Egypt’s successes in regaining antiquities from abroad have increased in recent years. There is still a long way to go however, before all the cases listed by Egypt are resolved (or for that matter even seriously discussed).

From:
BBC news

Page last updated at 05:47 GMT, Wednesday, 11 November 2009
The quest to regain Egypt’s antiquities

Later this month Egyptian archaeologists will travel to the Louvre Museum in Paris to collect five ancient fresco fragments stolen from a tomb in the Valley of the Kings in the 1980s, but there are many other “stolen” antiquities which they also want back, reports the BBC’s Yolande Knell in Cairo.

One of the first artefacts that visitors see on entering the pink neoclassical facade of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is a fake.
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As well as reiterating his requests for the return of the Rosetta Stone following the successful retrieval of artefacts from the Louvre, Zahi Hawass is also repeating his previously unsuccessful attempts to persuade Germany to send the bust of Nefertiti back to Egypt.

From:
Modern Ghana

HAWASS REQUESTS RETURN OF NEFERTITI, EGYPTIAN QUEEN HELD IN BERLIN, GERMANY
By Kwame Opoku, Dr.
Tue, 20 Oct 2009

We may not all agree with Zahi Hawass in many aspects of restitution but we cannot deny that the energetic Egyptian cultural activist has a perfect sense of timing and is, in many ways, a very sophisticated strategist that many countries would be well-served to possess.

He first requested from the French Egyptian artefacts for which the French were most probably not ready to fight for. With this initial victory, he reminded the British about his well-known demand for the Rosetta Stone. Before the British could react, he demanded from the Germans the return of the bust of Nefertiti, the Egyptian Queen, who has been kept in German sojourn since 1913 when the notorious German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt surreptitiously brought the bust to Germany under dubious circumstances which have not yet been completely clarified. Borchardt’s own words indicated that he was fully aware that he was taking the sculpture away from Egypt without the consent of the Egyptians or the authorities responsible for dividing archaeological finds between Egypt and the European archaeologists involved in excavation. (1)
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Following the Louvre’s decision to return some fragments of frescos to Egypt, one wonders whether the relatively long standing requests to the British Museum for the return of the Rosetta Stone will be properly considered at last.

From:
Modern Ghana

HAWASS REQUESTS ROSETTA STONE: WILL BRITISH MUSEUM MAKE A BOLD CONCILIATORY GESTURE?
By Kwame Opoku, Dr.
Feature Article | Fri, 16 Oct 2009

In an article entitled Egypt asks British Museum for the Rosetta Stone after Louvre victory, the British Daily Telegraph reports that soon after the Louvre has agreed to return the stolen frescoes, Zahi Hawass, the dynamic Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities has asked the British Museum for a loan of the Rosetta Stone. The Telegraph also reports that: “Mr. Hawass acknowledged that seeking the return of the Rosetta Stone was a different proposition from the painted fragments in the Louvre.” The paper adds that: “A spokesman said the British Museum “enjoys good relations” with Egypt and promised to consider Mr Hawass’s request.”(1)

A reader who has not followed discussions on restitution and the efforts by Hawass to secure the return of looted Egyptian artefacts might be forgiven for thinking that emboldened by his recent success with the Louvre, Hawass is now turning attention to the British Museum and making demands. The truth however, is that the request for the return of the Rosetta Stone has been made long ago by the Egyptians. There are at least reports on this demand as far back as 2003.
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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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For some reason, it appears that Neil MacGregor is now guaranteed positive coverage whenever he writes a piece for, or is interview by The Times. It seems that whatever claims he makes regarding his reasons for retention of the Parthenon Sculptures are accepted with little question or analysis.

The problem in many cases is that whilst what the British Museum is saying may be construed as a valid approach to take, it is represented as being the only valid approach, without considering the range of other possibilities or the views & sensibilities of others.

The Elgin Marbles or the Rosetta Stone may well have changed history – but there is no clear evidence that this was only the case because of the fact that they were in the British Museum.

Following the initial article are two more articles also on the British Museum, followed by a response by Kwame Opoku.

From:
The Times

July 18, 2009
Neil MacGregor lifts British Museum’s ambition to new heights
Tristram Hunt: Commentary

This is why the Elgin Marbles are not going back. With characteristic panache, Neil MacGregor is once again making the case for the British Museum as a museum of all mankind. In 100 episodes based around 100 objects from the Bloomsbury collection, Mr MacGregor aims to cement the British Museum’s Enlightenment credentials. And he’s doing so with some ambitious inter-disciplinary thinking.

To tell a story of the world in 15 minutes through a series of objects requires a sure grasp of cultural and social anthropology. Mr MacGregor, whose most celebrated exhibition during his tenure at the National Gallery was the Seeing Salvation display of Renaissance iconography, has long understood the allure of artefacts. Indeed, he is sometimes accused of seeking to blur — in an increasingly agnostic age — the boundaries between the secular and the religious by investing the British Museum’s objects with an almost spiritual significance. But in going beyond the obviously material, in explaining the broader cultural and social currency of the collection, he will give the story of these objects a relevance far in excess of their historic context.
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In a case that only tenuously relates to restitution claims, a software manufacturer is involved in legal action with Google over the fact that other companies may be taking out adverts that are set to appear when the name of their business is entered in a search. What makes this semi-relevant though is that the name of the company is Rosetta Stone – so one would have thought that at present any actual ownership claimed on the name might belong to the British Museum. Of course though this is not the end of the cycle either – Egypt disputes the British Museum’s ownership of the stone & as such would have the rights to the name of the stone.

The question that this raises, is what gives others the right to re-appropriate a term & call it their own, to the extent of trying to prevent others from using it – a situation not dis-similar from the British Museum’s current claims that artefacts such as the Rosetta Stone are now integral to their own collections & therefore can not be returned to their true owners.

From:
Telecom TV

Google v. Rosetta Stone: the case of the stolen words
Posted By TelecomTV One , 17 July 2009

What’s in a word? Often a lot of money for a start. And where there’s money there’s lawyers. And where there’s lawyers there is, sometimes, a measure of clarity. By Ian Scales.

At least the issues get a good outing. The Google v. Rosetta Stone case is currently raging in the US courts and it’s about when and to what extent a word could or should be controlled by those who claim it as a trademark.
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Whilst the tide is clearly turning in favour of restitution of ancient artefacts to their original owners, there are still many people going against the flow. Unsurprisingly many of those opposing the current trend also happen to be museum curators.

From:
Calgary Herald

A museum director fights back
The best place for ‘looted’ artifacts? Right where they are
By Robert Fulford, National PostApril 18, 2009

Ideology, politics and bone-headed provincialism come together comfortably when they make war on the world’s great museums.

The issue is cultural property. Countries believing that colonialists stole their spiritual heritage are uniting in a send-back-our-stuff campaign. They envision populations and art objects moving in opposite directions: While citizens try to emigrate to Europe and North America for better lives, art objects should travel the other way, delivering national identity and self-esteem through ancient artifacts.
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A new campaign to encourage visitors to visit London is listing tings that con;y only be seen by coming to London. One of the items on this list is the Rosetta Stone – somewhat ironic, considering where it came from & the disputes over its ownership – perhaps unsurprising though considering the views of the current Mayor.

From:
Mayor of London

Press Release
‘Only in London’ – Mayor reveals plans for £60 million tourism boost to capital’s economy
20-3-2009 153

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today called on the world to come to London for the experience of a lifetime, as he announced a new £2million international marketing campaign to boost overseas visitors to the capital.

The Mayor launched the campaign on The London Eye, one of the capital’s most popular and unique attractions, on the first day of British Tourism Week.
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Egypt is going to issue a formal request for the return of a Pharoanic coffin that it believes was illegally removed from the country 125 years ago.

From:
Gulfnews (UAE)

Egypt seeks return of pharaoh’s coffin from US
Bloomberg
Published: March 23, 2009, 23:04

Cairo: Egypt will make an official request to the United States within a couple of days for the return of a Pharoanic coffin that was smuggled out of the country 125 years ago, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities said.

The North African nation is asking for the return of the wooden coffin, which is ornately painted with scenes and religious writing intended to help its occupant reach the afterlife, dating back 3,000 years to the 21st dynasty of the Pharaohs, the council’s chief Zahi Hawass said in a statement.
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More coverage of the peculiar ending to the current chapter of the row over the disputed Chinese artefacts auctioned from the collection of Yves Saint Lauren. Whether his actions were right or wrong, they have had great success in highlighting the problems that arise when items such as this are sold whilst their ownership is disputed.

From:
The Globe & Mail (Canada)

Bidder butts heads with Christie’s over looted art
MARK MACKINNON
Sources: BBC, CNN, Washington Times, McClatchy
March 3, 2009

BEIJING — For 150 years, the bronze heads of the rabbit and rat have passed from one rich Western owner to the next, symbols of what many Chinese consider a time of national humiliation.

Where they end up next remains in doubt after a Chinese collector says he won a controversial auction for the two 18th-century artworks last week in Paris, but refuses to pay the price, which is over $50-million.
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Following Neil MacGregor’s lecture on the 250th anniversary of the founding of the British Museum, Kwame Opoku responds to the assertions that it is a museum for All Humanity.

From:
Afrikanet

Datum: 22.02.09 22:44
Kategorie: Kultur-Kunst
omments on a lecture by Neil Macgregor, British Museum Director
WHEN WILL EVERYBODY FINALLY ACCEPT THAT THE BRITISH MUSEUM IS A BRITISH INSTITUTION? COMMENTS ON A LECTURE BY NEIL MACGREGOR.

When I listened to the recent lecture by Neil MacGregor, Director, British Museum on the 250th anniversary of the museum, I was, at least at the beginning, very relieved. (1) I thought, finally we have the director of the museum, an avid apostle of the “universal museum”, who was recently made a saint by the British press (2), admitting openly in the museum, (or is it now a temple?) that his institution is British and actually the first important institution to have in its title, the word “British”. This came in a time British workers were also asserting their nationalism. The history of the British Museum as traced by the director clearly indicated that the museum was established by a British Parliamentary Act for the British people. I heard in the lecture phrases such as

“centrally and quintessentially British”, “first public institution to be called British”, “oldest British organization” and all this was said to be “true today”.
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This article is about Archaeology in Egypt in 2008 – which due to the events of the past year, means that there is a lot of focus on restitution cases. (The relevant section is towards the end of the article)

From:
Daily Star (Egypt)

2008: the year of archaeological restorations
By Ahmed Maged
First Published: December 26, 2008

CAIRO: While stunning archaeological revelations are expected to make headlines by the beginning of 2009, archaeology-enthusiasts were let down by unfulfilled promises of exciting excavations made in 2008.

What marked the year 2008, however, were the landmark restorations that highlighted archaeological events, especially in the field of Islamic architecture.
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