With tens of thousands of African artworks in French museums, curators face a daunting challenge in identifying which pieces were looted during colonial rule in the 19th and 20th centuries and should be repatriated.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 pledge during a visit to Burkina Faso to return “African heritage to Africa” within five years spurred similar initiatives from other former colonial powers like Belgium and Germany.
In 2021, France repatriated 26 royal treasures taken from Benin during colonial rule by its soldiers. However, the effort has hit roadblocks, and a bill authorizing the return of African and other cultural artifacts was indefinitely postponed in March due to right-wing resistance in the Senate.
Despite this, French museums are actively researching the origins of approximately 90,000 African objects in their collections. The Quai Branly museum in Paris, dedicated to indigenous art from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, houses the majority of these objects, totaling 79,000.
Emilie Salaberry, head of the Angouleme Museum, which houses around 5,000 African objects, describes the task as “titanic and exhilarating,” noting that it has fundamentally changed how museum collections are understood.
However, identifying the provenance of objects is challenging and time-consuming due to a lack of sources. The French Army Museum, which began its inventory in 2012, has only managed to study a quarter of its 2,248 African pieces. Despite indications that many objects are spoils of war, establishing definitive conclusions has proved difficult.
Emilie Giraud, president of ICOM France, underscores that this work requires meticulous investigation and cross-checking of clues, often involving scattered or nonexistent sources.
Efforts are underway to facilitate provenance research, with institutions like the University of Paris-Nanterre and the Louvre School introducing courses dedicated to the subject. Germany and France have also launched a three-year, 2.1-million-euro fund for provenance research.
Katia Kukawka, chief curator of the Aquitaine Museum, emphasizes the need for transparency and describes the work as an “ethical imperative.”
Despite these efforts, challenges remain. The lack of clear historical records may hinder restitution efforts, and determining when an object must be returned to Africa remains uncertain without the proposed law.
Alternatives to full restitution, such as loans or long-term retainers, have been suggested, but some, like Ghanaian culture adviser Nana Oforiatta Ayim, question their adequacy, likening it to returning stolen items on loan, which she finds nonsensical.
