Should former colonial powers be compelled to return stolen cultural artifacts?

Question

The UK, France and Japan among many others have valuable historical relics in their museums that belong to the people they formerly repressed. What should be done?

Answer 1

There are some cases which seem pretty clear cut.  Take the Elgin marbles held by the UK should be returned to Greece.  The British argument that the modern Greeks are not closely enough connected to the Ancient Greeks is utter bunk.   Other cases such as whether Hieronymus Bosch's painting 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' belongs in El Prado in Spain.  He was dutch but the Netherlands were at that time a part of the vast Hapsburg empire which also controlled Spain.  He was also a devout, arch-conservative catholic with much more in common with the faith that predominated in Spain rather than that of the protestant Netherlands.  

How is ownership determined?  Are cultural objects alienable?  Does country of origin matter?  Are there objects that belong to the world?  There are objects of 'cultural significance' to Papua New Guinea (as detailed in governmental documents) that are currently in a private collection in the US.  The owner wants to donate the collection to a California museum but issues over whether they will be reclaimed have prevented any action thus far.

Answer 2

The Norwegians marched through Poland in the early centuries and plundered and ran, taking with them all they could carry from the museums and homes, they left destruction and devastation behind, The Polish army chased them all the way to the sea where they run back to their own country and hid. They left a trail of dead and dying men women and children behind, so there would be no witnesses to their evils deeds.  These treasures are still in Norwegian museums and Poland has tried for years to get what belongs to them without success.

    Governments ask us, the people to act with honor but they themselves have hoarded trillions of dollars in looted treasures from other countries. The n***s raped Europe, the gold, jewels, treasures were never found, tails of buried treasures abound in the mountains of Austria and Germany, Switzerland. It may never be found.

Answer 3

Stolen from who?

Just because they are the present residents of that area do they have the ownership of artifacts created by peoples they have no connection with?

Maybe we should leave it with the present residents and let they take care of it like in Bamiyan?

Answer 4

Dam right they should give back what they stole and who should compel them?  People who put justice ahead of nationalism.

Answer 5

If true, are these people alive today?  If so, yes.

If not alive today, to whom should the artifacts be given?

Answer 6

They should be returned!

And the 'former' oppressor could take a long look into himself asking why Eskimo skulls are SO valuable to store in the basement!?- for research- cause its not racism to hold homebody's grand grand daddy in the ear or a finger thru the eye and have a religious artifact of deep cultural importance as a piece to use in the adds for the musei-shop are just good adds and get with the program!

Answer 7

Such as the Elgin Marbles (the reliefs from the Parthenon)?  

I agree that the items belong to the country of origin; but what if they are incapable (at this time) of taking care of them?  

Would not it better serve man as a whole for the things to remain where they can be protected?

Answer 8

The obvious question would be compelled by whom.  Since there is no power on Earth that could compel them militarily I would have to say no.  Nothing should be done.  The countries that have a claim to them can make their claim.  If they don't agree, well that is life.

Answer 9

Ah, justice as fairness. The real world so often intrudes on that sentiment, though. Who will make these rather, by comparison, powerful countries return anything?

Answer 10

It is true that many nations have cultural artifacts that came from elsewhere.  Having been to some of the world's greatest museums (Smithsonian, the Louvre, the Landesmuseum, et al) I must say that it is very rewarding to see all these artifacts from other countries.  The best solution I can think of is, to have it declared to belong to the nation it came from, but to allow it to circulate to other museums, with the idea that they be allowed to "go back home" every so often.

The more serious problem is when they destroy artifacts, as is often the case of American Indian artifacts.