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Crâne d’Ataï – France et Nouvelle-Calédonie
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En 1878, le grand chef Ataï fût tué lors de la rébellion de son clan contre l’accaparement des terres par les colonisateurs français. Devenu le symbole de la lutte contre le colonialisme français en Nouvelle-Calédonie, sa tête a été mise à prix avant de devenir propriété de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris (SAP). Dès les accords de Matignon en 1988, la France a promis le retour du crâne d’Ataï. Toutefois, ce n’est qu’en 2014, après des demandes réitérées, que le crâne fut finalement restitué à ses descendants.
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Ka Nefer Nefer Mask – United States v. Mask of Ka Nefer Nefer
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On July 28, 2014, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request of the United States Government to take further legal action regarding the St. Louis Art Museum’s ownership of the 3200 year old Egyptian Ka Nefer Nefer funerary mask.
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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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Lebanese Archives – Lebanon and University of Geneva
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In 2010, the University of Geneva sent to Lebanon the archives concerning the excavations conducted at Byblos, an archaeological site located in the northern part of Beirut, by the French archaeologist Maurice Dunand. The University had acquired the archives from Dunand in 1984.
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Christ Carrying the Cross Dragged by a Rascal – Gentili di Giuseppe Heirs v. Italy
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In 1941, the painting “Christ Carrying the Cross Dragged by a Rascal” by Girolamo Romanino was confiscated by Nazi-controlled French authorities from Federico Gentili di Giuseppe – an Italian of Jewish descent living in Paris – and then sold at auction.
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Young Couple in a Landscape – Feldmann Heirs and British Museum
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Czech-Jewish Arthur Feldmann’s collection of drawings, including “Young Couple in a Landscape”, was illegally seized and liquidated by the Gestapo in 1939. The painting was later acquired by the collector Edmund Schilling in the 1960s, who donated it to the British Museum in 1997. Uri Peled, Feldmann’s grandson, made a claim to the drawing a few years later.
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Two Souza paintings – Kurtha v. Marks
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In 1982, Dr Aziz Kurtha purchased two paintings from the Indian artist Francis Souza. They were stolen years later and their ownership changed a number of times, before Michael Marks purchased them on 10 January 2006.
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Madonna and Child with Wild Roses – Gross-Eisenstadt Heirs and Utrecht City Council
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German-Jewish businessman Richard Semmel had an extensive art collection which he was forced to sell after fleeing Jewish persecution in Germany. Among this collection was the painting “Madonna and Child with Wild Roses” by Jan van Scorel.
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Le Grand Pont – Weinmann Heirs and Yale University Art Gallery
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The painting “Le Grand Pont”, by Gustave Courbet, was owned by Josephine Weinmann and her family, but after they were forced to flee Germany from Nazi persecution, the painting was purchased by Herbert Schaefer, a Nazi militant. When Schaefer later loaned the painting to the Yale University Art Gallery, Weinmann’s heirs sued for its return.
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Mercedes Shipwreck – Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. v. Unidentified Shipwrecked Vessel
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In 2007, Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. found a shipwreck of the Spanish Royal Navy Frigate Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, loaded with many tonnes of coins. Odyssey filed an in rem action in the United States federal court to get legal title to the shipwreck and the coins, but the court found that they did not have the jurisdiction to decide the case according to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. As a result, the Mercedes and its cargo were given over to the custody of Spain.
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