuseum will return six colonial artefacts, for the first time in its history

Maasai families receive cows in recognition of 'culturally sensitive heirlooms' in Pitt Rivers Museum

After taking guidance from the community's traditional elders and religious leaders, the Oxford museum presented the "symbolic gift" on the weekend

Switzerland returns stolen fragment of ancient Ramesses II statue to Egypt

The fragment, plundered in the 1980s or 1990s, was seized in a criminal case in Geneva

Tel Aviv museum cancels art restitution conference with Christie’s over $202m auction linked to Nazi fortune

The event was scheduled to mark the 25th anniversary of the Washington Principles, which helps guide the return of artwork looted during the Holocaust.

Less than half of California State University campuses are complying with federal Native American restitution regulations, audit finds

The California universities “generally lack the policies, funding and staffing necessary to follow the law and repatriate their collections”, the report found.

Ancient Mesoamerican artefact with ties to ritual ball game returned to Mexico

An auction house in Austria intended to sell the artefact before officials stepped in, according to the Mexican government

Ireland sets up panel to advise on return of contested cultural heritage

The committee is led by Donnell Deeny, chairman of the UK government’s Spoliation Advisory Committee

Germany returns two Indigenous masks to Colombia after more than a century

During their time in Berlin, the two sacred masks were treated with a pesticide that may still be dangerous

Russia's 'Trinity' icon to stay at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral for another month

Andrei Rublev’s 15th-century work, which was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church last month, will also no longer be restored at the State Tretyakov Gallery

Austrian government to propose law on returning museum objects acquired in a colonial context

Calling out the injustice of colonialism and following it up with "serious debate and concrete actions" is Austria’s responsibility, says culture secretary

German restitution commission recommends Bavarian bank return Kandinsky painting to heirs of former Jewish owners

Kandinsky’s "A Colorful Life" (1907), which had belonged to collectors Emanuel and Hedwig Lewenstein, was sold in a 1940 Amsterdam auction

MFA Boston settles ownership dispute with Jewish dealers’ heirs over a painting Hitler wanted for his Führermuseum

"Customers Conversing in a Tavern" (1671) by Dutch Golden Age painter Adriaen van Ostade is up on display after a six years of research and negotiations

Restitutionanalysis

King Charles’s ethical dilemma over looted objects in the Royal Collection

The monarch will likely face calls for the return of priceless objects that were seized by British military forces during 19th-century operations

German city restitutes a Renoir to the heirs of a Jewish banker and buys it back

View of the Sea from Haut Cagnes will in future be displayed with information about its former owner, Jakob Goldschmidt

Lootnews

‘Easily recognisable fakes’ among artefacts repatriated to Italy from the US

Forged objects have been identified among the 60 antiquities returned amid much fanfare earlier this year

Taiwannews

China is waging a restitution campaign against Taiwan’s Forbidden City treasures

The artefacts held in Taipei’s National Palace Museum have become a political pawn in an increasingly heated conflict across the Taiwan Strait

Benin bronzes: whose restitution is this, anyway?

Phillip Ihenacho, the director of the Edo Museum of West African Art in Nigeria, calls for a new focus, based on realities on the ground rather than romantic notions of the West

Russian authorities confirm that famous 'Trinity' icon will be transferred to church despite protests from restorers and art historians

The announcement that President Putin will return Andrei Rublev’s masterpiece has sparked criticism from experts due to its fragile condition

Two looted antiquities seized in New York will be returned to Iraq

The figurines, which were looted from the ancient city of Uruk, belong to one of the oldest civilisations on earth

Putin now orders return of Russia's most precious icon to the church

Following the restitution of the silver Nevsky sarcophagus last week, the handover of Andrei Rublev's 15th-century Trinity has sparked concerns among conservators

'Restitution with conditions is neo-colonialism': German ruling parties defend return of Benin bronzes in parliament

The far-right Alternative for Germany party called for the debate after the oba of Benin was named owner of the returning artefacts, causing confusion

Amid mounting scrutiny of its collecting practices, Metropolitan Museum will form provenance research squad

The museum has responded to accusations that its collection includes looted artefacts by creating its largest research arm to date

Declassified documents on Parthenon Marbles reveal rift between UK government and British Museum

Foreign Office was dismissive of the museum's attempts to lobby for the contested sculptures in 1983

'The time of begging for stolen loot is over': Cambridge University master gives UN speech saying tone has shifted in restitution debate

Sonita Alleyne was appointed Master of Jesus College in 2019—the year the institution announced the UK's first repatriation of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria