Recent Posts
While some museums continue to wrestle over their ‘Benin dilemma’, the Denver Art Museum is celebrating a cultural collaboration with Nigeria that has lasted over five decades
Latest Restitution News
Recent articles added to our comprehensive resource list of restitution news from around the world
OCT 2025
United Kingdom
The Hunterian Museum, Glasgow has repatriated to South Africa the ancestral remains of six individuals unethically exhumed in the late 19th/early 20th centuries
SEP 2025
Netherlands
The Dutch government has agreed to return to Indonesia the Dubois collection of 28,000 fossils, collected when Indonesia was a Dutch colony
SEP 2025
United Kingdom
A growing number of British people polled in a recent survey - 56% - want the Parthenon Marbles returned to Greece, compared to 53% in 2024
SEP 2025
United Kingdom
Bristol Museum has returned 33 artefacts collected during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to the Larrakia people of Australia's Northern Territory
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From the Editor
The latest analysis and reports on cultural restitution news
While some museums continue to wrestle over their ‘Benin dilemma’, the Denver Art Museum is celebrating a cultural collaboration with Nigeria that has lasted over five decades
It’s no easy matter resolving the current ethical debate over the retention and exhibition of human remains. But one public collection is asking visitors to cast their vote
“Would be nice to have a more frank discussion about how objects are collected for the Museum. Saying ‘Donated’ is not enough”
About Cultural Restitution
Cultural restitution is the process by which a moveable object of historic or cultural value is returned to its country of origin after being seized, looted or acquired against the will of its owners. But it's more than just an act of return. It represents a growing recognition of the need to correct injustices committed in the past.
Today, as society’s values and the role of museums change, the legitimacy and ownership of these objects – as well as those thought to be procured legally – are coming under a spotlight. As complicated and sensitive as this debate may be, there’s no halting the growing debate between museums and communities of origin to find solutions that build new bridges of friendship and cooperation. This involves a new approach to restitution built on transparency and fairness - engaging with source communities and ensuring their voice is heard.
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Mapping the location of cultural restitutions
Our extensive Global Archive provides invaluable links to many other restitutions and other restitution news taking place around the world - organised by country.
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A Museum Perspective
"To be entrusted with the temporary display of a Benin Bronze plaque on loan from the Nigerian government is a testament to the mutual respect and partnership we've built."
Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the Denver Art Museum (October 2025)