When British soldiers stole the treasured works in 1897, it left a gaping hole in an ancient culture. With a few set to return to Nigeria, can their meaning be restored, too?
Tag: Arts and Antiquities Looting
The Masterpieces That Napoleon Stole, and How Some Went Back
His art seizures paved the way for similar French excesses in Africa a century later. Yet the return of some treasures after his defeat set a model for museums today.
Thieves Steal Artifacts Worth $1.4 Million From English Castle
The treasures, including rosary beads carried by Mary, Queen of Scots, at her execution in 1587, were stolen from a display cabinet at Arundel Castle.
Germany Sets Out Plans to Return Benin Bronzes
The government, regional legislators and major museums said they would make “substantial” returns of the famous West African artifacts starting next year.
Looted Objects From Afghanistan Are Returned
Thirty-three antiquities were handed over to the Afghan ambassador by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and the Department of Homeland Security.
Turkey Fights for Return of a Work It Says Was Looted
A bench trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan concerns an ancient idol held by Christie’s.
The Louvre Recovers Armor Pieces Stolen Nearly 40 Years Ago
At the end of May 1983, two pieces of Italian Renaissance armor went missing. The circumstances around their disappearance still remain a mystery.
With a Gift of Art, a Daughter Honors, if Not Absolves, Her Father
Douglas Latchford, a scholar of Khmer antiquities who was accused of trafficking in looted artifacts, bequeathed his world-class collection to his daughter. She has returned it to Cambodia.
Rare Violin Tests Germany’s Commitment to Atone for Its Nazi Past
The instrument’s holders refuse to compensate the heirs of a Jewish music dealer, jeopardizing a system for restitution that has been in place for nearly two decades.
How a Historian Got Close, Maybe Too Close, to a Nazi Thief
Over nearly a decade, Jonathan Petropoulos met dozens of times with a man who helped the Nazis loot Jewish art collections, a complicated relationship he explores in “Göring’s Man in Paris.”