Western museums are major tourist attractions, drawing travelers from around the world. But what responsibility do we bear as spectators for patronizing institutions that display what critics say are stolen works?
Tag: Arts and Antiquities Looting
$20 Million Worth of Looted Art Returns to Italy From the U.S.
The authorities of the two countries have worked together to round up statues, vases and bronzes, some of which had appeared in American museums.
As Russians Steal Ukraine’s Art, They Attack Its Identity, Too
Russian forces have looted tens of thousands of pieces, including avant-garde oil paintings and Scythian gold. Experts say it is the biggest art heist since the Nazis in World War II, intended to strip Ukraine of its cultural heritage.
U.S. Officials Repatriate a Looted Relic to the Palestinian Authority
As the object, a carved spoon, was handed back at a ceremony in Bethlehem, officials said it was the first time the United States had repatriated an antiquity to the Palestinian government.
Oscar White Muscarella, Museum ‘Voice of Conscience,’ Dies at 91
An archaeologist at the Met, he warned about plundered and fake antiquities and about the acquisition practices of collectors and museums, including his own.
Your Thursday Briefing: Zelensky at the White House
Also, Donald Trump’s tax returns show losses during his presidency.
Pope Francis to Return 3 Parthenon Marble Fragments to Greece
The pope will donate the 2,500-year-old pieces held by the Vatican Museums to the archbishop of Athens, a gesture that increases pressure on the British Museum to act over similar items on show in London.
Dispute Over ‘Java Man’ Raises a Question: Who Owns Prehistory?
An Indonesian claim against a Dutch museum has pushed the debate about restitution into the realm of the natural history museum — where it hasn’t been much of an issue until now.
Why Russia Stole Potemkin’s Bones From Ukraine
The 18th-century military commander and lover of Catherine the Great helped conquer Ukraine and looms large in the version of history the Kremlin uses to justify the war.
France Returned 24 Skulls to Algeria. They Weren’t What They Seemed.
The restitution of the remains, said to belong to 19th-century freedom fighters, was hailed as a symbol of reconciliation, but papers obtained by The Times reveal a gesture muddled by politics.