British Museum

Thousands of Egyptians seek return of Rosetta Stone from British Museum

French scientists uncovered the stone in 1799 when France invaded Egypt under Napoleon Bonaparte.

Ancient glassware pieced back after Beirut Port blasts shattered them

Eight glass vessels dating back to the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods are on display at the British Museum. They were housed in Lebanon before the 2020 Beirut explosion shattered them to bits and they had to be painstakingly put back together.

How Western museums distorted the Muslim image after stealing its art

Western countries have assumed themselves the custodians and narrators of the global human experience with little to no mention of the colonial roots of the institution.

Benin Bronzes: The UK’s first institutional return of looted artifacts

On 27 October 2021, Cambridge University will be the first UK institution to officially repatriate one of the looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.

The continued legacy of ‘human zoos’

For centuries, ‘human zoos’ were used as a global display of Western cultural and economic superiority. While these living exhibitions don’t exist today, the mechanisms that led to the dehumanisation of Black and Brown bodies continue.

UK to Greece: We are legitimate owners of Parthenon marbles

Greece has repeatedly called for the return of the treasures, removed by Britain’s Lord Elgin to the then empire, known in Britain as the Elgin Marbles.

British author donates library to rebuild destroyed collection at Mosul

British author Edmund de Waal says he will donate almost 2,000 books from his installation at The British Museum to the Mosul University Library.

British Museum to return looted Iraqi and Afghan artefacts

The museum said it has been working with law enforcement agencies to return the works smuggled out during recent periods of conflict.

Tutankhamen head fetches millions at UK auction despite Egypt's protest

The over 3,000-year-old sculpture was sold at Christie's London auction house for around $6 million despite protests from the Egyptian government.

Artworks of the Islamic world to be staged at British auction house

A portrait of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent by Italian painter Gentile Bellini and many other art pieces from the Ottoman Empire will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s as part of the “Arts of the Islamic World” collection.

Africans cheer call for France to return treasures

French law strictly forbids the government from ceding state property, even in well-documented cases of pillaging, despite growing calls in Africa for restitution.