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30 Vigango – Denver Museum of Nature and Science et Kenya
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Le 19 février 2014, le Denver Museum of Nature and Science a remis 30 vigango – statues de bois gravées à la mémoire des ancêtres des Mijikenda – au gouvernement kenyan.
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Afo-A-Kom – Furman Gallery and Kom people
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The Afo-A-Kom is a wooden sculpture sacred to the Kom people, a tribal population of Cameroon. In 1966, it was stolen and subsequently sold to a New York art dealer.
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Bible et fouet Witbooi – Namibie et Allemagne
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En 2013, la Namibie a adressé à l’Allemagne une requête en restitution d’une bible et d’un fouet witbooi. Ces objets, dont était propriétaire le héros national namibien Hendrick Witbooi, ont été spoliés par les troupes allemandes en 1893, lors d’une attaque menée par ces dernières contre la ville de Hornkranz afin de taire les soulèvements de la population contre l’occupation militaire allemande. Après des années de négociation, l’État allemand a finalement accepté de rendre les objets demandés. La restitution a eu lieu le 28 février 2019, à Gibeon, berceau historique de la communauté witbooi.
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Chasuble – Paraguay et Musée d’ethnographie de Neuchâtel et François Machon
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En 1889, le Musée d’ethnographie de Neuchâtel (MEN) reçoit en don une chasuble probablement spoliée au Paraguay pendant la guerre de la Triple Alliance (1864-1870). En 1926, le médecin neuchâtelois François Machon, alors Consul du Paraguay à Lausanne, propose au MEN le retour de la chasuble en échange du don de sa collection ethnographique, ce que le MEN accepte.
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G’psgolox Totem Pole – Haisla and Sweden and the Stockholm Museum of Ethnography
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In 1927, a totem pole belonging to the Haisla tribe in Canada was stolen and brought to the Stockholm Museum of Ethnography. In 1991, the tribe discovered the location of their totem pole, known as the G’psgolox totem pole, and requested that it be returned. After fifteen years of negotiations, the G’psgolox totem pole was formally returned to the tribe in 2006.
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Great Zimbabwe Bird – Zimbabwe and Prussia Cultural Heritage Foundation, Germany
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The lower half of a stone bird discovered in Zimbabwe under dubious circumstances was bought by the Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin around 1907. During the Second World War, the stone was removed by the Russian Army. After the fall of the Soviet Union, it was returned to the Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin. In 2000, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation – which managed the collection of this museum – under the pressure of the German federal government finally returned the fragment of the stone bird to Zimbabwe under the terms of a permanent loan.
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Hopi Masks – Hopi Tribe v. Néret-Minet and Estimations & Ventes aux Enchères
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Between 2013 and 2014, dozens of Hopi’s sacred objects were sold at auctions in Paris despite strong protests and legal actions launched by the Hopi tribe. These actions were unsuccessful because French judicial authorities denied legal standing to the Hopis and considered that the sales did not violate French law.
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Maori Panels – New Zealand and Ortiz Heirs
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In 1972, five rare Maori wooden panels were discovered in a swamp in New Zealand’s North Island. Shortly after the discovery, the panels were illegally exported out of the country by an antiquities dealer and then bought by Swiss collector George Ortiz. In 2014 New Zealand obtained the return of the Maori panels by virtue of an agreement with the heirs of Ortiz.
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Masque Makondé – Tanzanie et Musée Barbier-Mueller
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En 2010, le Musée Barbier-Mueller fait don du Masque Makondé à la Tanzanie, et met ainsi fin à un litige qui aura duré plus de 20 ans. Le litige fut porté devant le Comité intergouvernemental de l’UNESCO. L’Office fédéral suisse de la culture (OFC) est aussi intervenu.
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Masque Nalindele – Zambie et Personne privée
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En juin 1989 le Masque Nalindele est volé au Musée national de Livingston en Zambie. En 1996 un antiquaire l’acquière à Paris. Apprenant qu’il s’agit d’un objet volé, il décide de le restituer aux autorités belges que le restitueront par la suite à la Zambie.
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