British museums are full of objects from other countries with – or in many cases without – permission. Greece has made high-profile demands for the return of the Elgin Marbles. Sky News looks at some of the other countries calling on the UK to return valuable items.
Tuesday, November 28, 2023 2:21 p.m., United Kingdom
Greece has long called on Britain to return the Elgin Marbles, 17 controversial sculptures removed from the ancient Parthenon temple 200 years ago.
British officials discussed legal means they could use block any export of sculpturesunderstands Sky News, as Downing Street canceled a meeting between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Greek counterpart.
But Greece is not alone in demanding the return of objects held by British museums.
Here, Sky News looks at some of the other countries calling on the UK to return valuable items.
Benin Bronzes – Nigeria
Nigeria has called for the return of the Benin Bronzes – and renewed its demand after revealing earlier this year that 2,000 objects were stolen from the British Museum.
The items, which date back to the 16th century, were taken to Benin City after British forces invaded the present-day Kingdom of Nigeria in 1897.
“They are being looted. They have been illegally taken out of the country,” said Abba Isa Tijani, director of Nigeria’s National Museums and Monuments Commission. speaking to Sky News in August.
“It is not important that they are safe there. That is not a problem. The problem is that these are stolen items and they should be returned in Nigeria to the communities to which they belong.”
Cast Gold Cloak and Shield Moel Hebog – Wales
The thefts from the British Museum have also prompted demands for Welsh artefacts to be returned to Wales.
The Mold gold cloak, around 4,000 years old, and the Moel Hebog shield, believed to date between the 12th and 10th centuries BC, were among the objects in the museum’s collection with a connection to Wales.
Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, said the argument that the items were safer in London “no longer holds water”.
She added: “These objects belong to everyone, but they particularly belong to us in Wales, and we have the means to use them to play a role in how we interpret our history.”
The Rosetta Stone – Egypt
Egypt has demanded the return of the Rosetta Stone, saying “the key to deciphering hieroglyphics is an icon of our Egyptian identity.”
The request to the British Museum to return the object, seized by the British in 1801 after being discovered by the French, has collected more than 200,000 signatures.
The Maqdala collection – Ethiopia
Crosses, religious texts and a shield were among the objects from the Maqdala collection returned to Ethiopia in 2021.
But other items looted by British soldiers during the Battle of Maqdala in 1868 remain in British museums.
Receiving the items, Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the UK, Teferi Melesse Desta, said: “To honor the memory of Maqdala, I once again renew the calls made by countless Ethiopians before me for museums, collectors and holders of Maqdala heritage are returning (these objects).
“I hope that with the return of Maqdala, the relations between our two nations and our two peoples can deepen and grow stronger and stronger.”
Hoa Hakananai’a Sculpture – Easter Island/Rapa Nui
In 2018, a delegation from Easter Island asked the British Museum to render a seven-foot-tall basalt sculpture known as Hoa Hakananai’a, meaning “the stolen or hidden friend” in the Rapa Nui language.
It is believed to date from around 1200 AD. It was removed from the island in 1868 and given as a gift to Queen Victoria.
“It’s not a rock,” Carlos Edmunds, president of the Council of Elders, told the Guardian. “He embodies the spirit of an ancestor, almost like a grandfather. That’s what we want to return to our island – not just a statue.”
Artifacts from the Omdurman battlefield – Sudan
Sudan has demanded the return of objects and body parts taken by British soldiers during the Battle of Omdurman in 1898.
Two skulls, a banner and armor were among the items Sudan wants to return.
Cultural remains – China
China joined demands for the artifacts to be returned after the British Museum theft scandal in an editorial in state newspaper The Global Times.
The museum’s collection contains 23,000 Chinese cultural objects, including statues, bronzes, scrolls “and other extremely valuable national treasures.”
“It is difficult to trace exactly how China lost them to the British Museum, but most Chinese collections were certainly looted or stolen by Britain when it was established and then profited from the Chinese crisis, or even directly stole from China,” the editorial said.
“Until Britain can prove which collection was legally and honestly acquired, then the homeland of those collections has the right to seek their repatriation.”
Learn more:
What are Elgin marbles?
British Museum reveals types of objects believed to have been stolen
Neanderthal skulls – Gibraltar
In 2018, Gibraltar requested the return of two Neanderthal skulls on display at the Natural History Museum.
The skulls, belonging to an adult woman and a child, are the “best studied human fossils in the world,” according to the Natural History Museum.
“It is normal that such important objects return home where they will be cherished and well cared for,” Gibraltar’s Heritage Minister said at the time.
