Supervillain Erik Killmonger in the Marvel blockbuster Black Panther while surveying the African collection at the Museum of Great Britain, corrects the exhibition’s patronizing white curator about the provenance of an axe: “It was taken by British soldiers in Benin, but it’s from Wakanda. Don’t trip – I’m gonna take it off your hands for you.” When the woman replies that the items are not for sale, Killmonger says: “How do you think your ancestors got these? Do you think they paid a fair price? Or did they take it, like they took everything else?” As the poisoned curator collapses, Killmonger deaccessions the artefact.

 

Think about the last time you went to an art or history museum. Which pieces stood out to you? Did you read the plaques next to them? Did those tell you where the artifacts were from and how they were acquired?

 

Museums in several Western countries are facing increasing pressure to return troves of artifacts in their collections to their countries of origin. Leaders from areas of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific that were once colonies have said they want the items many of which were taken hundreds of years ago to be given back. Similar requests have been made and largely ignored for decades. But a new crop of European leaders have recently begun to reevaluate the legacy of colonialism.

French President Emmanuel Macron commissioned a report that recommended returning many of the 90,000 artifacts from sub-Saharan Africa housed in his country’s museums. Germany and the Netherlands have announced their own plans to return items. Several museums in the U.K. have loaned parts of their collections to museums in their country of origin.

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Meanwhile, the British government does not respond to or deny most repatriation claims, to a source country, even if it is attached to their cultural heritage or nationalism. “The British Museum Act 1963 prevents our national museums from removing items … the government has no plan to change the law”, said the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The British Empire was the largest colonial power in its time, and India was its biggest colony, the "jewel" of the crown. A part of the big loot are the 105.6-karat Koh-i-noor diamond, which adorned Queen Victoria's brooch, the Buddha's shrine from the Amaravati monument, and a wooden tiger that was seized from Tipu Sultan, an Indian ruler, after he was defeated by the British.

 

Advocates for returning the artifacts say the items were stolen during an oppressive era in history. Countries that keep these ill-gotten pieces, they argue, are continuing to profit from exploitation of the past. While some curators from Western countries say that many of the items were acquired legally, at least according to laws at the time. Others raise questions over whether claims of ownership are legitimate, since some of the nations and tribes that created the items no longer exist. There are also concerns that the countries requesting the artifacts lack the infrastructure and funding to ensure that they are properly preserved.

 

For any museum born of the imperial moment, the question of provenance and ownership in a post-colonial age is particularly germane. While it appears that more artifacts will be making their way to their home countries, it's unlikely that this will lead to empty shelves in European museums anytime soon.