History, homeward bound (hopefully)

That recent post about the not-really-“homecoming” of the Nedra Sky Disc got me thinking about those culturally significant artefacts and paintings that really do need to go home. Here’s a brief list of recent articles from The Art Newspaper to get us started. I’m sure there are unfortunately many more.

Austria takes first step to return artefacts from colonial era – The Art Newspaper
Though country was not a colonial power, major museums in Vienna have acquisitions of colonial goods.

German museums may have thousands of looted relics from China’s Imperial Palace, research group believes – The Art Newspaper
Collaborative research by major German institutions may expose huge amounts of Chinese objects taken during Boxer Rebellion.

Nigeria seeks to calm tensions over return of Benin bronzes – The Art Newspaper
Government museums body takes control of repatriated artefacts after ruler of Benin challenges new trust set up to unify Nigerian claimants.

Germany returns Nazi-looted, Dutch Golden Age painting to Jewish dealer’s heir—but more than 800 works are still missing – The Art Newspaper
Ice Skating by Adam van Breen was acquired by Hermann Göring, Adolf Hitler’s second-in-command, and bequeathed to the city of Trier’s museum in 1987.