The city of Glasgow has just announced that it will return seven antiquities looted around 1800 from sacred sites in northern India.
The Scottish city of Glasgow announced Wednesday it would return seven Indian artifacts looted during the colonial period, saying it was a first for a British museum.
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Six of the items were stolen from northern India in the 1800s, and a seventh was purchased illegally after being stolen from its original owner. These seven antiques were looted from sacred sites such as temples and donated to the collection of the Scottish city museum.
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Glasgow’s promise of restitution is part of the process of assessing the origin of objects kept in Western museums, following the movement against racism. Discussions are ongoing with Indian diplomats and, last week, a Nigerian delegation was received to discuss the repatriation of the 19 bronzes from Benin. A few months ago, two British universities returned to Nigeria two bronzes from Benin, statues looted in the 19th century by British colonists.
In total, Glasgow will return 51 items from India, Nigeria and the Cheyenne River and Oglala Sioux tribes in the US state of South Dakota to the descendants of their owners.
Among the 25 cultural objects that will be returned to the Lakota tribe, some are sacred. Others were taken from the site of the Wounded Knee massacre where, in December 1890, at least 150 Native Americans about to surrender their weapons were killed by the United States military.
“By correcting the mistakes of the past, we believe this restitution will help strengthen the existing relationship with this descendant community.says Duncan Dornan, Head of Museums and Collections at Glasgow Life.
