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1. Find one object that was repatriated (returned) from a museum to its country (or community) of origin.

2. Name the object, the institution (museum) in which it was previously kept, and the country (community) to which it was restituted (returned).

3. Provide a concise description of the type of the object, its functions and use, and the role in the original community where it was made and utilized. Summarize in one sentence how the object ended up in the museum.

4. Upload the image of the object.

5. Read the posts of your peers and comment on them.

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(Name: Ezatullah Farazi) Manchester Museum hands back 174 objects to Indigenous Australian islanders

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(Name: Ezatullah Farazi) Manchester Museum hands back 174 objects to Indigenous Australian islanders

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Dadikwakwa-kwa (shell dolls) are among the items Manchester Museum returned to the Anindilyakwa people (Australian islanders).

Manchester Museum of UK is returning more than 174 objects to an Indigenous Australian community. It is considered to be a great example of cultural repatriation.

The objects were all bought or traded for in the 1950s by Peter Worsley, an anthropology PhD student researching the lives of Indigenous Australians who later became a professor at the university. The items were acquired from Umbakumba, Groote Eylandt in the 1950s.

Doll shells are a wholly unique practice to the Anindilyakwa women of the archipelago. Keepers of spirits and ancestors, Dadikwakwa-kwa are considered alive by the women who create and care for them. Traditionally used as inter-generational learning aides for literacy, numeracy, kinship systems and women’s health, Dadikwakwa-kwa may also guide you through your dreams, answering your questions and giving advice. They hold sacred knowledge and stories safe for future generations.

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US museum (Houston Museum of Natural Science) returns ancient sarcophagus to Egypt. It used to bury leaders and wealthy residents in ancient Egypt because they believed in an afterlife and the sarcophagus was to be their eternal dwelling place of them. This sarcophagus is from 664BC, and the US museum returned it in 2021.

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This was an Egyptian coffin inscribed with the name Nedjemankh, a priest of the ram-god Heryshef. It was purchased by the Met in 2017 and returned to the Government of Egypt on Feb. 15, 2019. The Met claims that after purchasing the Coffin, they discovered that they had received false ownership documents for the coffin including a forged export licensee. It is believed that the coffin was really looted from Egypt in 2011.

The coffin had an elaborately decorated surface made up of different scenes and texts created with Gesso Relief, intended to protect and guide Nedjemankh through his path from death through the eternal after life. The coffin was sheathed in gold, which would have been thought to assist the deceased to be reborn in the next life.

Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/press/news/2019/metropolitan-museum-of-art-returns-coffin-to-egypt

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Virksha Devata (tree goddess or celestial woman), India, carved sandstone. 9th – 10th century. Originally from Baroli temple in Rajasthan, India. Gifted to Denver art museum in 1982. Returned back to the Republic of India due to proof of it being stolen from the temple.

The object was most likely worshipped due to its natural connections, and it originally being from a temple. Although not mentioned in the objects description, it is important to note that many female forms depicted with curvaceous figures were also commonly prayed to for fertility reasons.

Despite being gifted to the museum in 1982, the object was on a loan at the museum since 1965.

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Sioux Nation Wounded Knee Artifacts Returned.

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Kelly:

The Founders museum in Barre, Mass. USA returned Moccasins, necklaces, clothing, ceremonial pipes, tools and other objects from the Sioux nation which were taken from the the wounded knee massacre site. These items were taken from the dead bodies of the Sioux people; most likely male. {Date of wounded knee, December 29, 1890} Wounded knee occurred, in part, due to the US govt. breaking multiple treaties with the Sioux Nation which said that these lands would be a part of the Sioux Nation forever.

The items taken were every day objects and ceremonial objects. Tobacco and the smoking of it, using pipes, signifies a spiritual connection for many Indigenous Nations in the US.

From the article:

"Some 870,000 Native American artifacts – including nearly 110,000 human remains – that should be returned to tribes under federal law are still in the possession of colleges, museums and other institutions across the country, according to an Associated Press review of data maintained by the National Park Service."

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Name: Harappan Necklace

Current location: British Museum, London

Country of origin : India ( the Indus Valley Civilization region)

The Harappan Necklace is an artifact from the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization, dated around 2600-1900 BCE.

As we can see in the picture, the necklace is made out of semi-precious stones and beads. It is use as a jewelry for decoration purpose symbolizing the wealth within the Harappan society. Back in the original community, the object is various ceremonies and daily life.

This Harappan Necklace was taken by British during the colonial period and aken to the British Museum as part of their collection

source:

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One object that was repatriated from a museum to Afghanistan is the "Begram Ivories." The Begram Ivories refer to a collection of several objects, they consist of intricately carved ivory artifacts, including plaques, figurines, and decorative pieces. They are believed to date back to the 1st century CE and were found in a Kushan Empire palace complex, located in the Kapisa province of Afghanistan. However, they were likely crafted by highly skilled artisans of the Kushan Empire, possibly for ceremonial, decorative, or religious purposes.

In terms of gender representation, the Begram Ivories themselves don't have a gender associated with their purpose or creation. They are inanimate objects crafted by artisans, and gender is not a factor in their creation or purpose.

Their intricate designs suggest they held significance in the cultural and artistic life of the time, possibly serving as status symbols or objects of worship.

The precise artisans responsible for crafting the Begram Ivories remain elusive to historians, largely due to the lack of available information and the ancient origins of these artifacts. Additionally, the purpose behind their creation remains uncertain, as they were discovered among collections of various objects, making it challenging to attribute them to a specific artisan.

These intricately carved ivory artifacts were previously kept at the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul and were restituted to Afghanistan from the British Museum in the United Kingdom. The Begram Ivories are believed to have served as decorative elements in furniture or as luxury items in ancient Afghanistan, showcasing the artistic and cultural sophistication of the region. They played a significant role in the original community as symbols of wealth and status. The objects ended up in the museum through the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan (DAFA) during the early 20th century, which led to their removal and subsequent acquisition by foreign institutions.

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There are not photos included in this article, but 19 objects have been definitively attributed to King Tut’s tomb. They were acquired by the met through what they seem to characterize as a bureaucratic failure. These objects have been labeled as either mere bits and pieces, or as “significant” pieces of art history. Seemingly, the Met and Egyptian authorities are in good standing, and the pieces will travel and be shown in a couple museums before finally returning to Egypt, where they will be put on display in a museum there.

I’m curious about which objects are being labeled as just “bits and pieces” versus which are labeled significant. Only four are labeled significant, and some of these are not actually in any photos from the excavation site, so I wonder how they feel so certain that they came from the tomb. One object in particular is identified as a small dog statue, less than an inch tall. This being labeled as “significant” makes me wonder how significance is determined. Was such a small object really “significant” to the boy king, or is it just significant because it has survived in tact for so long?

Faye

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Press release

(New York, November 10, 2010)-Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, announced jointly today that, effective immediately, the Museum will acknowledge Egypt's title to 19 ancient Egyptian objects in its collection since early in the 20th century. All of these small-scale objects, which range from study samples to a three-quarter-inch-high bronze dog and a sphinx bracelet-element, can be attributed with certainty to Tutankhamun's tomb, which was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings. The Museum initiated this formal acknowledgment after renewed, in-depth research by two of its curators substantiated the history of the objects.

Mr. Campbell stated: "Research conducted by the Museum's Department of Egyptian Art has produced detailed evidence leading us to conclude without doubt that 19 objects, which entered the Met's collection over the period of the 1920s to 1940s, originated in Tutankhamun's tomb. Because of precise legislation relating to that excavation, these objects were never meant to have left Egypt, and therefore should rightfully belong to the Government of Egypt. I am therefore pleased to announce-in concert with our long-time colleague Zahi Hawass, who has contributed so greatly over many years to the recognition and preservation of the historic treasures of Egypt-this formal acknowledgment that title to the objects belongs to Egypt."

"This is a wonderful gesture on the part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art," said Zahi Hawass. "For many years the museum, and especially the Egyptian art department, has been a strong partner in our ongoing efforts to repatriate illegally exported antiquities. Through their research, they have provided us with information that has helped us to recover a number of important objects, and last year, they even purchased and then gave to Egypt a granite fragment that joins with a shrine on display in Luxor, so that this object could be restored. Thanks to the generosity and ethical behavior of the Met, these 19 objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun can now be reunited with the other treasures of the boy king."

Dr. Hawass also announced that the objects will now go on display in the exhibition Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs at Discovery Times Square Exposition, where they will stay until January 2011. They will then travel back to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they will be shown for six months in the context of the Metropolitan Museum's renowned Egyptian collection. Upon their return to Egypt in June 2011, they will be given a special place in the Tutankhamun galleries at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, and then will move, with the rest of the Tut collection, to the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza, scheduled to open in 2012.

At the time that Howard Carter and his sponsor, the Earl of Carnarvon, discovered the tomb of pharaoh Tutankhamun (reigned ca. 1336-1327 B.C.), the Egyptian government generally allowed excavators to keep a substantial portion of the finds from excavations undertaken and financed by them. However, during the decade that it took Carter and his team to recover the thousands of precious objects from this king's tomb, it became increasingly clear that no such partition of finds would take place in the case of the Tutankamun tomb.

Owing to the splendor of the treasures discovered in the tomb, conjectures soon started nevertheless, suggesting that certain objects of high quality, dating roughly to the time of Tutankhamun and residing in various collections outside Egypt, actually originated from the king's tomb. Such conjectures intensified after the death of Howard Carter in 1939, when a number of fine objects were found to be part of his estate. When the Metropolitan Museum acquired some of these objects, however, the whole group had been subjected to careful scrutiny by experts and representatives of the Egyptian government; and subsequent research has found no evidence of such a provenance in the overwhelming majority of cases. Likewise, thorough study of objects that entered the Metropolitan Museum from the private collection of Lord Carnarvon in 1926 has not produced any evidence of the kind.

The 19 objects now identified as indeed originating from the tomb of King Tutankhamun can be divided into two groups. Fifteen of the 19 pieces have the status of bits or samples. The remaining four are of more significant art-historical interest and include a small bronze dog less than three-quarters of an inch in height and a small sphinx bracelet-element, acquired from Howard Carter's niece, after they had been probated with his estate; they were later recognized to have been noted in the tomb records although they do not appear in any excavation photographs. Two other pieces-part of a handle and a broad collar accompanied by additional beads-entered the collection because they were found in 1939 among the contents of Carter's house at Luxor; all of the contents of that house were bequeathed by Carter to the Metropolitan Museum. Although there was discussion between Harry Burton (a Museum photographer based in Egypt, the Museum's last representative in Egypt before World War II broke out, and one of Carter's two executors) and Herbert Winlock about the origins of these works and about making arrangements for Burton to discuss with a representative of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo whether these works should be handed over to Egypt, that discussion was not resolved before Burton's death in 1940. When the Metropolitan Museum's expedition house in Egypt was closed in 1948, the pieces were sent to New York.

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November 10, 2010

Press resources

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Metropolitan Museum and Egyptian Government Announce Initiative to Recognize Egypt’s Title to 19 Objects Originally from Tutankhamun’s Tomb - The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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(New York, November 10, 2010)—Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, announced jointly today that, effective immediately, the Museum will acknowledge Egypt’s title to 19 ancient Egyptian objects in its collection since early in the 20th century. All of these small-scale objects, which range from study samples to a three-quarter-inch-high bronze dog and a sphinx bracelet-element, can be attributed with certainty to Tutankhamun’s tomb, which was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings. The Museum initiated this formal acknowledgment after renewed, in-depth research by two of its curators substantiated the history of the objects.

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The Brooklyn Museum surrenders more than 1,000 pre-Hispanic artifacts

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The Brooklyn museum in New York City, USA returned 1,305 pre-Hispanic artifacts to the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica in San José. The ceramic vessels were the second time artifacts were returned back to Costa Rica. The restituted artifacts were stolen by American railroad tycoon Minor Keith in the late 1800s. Archaeologist Javier Fallas of the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica told Reuters, “We don’t know why they did it, but it’s something very good and atypical in the world. The star piece of the returned artifacts was a piece of a tombstone that was missing for a very long time. The article doesn’t say whose tombstone it is.

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1- The Rosetta Stone, a significant artifact in Egypt's history, was originally housed in the British Museum.

2- The Rosetta Stone is a big piece of black rock from Egypt that's kept in the British Museum. It was made in 196 BCE and has writing in three different languages: Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic script, and Ancient Greek. This stone helped people understand Egyptian hieroglyphs.

3- Back in Egypt, the Rosetta Stone was like an official letter from the king, King Ptolemy V. It was probably put on display in a public place like a temple or a government building so everyone could see it. It showed the king's power and how he talked to his people.

4- The stone was found by French soldiers in Egypt in 1799 during a war. When the French lost to the British, they had to give up the stone in 1801. It was part of a deal called the Treaty of Alexandria. Then, the British took it back to their country and put it in the British Museum, where lots of people could see it. Museum, where lots of people could see it.

The source:

https://arce.org/resource/rosetta-stone-unlocking-ancient-egyptian-language/

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This object is a lava rock sculpture, Hoa Hakananai'a (meaning stolen/hidden friend), belonging to Easter Island. It is a mo’ai, and many are still kept in the British Museum, along with others, as of this date despite various efforts in returning them to their true homes. This specific object is made from dark grey-brown lava, with many carvings on its back. These carvings are not thought to have been part of the original construction, therefore the object carries with it even more history. Typically, they represent the deceased and are meant to watch over the island. These objects also function as a promotion of peace and protection, due to it being endowed with a life force called mana according to the islands inhabitants. They have also stated this specific sculpture is essential for the ecology and culture of the land. The president of the Council of Elders on Easter Island said that it represented “the spirit of our ancestors, almost like a grandfather.” The object ended up in the British Museum because it had been gifted to Queen Victoria, who then gave it to the museum it resides currently.

-Emily A

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Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907)

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Lisa: Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907)

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Lisa: Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907)

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This painting was not belonging to a country but to a family that lived in Austria and had to flee the country during the Nazi-regime. The portrait was stolen by the Nazis and they gave it to the Belvedere Museum in Vienna. Maria Altmann, the niece of the woman in the portrait and original owner took legal actions to gain the portrait back and make Austria admit that the painting was stolen. In 2004 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that she could sue the country of Austria and a local tribunal there decided that she was, as the only descendant of the family, the rightful owner of the portrait. The whole story was turned into a movie in 2015 called Women in Gold. The portrait was then bought by Ronald Lauder in 2006 for 135 million dollars and is now in the New York museum, the Neue Galerie. So in the end the owner sold it to be shown in a public gallery instead of keeping it private. The object is a painting from the famous painter Klimt, he was painting Adele Bloch-Bauer in 1907 in her apartment while wearing an expensive necklace. The style of the picture is typical Klimt with a lot of gold. It was commissioned by the family and hung in their apartment in Vienna where it was stolen from the Nazis. It was them who firstly put it into the museum to be publicly displayed although it was never meant for the public gaze. In the movie about the painting there is a screen shown where the painting is still hanging in Austria in the museum a curator explained to a group of visitors that this is one of Austria's most famous paintings and that they are very proud of it even though it actually belongs to a family and portrait a women that at a certain point in time was not wanted in this country.

Lisa

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1. UK returns looted Ghana artefacts on loan after 150 years. The United Kingdom has returned 32 gold and silver treasures stolen from the Asante Kingdom more than 150 years ago in what is today’s Ghana on a six-year loan.

2. The returned items include a 300-year-old Mponponso sword.

3. It used in swearing-in ceremonies. A gold peace pipe and gold discs worn by officials responsible for cleansing the king’s soul. These objects are to be said by the citizens that hold immense cultural and spiritual significance Ashanti people.

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1. The object is called a schist, which was handed over to the Afghan ambassador by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and the Department of Homeland Security.
3. These artifacts were part of a hoard of 2,500 objects valued at $143 million seized in a dozen raids between 2012 and 2014 from Subhash Kapoor,

4. it is a bronze mask of silenus from the second century, receiving the items, many of them delicate heads made from stucco, clay, and a soft stone known as schist,

5. These recovered works are irreplaceable pieces of Afghanistan’s diverse culture and rich history

6. Traffickers are not just robbing Afghanistan of its history Looting Afghanistan’s past is looting Afghanistan’s future.

Jamal

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Looted Objects From Afghanistan Are Returned (Published 2021)

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Thirty-three antiquities were handed over to the Afghan ambassador by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and the Department of Homeland Security.

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 A crown, made in Ethiopia about 1740, features gold, gilded copper, glass beads, pigment and fabric.

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The object is the Crown of Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, which was previously housed in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was restituted to Ethiopia.

This crown is a symbol of royal authority and power, worn by Emperor Tewodros II during his reign in the 19th century. It holds significant cultural and historical importance in Ethiopia, representing the country’s monarchy and identity.

The crown was taken from Ethiopia in 1868 after Emperor Tewodros II committed suicide following defeat in battle against British forces. It eventually ended up in the National Museum of Scotland as part of its collection of artifacts acquired during the colonial period.