There have been various high profile cultural property repatriation cases in recent years that have been resolved by the return of the artefacts in question. In many cases though, once the initial publicity dies down, it drops below the radar, as it is no longer a news item.

This article takes a look at some of the recent cases & what has happened to the artefacts since their return.

The Euphronios Krater, displayed in Rome

From:
New York Times

Vision of Home
Repatriated Works Back in Their Countries of Origin
By RACHEL DONADIOAPRIL 17, 2014

AIDONE, Sicily — The ruins of the ancient Greek city of Morgantina sit high on a hill in eastern Sicily. There are cherry trees, wildflowers and total stillness, save for the sound of bird song. The area has long been sacred to Persephone; legend has it that Hades pulled that goddess into the underworld by a nearby lake.

It was here at Morgantina, just outside the modern town of Aidone, that in the late 1970s or early 1980s, a breathtaking statue of a goddess, draped in a windswept robe and standing over seven feet tall, is believed to have been found. First thought to be Aphrodite and now widely considered to be Persephone, the statue, which dates to about 425 B.C., has become one of the most contested artworks in the world.
Read the rest of this entry »

Following the return of artefacts from the Peabody museum at Yale to Peru, a centre run jointly by both parties has opened in Cusco, Peru.

From:
Yale News

Peru-Yale Center for the Study of Machu Picchu and Inca Culture opens
By Kianti Roman
October 6, 2011

Yale officials attended the opening ceremony for the UNSAAC-Yale International Center for the Study of Machu Picchu and Inca Culture in Cusco, Peru. Provost Peter Salovey and Professor Richard Burger of Yale joined Susana Baca, Cultural Minister of Peru; Victor Raul Aguilar, rector of Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco (UNSAAC); and other officials at the new Center in Casa Concha, a historic Inca palace.

“Yale is very pleased to be UNSAAC’s partner in this project, and is delighted by the progress we have made together so far,” Salovey said. “We expect Yale faculty and students to travel often to the museum for research projects involving these objects, and we are very impressed by the beauty of Casa Concha and the way the objects will be housed and displayed there.”
Read the rest of this entry »

More coverage of Yale University’s decision to return various artefacts to Peru, from the Peabody Museum

From:
Sciencemag

Yale Agrees to Return Machu Picchu Artifacts to Peru
by Antonio Regalado on 14 February 2011, 2:51 PM

Ending a bitter dispute over the repatriation of archeological artifacts, Yale University will return to Peru thousands of items excavated from Machu Picchu by 20th Century explorer Hiram Bingham, the university said in a statement.

Peru has been demanding the return of the artifacts for several years. It had sued the university, and last November Peruvian President Alan Garcia led a protest march through Lima, calling Yale’s refusal to return the artifacts a “global crime.”
Read the rest of this entry »

A new museum is being created in a manor house in Cusco to house the Inca artefacts that are being returned to Peru by Yale University. The artefacts will begin to be displayed in July 2011, marking the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the ancient citadel of Machu Picchu by explorer Hiram Bingham.

From:
Archnews

New Museum to House Inca Archaeological Pieces Returned By Yale University
By Stephen 16/12/2010 18:01:00

The Casa Concha, a manor house in the heart of Cusco, will house the archaeological pieces soon to be returned by Yale University

The objects will be on display from July 2011 which marks the 100th anniversary of Hiram Bingham’s scientific discovery of the Inca citadel.
Read the rest of this entry »

A group of American & Peruvian runners in the New York marathon are supporting Peru’s attempts to retrieve various disputed treasures from Machu Picchu, currently held by Yale University.

From:
Living In Peru

November 8, 2010 [ 9:02 ]
Peru’s president welcomes New York marathoners support in Yale case

Peruvian President Alan Garcia expressed confidence, last week, that the government will soon retrieve more than 40 thousand Inca artifacts removed from Machu Picchu nearly a century ago and held by Yale University as this is a “just and legitimate” cause.

In this regard, he welcomed a group of American and Peruvian athletes’ support, competing in yesterday New York marathon, to the government-backed campaign to recover the archaeological treasures.
Read the rest of this entry »

Considering the press coverage that the dispute between Peru & Yale University over various Machu Picchu artefacts has recently received, its interesting that a new book has just come out about Hiram Bingham – the person who removed many of these desputed items int he first place.

From:
SAFE

Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Cradle of Gold – Christopher Heaney
(Review by Andrew Vasicek)

In his book, Heaney utilizes an easy, conversational style to tell an interesting and surprising tale of the life and adventures of Hiram Bingham. The reader is treated to Indiana Jones-like stories of the explorer’s travels throughout Peru and of the wonderful discoveries he made. Heaney’s use of original sources is at times inspired and always appropriate. The little tidbits about Bingham and his family are often poignant and truly create a feeling in the reader that one knows the man himself.

At the same time, the reader is shown the sometimes shady underbelly of the profession of archaeology (or perhaps just “exploring”) and its connections to the mistreatment of indigenous people, the illicit artifact trade, and much more. Sadly, these practices date back hundreds or thousands of years, perhaps as far back as humanity has existed in a form resembling that of today.
Read the rest of this entry »

The latest stage in an escalating dispute between Peru & Yale University, over Inca treasures taken from Machu Picchu, is an official request by Peru’s president for Barack Obama to intervene.

From:
New York Times blogs

November 3, 2010, 5:21 pm
Peru Seeks Obama’s Help in Dispute With Yale
By RANDY KENNEDY

Escalating a war of words between his government and Yale University, President Alan García of Peru has made a formal request for President Obama’s intervention in a long-running dispute over the ownership of a large group of artifacts excavated in 1912 at Machu Picchu by a Yale explorer.

Peru has argued that the items were only lent to the university and should have been returned long ago. Yale has contended that it returned all borrowed objects in the 1920s, retaining only those to which it had full title. In 2007 the sides reached a tentative agreement that would have set up a long-term collaboration and granted title of the disputed antiquities to Peru while allowing a certain number to remain at Yale for study and display. But that deal fell apart in 2008, and Peru filed a civil suit in federal court in Connecticut.
Read the rest of this entry »