Art News. Vasari Codex

gavel restitution schedule Mar 9, 2026 visibility 20 link 5 artists, 2 galleries

howard hodgkin mrs acton export bar

The U.K. government has placed a temporary export bar on Howard Hodgkin’s painting "Mrs Acton in Delhi" (1967–71) following its record-breaking £1.7 million sale at Bonhams. The move by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport is intended to provide British institutions or domestic collectors the opportunity to match the price and keep the work within the country. The painting is considered a national treasure due to its aesthetic importance and its role in documenting Hodgkin's transition from Pop art to his signature emotive abstraction.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Mar 10, 2026 visibility 19 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

uk government slaps export ban on howard hodgkin work after bonhams sold it for a record 1 7 m

The UK government has issued a temporary export ban on Howard Hodgkin’s painting "Mrs Acton in Delhi" (1967–71) following its record-breaking £1.7 million sale at Bonhams. The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) intervened after the buyer applied for an export license, triggering a deferral period that allows British museums or galleries until June 4 to match the auction price and keep the work within the country.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Jun 30, 2025 visibility 19 link 6 artists

parthenon marbles update

Greece is building a cultural coalition with Italy to strengthen its campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum. Italy's culture minister Alessandro Giuli pledged support during a visit to Athens and announced the repatriation of 145 ancient coins. Greek culture minister Lina Mendoni is leading efforts to build international backing, and the two countries have devised joint cultural initiatives, including an exhibition of modern Greco-Italian metaphysical painters. Meanwhile, the U.K.'s Labour government has taken a neutral stance on the issue, departing from the previous Conservative government's opposition, and negotiations between Greece and the U.K. are described as "ongoing and constructive."

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule May 27, 2025 visibility 13 link 3 artists

yves kleins sued stuart semple blue paint

British artist Stuart Semple has been ordered by a French court to pay €16,000 ($18,200) in damages for selling a blue paint called Easy Klein, which he developed as a tribute to Yves Klein. The ruling, issued on what would have been Klein’s 97th birthday, sided with Klein’s estate and trademark holders—Blue Bay Limited, RUK (the company managing Klein’s copyrights), and Klein’s son Yves Amu Klein—who argued that Semple’s product unfairly capitalized on Klein’s legacy. Semple denies the claims and plans to appeal, stating that the packaging was a satirical riff on Calvin Klein perfume, not an attempt to confuse consumers.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 22 link 7 artists

botticelli virgin and child export bar

The United Kingdom has imposed a temporary export bar on Sandro Botticelli's painting "The Virgin and Child Enthroned" (c. 1470), valued at £10.2 million ($13.5 million). The work was sold to a foreign buyer at Sotheby's London last fall for £8.6 million, but the export license deferral—recommended by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art—gives British institutions until August 8 to express interest in acquiring it. The painting, previously attributed to Botticelli's workshop, was confirmed as an autograph work through new scientific analyses and has been in the private collection of Lady Wantage since 1904.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 6 link 4 artists

British artist says the Met ‘should take responsibility’ for dress copyright dispute

British artist Anouska Samms has publicly criticized the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York over a copyright dispute involving a dress displayed in the Met Gala opening exhibition. Samms claims the museum included a garment called the Nervina Hair Dress, which she says is a copy of her collaborative work Hair Dress, created with fashion designer Yoav Hadari during their residency at the Sarabande Foundation. The Met had expressed interest in acquiring the original dress for its Costume Art exhibition but shelved those plans in December. Samms says she was not credited or paid, while Hadari acknowledges her IP rights over the textile but asserts the design and construction are his own. The Met has declined to comment, directing the artists to resolve the matter themselves.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Apr 30, 2026 visibility 21 link 1 artist

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Calls on King Charles to Return Treasured Diamond to India

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly called on King Charles III to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond to India during the British monarch's visit to New York City on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference before a 9/11 commemoration ceremony, Mamdani said he would encourage the King to return the diamond, which was given to Queen Victoria in 1850 after Britain's colonial governor-general arranged its exchange from a deposed Indian leader. The two leaders later met at the ceremony, but Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the discussion.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Apr 17, 2026 visibility 25 link 6 artists

How did a 16th-century European basin end up as a sacred object in West Africa?

The Aya Kese, a massive 16th-century northern European brass basin, is currently on display at the British Museum while its complex history remains under scrutiny. Looted by British officer Robert Baden-Powell in 1896 from the Asante kingdom’s royal mausoleum in present-day Ghana, the object was long sensationalized by colonial accounts as a vessel for human sacrifice. Recent scholarship and historical records from Asante King Prempeh I contest these claims, asserting the basin’s sacred role as a spiritual repository for the souls of the Asante people.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Apr 3, 2026 visibility 38 link 2 artists

Canada returns 11 artefacts to Turkey in the first repatriation between the countries

Canada has returned 11 Ottoman-era artefacts to Turkey, marking the first official repatriation of cultural property between the two nations. The items, which include manuscript pages and calligraphy works from the 17th to 19th centuries, were handed over in a ceremony at the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa following a federal court ruling.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Mar 19, 2026 visibility 13 link 1 artist

Lost Parthenon Piece Unearthed From Lord Elgin’s Shipwreck

A small marble fragment from the Parthenon has been recovered from the wreck of the Mentor, a ship owned by Lord Elgin that sank in 1802 while transporting sculptures from the Acropolis to Britain. The fragment, discovered off the Greek island of Kythira by the Greek Ministry of Culture's underwater antiquities unit, is a decorative gutta likely from the temple's entablature or roof edge.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Mar 4, 2026 visibility 18 link 1 artist

british museum staffer stole artworks

Nigel Peverett, a former staffer in the British Museum’s prints and drawings department, stole over 350 artworks during his tenure in the 1970s and 80s. The thefts, detailed in Barnaby Phillips’s upcoming book 'The African Kingdom of Gold', involved Peverett smuggling prints out of the museum, altering them with razors to remove catalog numbers, and selling them at London’s Portobello Road market. Although he was caught in 1992 with 35 prints in his possession, nearly 100 items remain unrecovered.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Feb 27, 2026 visibility 16 link 1 artist

vrindavani vastra tapestry india loan british museum

The British Museum has agreed to a six-month loan of the Vrindavani Vastra, a 350-year-old Himalayan tapestry, to the Assam State Museum in India. This 2027 homecoming is contingent on the construction of a specialized preservation facility in Guwahati to house the fragile nine-meter silk textile, which depicts the life of Krishna and features the earliest known Assamese script.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Feb 23, 2026 visibility 19 link 1 artist

eastern island head not stolen archaeologist

Archaeologist Mike Pitts has challenged the prevailing narrative surrounding the removal of Hoa Hakananaiʻa, the iconic Easter Island moai held by the British Museum. Drawing on a newly discovered 1869 eyewitness account from the Army and Navy Gazette and a rare historical photograph, Pitts argues that the statue's excavation was a collaborative effort involving hundreds of Indigenous Rapa Nui people rather than a simple act of imperial theft. The evidence suggests the British crew traded tobacco for assistance and were guided to the statue's location by the islanders.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Dec 19, 2025 visibility 17 link 2 artists

british museum loans csmvs india

The British Museum has sent approximately 80 artifacts on long-term loan to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) in Mumbai, India. The loan includes an ancient Egyptian wooden riverboat model, Sumerian statues from 2200 BCE, a Roman mosaic from London, and a marble bust of Emperor Augustus. It is the largest loan of ancient material to India and the first such deal between the British Museum and a non-Western museum. The exhibition aims to counter "colonial misinterpretation" by emphasizing India's contributions to civilization.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 14 link 1 artist

looted 14th century english jug loan kumasi museum

The British Museum is reportedly considering a long-term loan of the Asante Ewer, a rare 14th-century English bronze jug, to the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, Ghana. The ewer, which was looted by British forces from the Ashanti royal palace during the Fourth Anglo-Asante War in 1896, is the largest extant medieval English bronze vessel and was likely made for King Richard II. Ghana is expected to make a formal request for the loan, which would be long-term, and is not anticipated to demand full repatriation.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Aug 21, 2025 visibility 22 link 3 artists

petition to block loan of bayeux tapestry to londons british museum garners 50000 signatures

Nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition to block the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry from France to the British Museum in London. The petition, launched in July by French art historian Didier Rykner, cites warnings from textile restorers that transporting the 1,000-year-old embroidered linen could cause irreparable damage. The tapestry is scheduled to be displayed at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027 while its home, the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy, undergoes renovation. The loan was announced by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. Prominent French cultural figures, including former Bayeux Tapestry Museum director Isabelle Attard, and British conservation watchdog ArtWatch UK director Michael Daley have voiced concerns. Rykner hopes to unite French and British opposition to stop the exchange, which also includes Anglo-Saxon and Medieval objects from the British Museum moving to France.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Jul 25, 2025 visibility 12 link 1 artist

king tutankhamen egyptian artifact auction grasshopper

An intricately carved ivory and wood grasshopper from the Age of Tutankhamun, known as the 'Guennol Grasshopper,' is set to be auctioned by Apollo Art Auctions in July with an estimate of £300,000–£500,000. Egyptian art historians, including German Egyptologist Christian Loeben, have raised concerns that the cosmetic vessel may have been stolen by British archaeologist Howard Carter, who discovered King Tutankhamen’s tomb and allegedly kept some items for his own collection. The auction house states there is no documented evidence linking the object to the tomb, and it has been cleared against the Art Loss Register, but experts like former Met director Thomas Hoving have long connected it to the pharaoh’s burial.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Jul 21, 2025 visibility 11 link 1 artist

antonio solario stolen painting returned

A British woman, Barbara de Dozsa, has voluntarily returned a stolen Renaissance painting by Antonio Solario to the Civic Museum of Belluno in Italy, more than 50 years after it was stolen in a 1973 heist. The work, a Madonna and Child, was purchased by her late ex-husband, Baron de Dozsa, shortly after the theft and later inherited by her. Although UK law allowed her to keep it legally, she was persuaded by art recovery specialist Christopher Marinello to return it on moral grounds, citing the painting's status on the Interpol database and the museum's role as a guardian of cultural heritage.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Jul 14, 2025 visibility 21 link 6 artists

right wing group great british pac block parthenon marbles

Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss and right-wing group Great British Pac have sent a letter to current Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, and British Museum trustees, threatening legal action against an alleged "covert" deal to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece. The letter, signed by 34 individuals including historian David Starkey, claims the British Museum is engaged in an "accelerating campaign" to remove the sculptures and warns of seeking an injunction to halt negotiations. The British Museum confirmed receipt of the letter but stated that discussions with Greece about a Parthenon partnership are "ongoing and constructive."

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Jul 2, 2025 visibility 13 link 3 artists

benin dialogue group ocotober 2018

Major European museums have agreed to loan important artifacts, including the Benin bronzes looted during the 1897 Benin Expedition, back to Nigeria for a new museum planned to open in 2021. The agreement was reached at a meeting of the Benin Dialogue Group in the Netherlands, involving representatives from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Britain, who committed to facilitating a rotating display at the planned Royal Museum in Benin City within three years, though specific objects and loan periods remain unconfirmed.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Jul 1, 2025 visibility 11 link 2 artists

nigeria hopes the return of two looted artfacts will inspire the british museum to give the benin bronzes back

Two Benin Bronzes looted by British troops in 1897 have been returned to Nigeria by a British pensioner, Mark Walker, whose grandfather participated in the raid. The artifacts—a long-beaked bird and a monarch's bell—were handed over during a ceremony in Benin City in June 2014. Following the return, Nigerian officials, including Prince Edun Akenzua, renewed calls for the British Museum to repatriate its collection of some 800 Benin Bronzes, which remain on display in London.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Jul 1, 2025 visibility 12 link 1 artist

cambridge university looted benin bronze

Cambridge University has removed a Benin bronze statue of a cockerel, known as an “okukor,” from display at Jesus College after students campaigned for its removal. The bronze was looted by British colonizers from what is now Nigeria in the 19th century, and students voted for the artwork to be returned to Nigeria. The college is now considering repatriation and has permanently removed the statue from its dining hall, with students proposing that a new commissioned piece replace it.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule May 20, 2025 visibility 12 link 1 artist

ucla fowler museum returns artifacts australia larrakia

The Fowler Museum at UCLA has voluntarily returned 11 culturally significant objects to the Larrakia Community of Australia’s Northern Territory. The items, including a kangaroo tooth headband and 10 glass spearheads dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were handed over in a ceremony on May 20. Half of the objects arrived at the museum in 1965 via a large donation from the Wellcome Trust, while the rest were gifts from private collectors. Since 2021, Larrakia elders have worked with AIATSIS and the Fowler Museum to identify and facilitate the return. The Larrakia community plans to open a cultural center next year to house the repatriated items.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule May 12, 2025 visibility 14 link 4 artists

open restitution africa research organization profile

Open Restitution Africa (ORA), an African-led research organization, has compiled case studies including the Ngadji drum, a sacred instrument confiscated from Kenya's Pokomo people by British colonial officers in 1902 and now held by the British Museum. With a $600,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation, ORA provided microgrants to scholars like William Mutta Tsaka of the National Museums of Kenya, who documented the drum's cultural significance and the community's ongoing struggle for repatriation. The project aims to fund independent researchers and community activists across Africa, covering fieldwork costs often neglected by larger provenance grants.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Mar 9, 2026 visibility 24 link 1 artist

ant dec banksy secret profits court order

British television presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have obtained a High Court order to investigate potential financial misconduct involving their contemporary art collection. The duo is seeking disclosure from art dealer Andrew Lilley regarding transactions for several Banksy prints, alleging that an unnamed intermediary may have pocketed undisclosed profits. The court found a "good arguable case" of wrongdoing after a discrepancy of approximately $335,000 was discovered between what the presenters paid and what the dealer reportedly received.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Mar 20, 2026 source 2 sources visibility 18 link 1 gallery

Zurich's Museum Rietberg transfers 11 Benin Bronzes to Nigerian government

The Museum Rietberg in Zurich is transferring ownership of 11 Benin Bronzes to the Republic of Nigeria. The transfer includes a significant commemorative bronze head from around 1850 and an 18th-century ivory tusk, both looted during the British raid on Benin City in 1897, which will be physically returned to Nigeria this summer.

newspaper The Art Newspaper Also: ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Dec 5, 2025 visibility 20 link 2 artists

Did Qatar’s Courbet acquisition short-circuit French export licence process?

Qatar Museums has acquired Gustave Courbet's early self-portrait *Le Désespéré* (1843-45) from a French collector for €50 million, bypassing the standard French export licence process. The Musée d'Orsay revealed the purchase at a private event in October, announcing the painting will be lent to the museum for five years before moving to Qatar's future Art Mill Museum (opening by 2030). The sale was conducted without an export certificate, with the justification that the work will remain in France for most of the time, using temporary export licences for exhibitions in Doha. Critics, including heritage campaigner Julien Lacaze, argue this exemption is being misused, as it was intended for one-off exhibitions, not recurring rotations.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Sep 3, 2025 visibility 17 link 4 artists

Reynolds works acquired by Waddesdon Manor under UK's acceptance in lieu scheme

Two major paintings by 18th-century British artist Joshua Reynolds—David Garrick Between Tragedy and Comedy (1761) and Portrait of Joanna Leigh, Mrs Richard Bennett Lloyd (1775-76)—have been acquired by Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire under the UK’s acceptance in lieu (AIL) scheme. The works, from the estate of Jacob Rothschild who died in February 2024, settled a combined £24.5 million in inheritance tax. Both paintings had been on loan to Waddesdon Manor, a National Trust property managed by Rothschild, since 1995.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Apr 22, 2025 visibility 15 link 1 gallery

mfa boston to rescind promised gift of benin bronzes close dedicated gallery

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, will return a promised gift of Benin Bronzes and close its dedicated Benin gallery on April 28, 2025. The gallery will be repurposed for Nubian art. The collection, pledged by Robert Owen Lehman, includes objects traceable to the 1897 British looting of the Kingdom of Benin. Lehman has donated five objects outright, which will be displayed in the Art of Africa Gallery. The MFA stated it could not reach a mutually agreeable resolution for the gallery's long-term sustainability.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Jul 3, 2025 visibility 14 link 4 artists

mfa boston returns benin bronze robert owen lehman

The Museum of Fine Arts Boston has returned two Benin Bronzes—a 16th/17th-century terracotta and iron Commemorative Head and a 16th-century bronze Relief Plaque—to the Kingdom of Benin. The works were looted by British soldiers during the 1897 attack on Benin City, later acquired by collector Robert Owen Lehman Jr., and donated to the MFA in 2013 and 2018. The repatriation ceremony took place on June 27 at Nigeria House in New York, with the items handed over to Prince Aghatise Erediauwa and Ambassador Samson Itegboje. The MFA closed its Benin Kingdom Gallery in April and noted that three other Benin works donated by Lehman remain in its collection pending further provenance research.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original