Korea like other countries has been observing the approach taken by countries such as Italy & Egypt in retrieving their cultural property, whereby they have switched from a diplomatic approach to more hard-line measures with a certain amount of success.

From:
Joong Ang Daily

More than treasure lies beneath a historical trove of Korean art
[NEWS IN FOCUS:First in a two-part series]

Determining who has the rights – legal and natural – to the relics is a complicated question.
March 01, 2010

For much of its tumultuous history, Korea was invaded by stronger nations. Time after time, dating back to the fifth century, invaders ravaged the helpless country and none went home without spoils: They carted off cultural treasures ranging from texts from royal libraries to paintings and sculptures.
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The French government has returned two looted artefacts to Nigeria. The question is whether this is the start of an extended process of dialogue over disputed cultural property, or merely a one-off isolated act of restitution.

From:
Modern Ghana

FRANCE RETURNS LOOTED ARTEFACTS TO NIGERIA: BEGINNING OF A LONG PROCESS OR AN ISOLATED ACT?
By Kwame Opoku, Dr.
Feature Article | Sat, 30 Jan 2010

According to a report in the Nigerian Compass reproduced below, the French Government has returned to the Nigerian Government two artefacts looted during the colonial days. This is good news.

We have in various articles demonstrated the illegality, the illegitimacy and the immorality of detaining the cultural artefacts of others against their consent, whether the objects were looted, stolen or acquired under other dubious circumstances. We have urged Western museums that are full of such objects to endeavour to come to some acceptable arrangements with the owners. However, most Western museums have remained deaf to all reasonable pleas and demands for restitution.
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A French court has ruled on the Korean Manuscripts located in the Bibliothèque Nationale, stating that they are national property & belong to France.

From:
Korea Herald

Monday, January 11, 2010
[EDITORIAL] Looted artifacts

A recent French court ruling that Joseon-period royal texts looted by the French navy in 1866 belong to the National Library of France should spur the Korean government to step up efforts to have them returned to Korea.

The story of these long-lost royal books is an unfortunate one. The French navy stole 297 books from a royal library on Ganghwa Island, then burned down the building with the rest of its holdings during an invasion in 1866.
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More coverage of the return by the Louvre of Egyptian artefacts.

From:
Press TV

Louvre returns Egypt’s ancient artworks
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:34:26 GMT

The Louvre Museum has returned Egypt’s ancient wall paintings after the country severed ties with the French art hub in October.

Egypt retrieved the fragments after President Hosni Mubarak checked one of them during a visit with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, Artdaily reported.
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Following the earlier decision by the Louvre to return various fresco fragments, the actual return of these objects has now taken place.

From:
Agence France Presse

France returns stolen Louvre relics to Egypt
(AFP) – 22 hours ago

PARIS — France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy handed his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak a stolen ancient relic on Monday, ending a row between France and Egypt over artefacts taken from a Luxor tomb.

“Thank you very much,” Mubarak said as Sarkozy presented the painted wall fragment to him, following a formal lunch at the Elysee presidential palace.
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Egypt’s ultimatum to the Louvre over disputed artefact claims achieved a rapid response. Can other parties making restitution claims against museums learn from this?

From:
Afrikanet

Datum: 10.10.09 21:32
Kategorie: Kultur-Kunst
Von: Dr. Kwame Opoku
France to return ancient Egyptian frescos – Lessons from Zahi Hawass

LOUVRE GIVES IN TO DEMAND OF ZAHI HAWAS FOR THE RETURN OF STOLEN ARTEFACTS. IS THIS THE END OF A STORY OR THE BEGINNING?

According to press reports, France has agreed to return the the five ancient Egyptian frescos that Zahi Hawass claimed had been stolen from Egypt even though the French asserted they had bought them in “good faith”.
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Following their success in persuading the Louvre to return disputed artefacts, Egypt has once again set its sights on other artefacts of questionable provenance held in museums around the world.

From:
Agence France Presse

Egypt battling for more relics after Louvre success
By Ines Bel Aiba (AFP) – 2 days ago

CAIRO — Many relics from ancient Egypt remain in foreign museums and Cairo is struggling to persuade other countries to send them back, like France which agreed to return a set of 3,000-year-old wall painting fragments.

“It is the Egyptian people’s right to see works of art from their country’s civilisation,” said Abdel Halim Nureddin, a former head of Egypt’s antiquities authority.
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In a surprisingly rapid response to Egypt’s threats to withdraw cooperation with the Louvre, the French Museum has now agreed to the return of five fresco fragments, admitting that there are now serious doubts over their provenance.

From:
Bloomberg

France to Give Back to Egypt Five Artifacts Bought by Louvre
By Farah Nayeri

Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) — France said it is returning to Egypt five fresco fragments acquired by the Louvre Museum, saying there were “serious doubts” about their provenance, and responding to Egyptian demands for their return.

The 35-member commission overseeing France’s national museum collections met today, and unanimously agreed that the fresco fragments from the wall of a prince’s tomb must be given back, the culture ministry said in an e-mailed release. Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand has decided to return them.
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More coverage of Zahi Hawass’s threats to cut ties between Egypt & the Louvre, as arguments over disputed artefacts in the French museum escalate. Hawass also alleges that the Louvre knew the artefacts were obtained illegally at the time that they were acquired.

From:
Independent Online (Zaire)

Artefacts drive wedge between Egypt, Louvre
October 08 2009 at 09:18AM
By Paul Schemm

Egypt’s antiquities czar took his campaign to recover the nation’s lost treasures to a new level on Wednesday by cutting ties with one of the world’s premier museums, the Louvre, over disputed artefacts.

The Paris museum’s refusal to return painted wall fragments of a 3 200-year-old tomb near the ancient temple city of Luxor could jeopardise its future excavations in Egypt.
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In the past, Egypt’s Zahi Hawass has asked for the return of disputed artefacts in the Louvre. Now, as a means to escalate the issue, he is trhreatening to withdraw any co-operation between Egypt & the Louvre until the issue is resolved.

From:
Agence France Presse

Egypt breaks ties with France’s Louvre Museum
By Christophe de Roquefeuil (AFP)
7th October 2009

CAIRO — Egypt announced on Wednesday that it has cut all cooperation with France’s Louvre Museum until it secures the return of “stolen” Pharaonic antiquities in the latest row involving the exhibits of a major European institution.

“We made the decision to end any cooperation with the Louvre until they return” the works, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass told AFP.
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James Cuno may have other views as well as those on Encyclopaedic Museums – however, his views on that one subject seems to be his favourite topic at the moment, despite being widely discredited.

From:
Princeton University

James Cuno on “Where do the great treasures of ancient art belong?”
by James Cuno
Jan 27 2009

Two questions dominate our consideration of the fate of the world’s ancient heritage. The more vexing and urgent one — how can we prevent the looting of archaeological sites and the illicit trade in antiquities -– is not the topic of this article. The second one is.

“Where do the great treasures of ancient art belong? In Western museums or in countries where the civilizations that created them once flourished?”
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It is usually the other way round – that the UK is faced with restitution claims for the artefacts in its museums & institutions, whether they are sculptures or human remains or other artefacts. Now though, there are claims that the Bayeux Tapestry should be returned from France, as it was originally made in England.

I have to say that this claim seems far weaker than most of the claims being made against England. The Bayeux Tapestry was made a very long time ago & although we can’t know the details, was likely moved freely within the country (which was controlled by Normandy at that time). Furthermore, it seems that England’s actual claim to have originally produced it is not universally accepted – it definitely does not have the clear provenance that many artefacts from other cultures now in the British Museum have. If the tapestry left the UK’s shores only a few years after it was made, surely its connection is now far stronger with the place that we have come to accept as it location rather than is original location (which can not be conclusively ascertained).

Notwithstanding the above issues, another issue exists of mobility could also be raised – this is not so much a valid argument as a point of comparison – how many English visitors can easily reached Normandy to visit the Tapestry in its current home, versus the number of residents from the area of Benin who can afford to travel to the British Museum?

From:
The Scotsman

Tapestry row sparks new Norman conflict
Published Date: 25 June 2008
By Stephen McGinty

IT IS the most famous cartoon strip in history, the story of the Norman Conquest in 1066 detailed in colourful weave and stitch.

But the Bayeux Tapestry, one of France’s national treasures, was, historians now believe, actually made in Britain and should be repatriated.
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