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Theaster Gates gifts David Drake pot from his collection to enslaved ceramicist’s descendants

Artist Theaster Gates has gifted a 19th-century ceramic vessel by the enslaved potter David Drake, known as Dave the Potter, to Drake's descendants. The gesture is part of Gates's exhibition "Dave: All My Relations" at Gagosian in New York, which also features a second Drake pot recently restituted by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gates pulverized 45 of his own ceramic works to create a plinth for the vessel, framing the act as a "poetic justice" that elevates Drake's legacy above his own.

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.

portugal returns looted mexican antiquities 1234773823

Portugal has repatriated three pre-Columbian artifacts to Mexico, marking the first time the country has returned unlawfully acquired antiquities to the Mexican government. The returned items include a Shaft Tomb Culture female figure, a Maya painted vessel, and a Zapotec funerary urn representing the deity Cocijo. The objects were recovered through the cooperation of Portuguese judicial authorities and the Mexican embassy after being flagged at auctions and in various cities including Lisbon, Guimarães, and Évora.