Colonialism and Restitution: Museums That Have Returned Artifacts

Despite ongoing disputes over colonial-era loot, several successful restitutions have occurred. The Victoria & Albert Museum in London returned a 4,000-year-old gold Anatolian jug to Turkey, likely a funerary gift, acquired by collector Arthur Gilbert for $250,000 from dealer Bruce McNall, later charged with illegal antiquities trade. In September 2021, the US returned a Gilgamesh Dream Tablet to Iraq, stolen in 2003 and sold for $1.7 million to David Green, who displayed it at his Museum of the Bible in Washington before seizure. The British Museum also plans to return a Sumerian votive plaque from 2400 BC to Iraq. The article notes that international conventions like the 1954 Hague Convention, 1970 UNESCO Convention, and 1995 UNIDROIT Convention regulate illicit traffic but are not retroactive. The British Museum holds over 70,000 African artifacts and is more inclined to lend than return them, while the Parthenon Marbles and Easter Island monolith remain unrestituted. The article highlights these cases to maintain optimism for future progress.