Repatriation of the Benin Bronzes: an Ethical and Legal Discussion?

June 19, 2023

By Alec Lesseliers

Introduction

The British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum are a few of the world’s most famous and largest history museums with objects in their collection from all over the world. Although those museums embody a true library of the world, one major problem is hidden in those museums: many well-known objects — like the Rosetta Stone, Hoa Hakananai’a, and the Marble head of Athena — have disputed ownership. On the one hand, museums such as the British Museum, the Louvre, and the MET, so called “encyclopedic museums,” are perceived as promoting a global overview of artifacts from different cultures and times. Those museums claim that artifacts belong there on display for the world to see in order to show pluralism and diversity. On the other hand, countries are fighting to get their cultural property back to promote their own states’ national identities.^[1]

The disputed ownership of artifacts in western museums is a well-known global issue. The following will focus primarily on the issue of the Benin Bronzes in the British Museum through an international and domestic legal scope. To start, a sketch of the historical background of the Benin Bronzes. Next, a review of the current legal status of the Benin Bronzes. Lastly, this author will analyse the legal status of the Benin Bronzes through an international and domestic law scope. The domestic law analysis will discuss British law of cultural property.

Historical background

The historical background on how the British Museum acquired its artifactual pieces will explain how and why disputed ownership arises over those objects.

In the late 17^th century, the United Kingdom expanded its power over several continents for commercial purposes.^[2] In the scope of the Mercantilist philosophy, England regarded their colonies as raw materials suppliers, enabling them to export finished products and increase the wealth of the United Kingdom.^[3] During this time, many precious resources and wealth were taken from colonial countries worldwide, including historical artifacts such as the Hoa Hakananai’a from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and the Benin Bronzes.^[4] Consequently, many of those objects ended up in the British Museum and other western museums.

One of the most contentious items in the British Museum are the Benin Bronzes, which originated from the Kingdom of Benin, now located in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.^[5] The Kingdom of Benin was established in the 1200s and grew into a prosperous and wealthy empire, well known for its craftsmen and trade network.^[6] As a result, many artworks were created, from engraved ivory tusks to plaques.^[7] Those artworks represented a visual archive of the Kingdom of Benin that were used in religious rituals, hence the cultural value.^[8]

During the scramble for Africa between 1884-1914, the Berlin conference of 1884-85 divided the continent into spheres of influence in the interest of the European countries that wanted to expand their power and control over the African continent.^[9] Around the same period, the Kingdom of Benin began losing control due to dynasty disputes that resulted in a civil war.^[10] Consequently, the Kingdom of Benin struggled to resist external interference in its trading network, especially from the United Kingdom, which exerted control over Benin. The tension between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Benin grew continuously due to the United Kingdom’s failure to comply with Benin’s trading conditions.^[11] Although the strain between the two countries was high, the situation escalated in 1897 because of an ambush – where eight men died – of a British trade mission in Benin under the command of the Oba (Ruler).^[12] These deaths could have been prevented if the United Kingdom had listened to the warning by the Oba not to come at that time since Benin was in its annual igue festival.^[13]

The British military army reacted immediately by invading and conquering Benin City, also known as the “Benin Punitive Expedition.”^[14] Even though punishment was one of the incentives to invade Benin City, the British army subsidiarily targeted the royal treasures to sell them to finance the invasion.^[15] The British military looted about 3.000 valuable bronze and ivory works of art and subsequently auctioned them or gave them to museums.^[16] Despite Nigeria – including the city of Benin – becoming independent, this invasion has resulted in the scattering of the Benin Bronzes all over the world, in Western institutions.

The legal discussion and current status of the Benin Bronzes

In the last few decades, Nigeria has tried to get the Benin Bronzes back to their country of origin. In March 2002, the Benin Royal Palace and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture from Nigeria formally requested that “all the cultural property belonging to the Oba of Benin illegally taken away by the British in 1897 should be returned to the rightful owner, the Oba of Benin.” ^[17]

Even though the director of the British Museum visited Nigeria in 2018 to discuss the new opportunities for sharing and displaying objects from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria, the British Museum hasn’t returned any of the Benin Bronzes.^[18] The British Museum’s cautious approach is primarily due to its cultural internationalist perspective on repatriation. It perceives itself as a library of the world that showcases pluralism and diversity (infra). Additionally, the museum’s ability to repatriate cultural artifacts is constrained by the provisions of the British Museum Act of 1963 (infra).

Luckily, other initiatives emerged despite the restrictions imposed by the British Museum Act of 1963. For example, in 2007, the Benin Dialogue Group was created with the objective “to establish new museums in Benin City to facilitate permanent displays of objects from the Kingdom of Benin.”^[19]

This initiative is a step in the right direction, but nevertheless, the abovementioned raises a few legal questions: What is the legal status quo for stolen artifacts? Can Nigeria command the British Museum to return the Benin Bronzes, or is it entitled to keep them? In the next chapter, the paper will analyse the current legal situation and philosophical approaches to the issue of the Benin Bronzes.

The philosophical approaches to the repatriation of the Benin Bronzes

There are two different philosophical approaches to the repatriation of the Benin Bronzes. On the one hand, cultural internationalists argue that artifacts from all over the world need to be presented in Western museums because they function as an encyclopaedia of the world. On the other hand, cultural nationalists argue that cultural property belongs to the culture of its origin. It contributes to the creation and promotion of states’ national identity^[20].

Cultural internationalists claim that artifacts from different periods and cultures create curiosity about diversity. They argue that encyclopaedic museums create a globalist worldview rather than a nationalistic concept of cultural identity. The nationalistic idea of cultural identity is outdated and produces the polarization of mankind. They believe that during times of globalization, we should strive to achieve pluralism, diversity, the idea that culture isn’t restricted by borders and unity, rather than an individualistic and self-centered society.^[21] To accomplish those goals, encyclopaedic museums are the perfect tool. Rather than focusing on the repatriation of artifacts, museums should focus on developing professional relationships between each other.^[22] Furthermore, cultural internationalists also argue that the concept of encyclopaedic museums isn’t a continuation of the colonial past; it is a worldview where the best protection and preservation of artifacts prevails over nationalistic ideas.^[23]

Cultural nationalists instead call upon racial justice and cultural identity to create the foundation of their arguments. They argue that the repatriation of the Benin Bronzes would symbolize the end of colonialism because holding on to those artifacts glorifies the violence of colonialism and racism associated with it.^[24] Besides the argument of colonialism, the idea of cultural property is also very present. Theo-Ben Gurirab argues that “the African art that has found its way into galleries of former European colonial powers and the homes of the rich has deep cultural significance […]. It is through them that the living spirits of our people, of our history, of our culture interact and interface with us.”^[25]

Legal analyses of cultural property

The Benin Bronzes are examples of “cultural property,” which are objects with artistic, historical, archaeological, or ethnological value according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) convention of 1970.^[26] The protection of cultural property is two-dimensional with an international and domestic legal framework.

International legal framework

The International legal framework consists of three major international conventions.

The first international treaty regarding the scope of cultural property was the Hague Convention on Laws and Customs of War on Land enacted in 1899 in response to the ruination and looting of cultural property. The Hague convention was the first treaty to introduce the idea that cultural property should be protected during wartime.^[27] Unfortunately, this convention fails to protect cultural property outside of wartime.

Almost a century later, UNESCO created the Convention of 1970, mentioned above, which regulates the illicit import, export, and transfer of ownership of cultural property and encourages its 142 signatory countries to call for the repatriation of national cultural property.^[28] This convention capitalized on the limited scope of the previous convention by providing a more general protection regime for cultural property. Besides the implementation of the convention of 1970, UNESCO has another crucial role in the repatriation of cultural property which may help resolve the issue around the Benin Bronzes.^[29] Although UNESCO declared that “no culture is a hermetically sealed entity,” it nevertheless assists states in repatriating cultural property because “the men and women of these countries have the right to recover these cultural assets which are part of their being.”^[30]

Finally, the International Institute for the Unification of Privat law (UNIDROIT) enacted the Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Property (year?) with the intention of making the concept of restitution stated in the Convention of 1970 more effective.^[31]

Unfortunately, the Hague convention, the UNESCO convention, and the UNIDROIT convention do not apply to events occurring before its implementation, causing the issue of the Benin Bronzes to remain unsolved.^[32] The only possible solution within the scope of international law would be for enough countries to repatriate stolen artifacts taken before 1899, with the intent to establish a customary international norm.^[33] Such trends of the Benin Bronzes repatriation can be ascertained worldwide. Countries like Germany, U.S., and France – to name a few- have announced and actually repatriated some of the Benin Bronzes.^[34] Although a customary international norm of repatriation of stolen artifacts has not been formed, the fast-growing trend of repatriation efforts could create an international atmosphere where countries feel morally obliged to return the artifacts, thus forming an international precedent.^[35]

Domestic legal framework

The law of the United Kingdom is within a domestic scope of significant importance for cultural property because they exerted control over numerous colonies during the colonial time, hence the cruciality of assessing the content of their provisions of cultural property.

It all starts with the British Museum Act of 1753, which regulates the conduct of the British Museum. The British Museum Act derives from the last will of Sir Hans Sloane, who offered his collection to the parliament in exchange for 20.000 pounds, on the condition that a public museum would be established with a Board of Trustees to oversee the collection.^[36] Eventually, Parliament approved the British Museum Act of 1753 and Sir Hans Sloane’s last will was codified into British binding law.^[37] Later, some adjustments were made, and the new British Museum Act of 1963 was enacted.^[38]

The British Museum Act of 1963 regulates the disposal or loaning of cultural property to other museums. Article 5(1) of the British Museum Act of 1963 restricts the British Museum by only giving the Trustees of the British Museum the authority to “sell, exchange, give away or otherwise dispose of any object vested in them and comprised in their collection if:

(a) the object is a duplicate of another object, or

(b) the object appears to the Trustees to have been made not earlier than the year 1850, and substantially consists of printed matter of which a copy made by photography or a process akin to photography is held by the Trustees, or

(c) in the opinion of the Trustees, the object is unfit to be retained in the collections of the Museum and can be disposed of without detriment to the interests of students.”^[39]

Furthermore, article 4 of the British Museum Act of 1963 provides the possibility for the Trustees of the British Museum to “lend for public exhibition (whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere) any object comprised in the collections of the Museum.”^[40]

Despite the rules limiting the conduct of the Board of Trustees of the British Museum, some possibilities for repatriation can be presented. Whether the board of trustees may repatriate cultural property depends on the British charitable trust law. Within this scope, the law of Ex Gratia payments plays a significant role. An Ex Gratia payment means that “a charity might occasionally want to make a payment that does not support its aims but which they feel morally right. […] Trustees must decide if there is a clear moral obligation to make the payment, and then apply for charity commission permission.”^[41]

Although the rule is in general limited to trust and estates surrounding wills, in the Re Snowden case, the judge argued that the concept of Ex Gratia payment was also applicable for repatriation claims. As a result, the court or the Attorney General may authorize “a payment … out of charity funds which is motivated simply and solely by the belief of the trustees or other persons administering the funds that the charity is under a moral obligation to make the payment.”^[42] A few decades later, Parliament enacted the Charities Act of 1993, enabling charities to make ex gratia payments in response to a moral obligation (§27 Charities Act of 1993).^[43] The charity trustees however must ask the Attorney General permission to deviate from their fiduciary duty.^[44]

In Attorney General v. British Museum Trustees, the British Museum argued that the Re Snowden’s precedent enables the Museum to repatriate looted artworks.^[45] The court concluded that the British Museum Trustees could not return the artwork and remained bound to its fiduciary duty because a Trustee is only authorized to dispose of an object when it is (1) a duplicate, (2) it is unfit to be retained, or (3) useless. Looted artwork however, does not fall under this exception. Furthermore, the court concludes that the Re Snowden case distinguishes itself from the Attorney General v. British Museum Trustees case because no statutory prohibitions were at play in Re Snowden, hence why the theory of ex gratia payments isn’t applicable.^[46] The British Museum Act of 1963 clearly states the circumstances in which the Trustees are authorized to dispose of an object.

Despite the lack of solutions, some examples can provide inspiration on how to tackle the issue of repatriating the Benin Bronzes. On a domestic level, the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act of 2009 was enacted, authorizing the British museum to repatriate certain cultural objects relating to events occurring during the Nazi era without violating the British Museum Act of 1963^[47]. The Holocaust Act of 2009 exemplifies how the statutory requirements that bind the Museum’s trustees to their fiduciary duty can be tempered.

Another solution — which can resolve the issue regarding repatriation — can be found in the French legal system. Recently France has enacted a bill enabling the repatriation of some cultural property “[By way of derogation from the principle of inalienability of property constituting the collections of museums in France […] The administrative authority has, from the same date, a period of one year to return this work to the rightful owners of Eleonore Stiasny.]”^[48] This bill contributes to the return of 27 important looted artifacts to Benin and Senegal.^[49] Furthermore, President Macron promised to return all African artifacts looted during colonial times within five years.^[50] Whether this statement will become reality, is still a question.

Conclusion

The repatriation of artifacts looted during colonial times is a complex problem. No answer will globally be accepted because, on the one hand, cultural internationalists will always root for encyclopedic museums, and on the other hand, cultural nationalists will always argue that cultural property belongs to the culture of its origin. Regardless, British and international law has a clear standpoint.

In conclusion, the international and domestic legal framework are lacking to resolve the issue of repatriating the Benin Bronzes. On an international level, none of the conventions covers looted artifacts before their signing. This resulted in the situation where the multiple looted artifacts – like the Benin Bronzes – cannot be repatriated by the country of origin through international law. On a domestic level, the court concluded in Attorney General v. British Museum Trustees that the theory of ex gratia payment doesn’t apply to the stolen artifacts found in the British Museum. Because of this, the repatriation of looted artifacts depends on an ethical choice rather than a legal one.

Instead of letting one philosophical approach prevail over the other, a more fitting solution would be to combine the cultural internationalists’ and nationalists’ views. This situation would be one where the looted artifacts are repatriated to the countries of origin while still allowing Western museums to show artifacts from different periods and cultures. In museums like the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Dutch Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, and the Hudson Museum, such a situation is already put into practice by making replicas of the original artifacts. It provides possibilities to expand education opportunities and create creative engagement programs while allowing for repatriation. ^[51] This is a silver bullet where both the cultural internationalists’ and nationalists’ desires are met.

About the Author

Alec Lesseliers is a 22-year-old Belgian last-year law student with diverse interests and experiences. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Law from Ghent University and will receive his Master’s degree in Law from Ghent University at the end of the year. During his master’s, he studied at American University Washington College of Law for one semester. Alec has written an article within the scope of private banking for “Het Nieuw Juridisch Weekblad” and is currently writing another article within the same scope for “Bank- en Financieel recht – Droit Bancaire et financier”. In addition to his writing, Alec works as a volunteer with a non-profit organization to provide legal advice on rental issues. When he’s not studying, writing, or volunteering, Alec enjoys spending time with his friends. Image: The British Museum/Benin Bronzes

Select Resources and Additional Readings

1. Cuno, James. “Culture War: The Case Against Repatriating Museum Artifacts.” Foreign Affairs 93, no. 6 (2014): 119–29. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24483927. ↑
2. Rafferty, John p. “British Empire.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., August 14, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/place/British-Empire. ↑
3. Kramer, Leslie. “How Mercantilism Affected Great Britain’s Colonies.” Investopedia. Investopedia, June 28, 2022. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/041615/how-did-mercantilism-affect-colonies-great-britain.asp#:~:text=Mercantilism%20exists%20to%20increase%20a,an%20imbalanced%20system%20of%20trade. ↑
4. Moai The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/moai (last visited Sep 26, 2022); Benin bronzes The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/benin-bronzes (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
5. Benin bronzes The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/benin-bronzes (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
6. The Kingdom of Benin National Geographic Society, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/kingdom-benin (last visited Sep 26, 2022); Kingdom of benin World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org/Kingdom_of_Benin/ (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
7. Art Treasures from the African Kingdom of Benin DailyArt Magazine, https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/art-from-the-kingdom-of-benin/ (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
8. The Kingdom of Benin National Geographic Society, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/kingdom-benin (last visited Sep 26, 2022); The Benin Bronzes: A Violent History TheCollector, https://www.thecollector.com/benin-bronzes-restitution-controversy-nigeria/ (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
9. The long-run effects of the Scramble for Africa CEPR, https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/long-run-effects-scramble-africa-0 (last visited Sep 26, 2022); Benin bronzes The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/benin-bronzes (last visited Sep 26, 2022); 1897 British Punitive Expedition against the Benin Kingdom and its aftermath The Art of Value, https://theartofvalue.blog/2021/07/23/benin_kingdom/ (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
10. The Kingdom of Benin National Geographic Society, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/kingdom-benin (last visited Sep 26, 2022); Kingdom of benin World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org/Kingdom_of_Benin/ (last visited Sep 26, 2022); Benin bronzes The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/benin-bronzes (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
11. Benin bronzes The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/benin-bronzes (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
12. The Art Institute of Chicago The British Conquest of Benin and the Oba’s Return | The Art Institute of Chicago, https://archive.artic.edu/benin/conquest/#:~:text=In%20the%2019th%20century%2C%20disputes,divide%20Africa%20into%20colonial%20territories (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
13. 1897 British Punitive Expedition against the Benin Kingdom and its aftermath The Art of Value, https://theartofvalue.blog/2021/07/23/benin_kingdom/ (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
14. The Art Institute of Chicago The British Conquest of Benin and the Oba’s Return | The Art Institute of Chicago, https://archive.artic.edu/benin/conquest/#:~:text=In%20the%2019th%20century%2C%20disputes,divide%20Africa%20into%20colonial%20territories (last visited Sep 26, 2022); Previous Benin Plaque research – The Raid on Benin, 1897 National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution, https://africa.si.edu/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/visionary-viewpoints-on-africas-arts/the-raid-on-benin-1897/ (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
15. Previous Benin Plaque research – The Raid on Benin, 1897 National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution, https://africa.si.edu/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/visionary-viewpoints-on-africas-arts/the-raid-on-benin-1897/ (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
16. Benin empire Visit the main page, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Benin_Empire#Decline (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
17. Appendix 21 – publications.parliament.uk parliamentUK, https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmcumeds/371/371ap27.htm (last visited Sep 26, 2022); Benin bronzes The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/benin-bronzes (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
18. Benin bronzes The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/benin-bronzes (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
19. Benin bronzes The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/benin-bronzes (last visited Sep 26, 2022); Benin dialogue MARKK, https://markk-hamburg.de/en/benin-dialogue/ (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
20. Cuno, James. “Culture War: The Case Against Repatriating Museum Artifacts.” Foreign Affairs 93, no. 6 (2014): 119–29. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24483927 ↑
21. Kiwara-Wilson, Salome. “Restituting Colonial Plunder: The Case for the Benin Bronzes and Ivories .” DePaul University 23, no. 2 (2013): 375–425. ↑
22. Cuno, James. “Culture War: The Case Against Repatriating Museum Artifacts.” Foreign Affairs 93, no. 6 (2014): 119–29. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24483927 ↑
23. Kiwara-Wilson, Salome. “Restituting Colonial Plunder: The Case for the Benin Bronzes and Ivories .” DePaul University 23, no. 2 (2013): 375–425. ↑
24. Jackson, Joelle. “Cultural Heritage Management and International Law: Restitution of the Benin Bronzes,” 2021. ↑
25. Kiwara-Wilson, Salome. “Restituting Colonial Plunder: The Case for the Benin Bronzes and Ivories .” DePaul University 23, no. 2 (2013): 375–425. ↑
26. About 1970 convention UNESCO, https://en.unesco.org/fighttrafficking/1970 (last visited Oct 3, 2022); Roodt, Christa. “Restitution of Art and Cultural Objects and Its Limits.” The Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa 46, no. 3 (2013): 286–307. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23644806. ↑
27. Blake, Janet. “On Defining the Cultural Heritage.” The International and Comparative Law Quarterly 49, no. 1 (2000): 61–85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/761578; Godwin, Hannah R. “Legal Complications of Repatriation at the British Museum.” Washington International law journal 30, no. 1 (December 28, 2020): 144–70. ↑
28. Cuno, James. “Culture War: The Case Against Repatriating Museum Artifacts.” Foreign Affairs 93, no. 6 (2014): 119–29. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24483927; About 1970 convention UNESCO, https://en.unesco.org/fighttrafficking/1970 (last visited Oct 3, 2022); The UNESCO convention of 1970 is a binding agreement, but it does not override national laws that predate 1970, nor is it a law. ↑
29. Merryman, John Henry. “Thinking about the Elgin Marbles.” Michigan Law Review 83, no. 8 (1985): 1881–1923. https://doi.org/10.2307/1288954. ↑
30. “Return & restitution” intergovernmental committee UNESCO, https://en.unesco.org/fighttrafficking/icprcp (last visited Oct 3, 2022); Cuno, James. “Culture War: The Case Against Repatriating Museum Artifacts.” Foreign Affairs 93, no. 6 (2014): 119–29. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24483927. ↑
31. 1995 convention UNIDROIT, https://www.unidroit.org/instruments/cultural-property/1995-convention/ (last visited Oct 3, 2022); Indiana University Cultural Heritage Management and International Law: Restitution of the Benin Bronzes, https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/27764?show=full (last visited Oct 3, 2022) ↑
32. Godwin, Hannah R. “Legal Complications of Repatriation at the British Museum.” Washington International law journal 30, no. 1 (December 28, 2020): 144–70; Jackson, Joelle. “Cultural Heritage Management and International Law: Restitution of the Benin Bronzes,” 2021. ↑
33. Jackson, Joelle. “Cultural Heritage Management and International Law: Restitution of the Benin Bronzes,” 2021. ↑
34. Marshall, Alex. “Germany Begins Return of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.” The New York Times. The New York Times, July 1, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/arts/design/germany-benin-bronzes-nigeria.html; Smithsonian Institution. “Smithsonian Returns 29 Benin Bronzes to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments in Nigeria.” Smithsonian Institution, April 15, 2023. https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-returns-29-benin-bronzes-national-commission-museums-and monuments#:~:text=The%20Smithsonian’s%20National%20Museum%20of,British%20raid%20on%20Benin%20City; “France Returns 26 Looted Artifacts and Artworks to Benin.” CNN. Cable News Network, November 11, 2021. https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/benin-art-returned-scli-intl/index.html. ↑
35. Jackson, Joelle. “Cultural Heritage Management and International Law: Restitution of the Benin Bronzes,” 2021. ↑
36. Yasaitis, K.E. (2006), Collecting Culture and the British Museum. Curator: The Museum Journal, 49: 449-462. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2151-6952.2006.tb00236.x; “Sir Hans Sloane.” The British Museum. Accessed November 14, 2022. https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/sir-hans-sloane. ↑
37. Godwin, Hannah R. “Legal Complications of Repatriation at the British Museum.” Washington International law journal 30, no. 1 (December 28, 2020): 144–70. ↑
38. British Museum Act 1963BRITISH museum act 1963, https://www.britishmuseum.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/British-Museum-Act-1963.pdf (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
39. British Museum Act 1963BRITISH museum act 1963, https://www.britishmuseum.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/British-Museum-Act-1963.pdf (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
40. British Museum Act 1963BRITISH museum act 1963, https://www.britishmuseum.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/British-Museum-Act-1963.pdf (last visited Sep 26, 2022) ↑
41. Commission, The Charity. “Ex Gratia Payments by Charities (CC7).” GOV.UK. GOV.UK, April 30, 2014. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ex-gratia-payments-by-charities-cc7. ↑
42. Snowden, Re (1970) EWHC (Ch) 700; Attorney General v Trustees of the British Museum (2005) EWHC Ch) 397. ↑
43. “Charities Act 1993.” Legislation.gov.uk. Queen’s Printer of Acts of Parliament. Accessed November 14, 2022. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1993/10/contents/enacted. ↑
44. Ibid. ↑
45. “Attorney-General V Trustees of the British Museum (2005).” Attorney-General v Trustees Of The British Museum… Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.maitlandchambers.com/resources/cases/attorney-general-v-trustees-of-the-british-museum#:~:text=The%20express%20prohibition%20in%20the,returning%20drawings%20to%20their%20owners. ↑
46. Attorney General v Trustees of the British Museum (2005) EWHC Ch) 397; Godwin, Hannah R. “Legal Complications of Repatriation at the British Museum.” Washington International law journal 30, no. 1 (December 28, 2020): 144–70; ↑
47. Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) act 2009, §3. ↑
48. “Charities Act 1993.” Legislation.gov.uk. Queen’s Printer of Acts of Parliament. Accessed November 14, 2022. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1993/10/contents/enacted; Jackson, Joelle. “Cultural Heritage Management and International Law: Restitution of the Benin Bronzes,” 2021. ↑
49. Rea, Naomi. “France Pushed through a Bill to Return 27 Looted Artifacts to Benin and Senegal after Senators Threatened to Derail the Plan.” Artnet News, December 17, 2020. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/french-senate-restitution-bill-1932400; Packard, Cassie. “After Years of Repatriation Debates, France’s Benin Restitution Bill Approved.” Hyperallergic, November 11, 2020. https://hyperallergic.com/598752/restitution-france-benin-bronze-bill/. ↑
50. Ibid. ↑
51. “3D Printing Artifacts & Exhibits: A Museum Guide.” All3DP Pro, June 28, 2022. https://all3dp.com/1/3d-printing-artifacts-exhibits-museum/. ↑