|
The First Art Newspaper on the Net |
|
Established in 1996 |
|
Monday, December 23, 2024 |
|
France to return Benin artworks by 2021: minister |
|
|
French Culture Minister Franck Riester (L) speaks with Benin President Patrice Talon during a meeting on December 16, 2019 in Cotonou. Yanick Folly / AFP.
|
COTONOU (AFP).- France will return artworks taken from Benin during the colonial conquest of the region by the start of 2021, culture minister Franck Riester said Monday on a visit to the West African country.
President Emmanuel Macron pledged last year to hand back 26 artefacts "without delay" in a landmark decision that has piled pressure on other former colonial powers to restore looted artworks to their countries of origin.
The pieces -- including a royal throne -- were seized by French troops over a century ago and have been housed at the Quai Branly museum in Paris.
Riester said the artworks would be returned "in the course of 2020, perhaps at the beginning of 2021" as he met with Benin's president Patrice Talon in Cotonou.
Benin has welcomed France's decision to return the objects, but has warned against doing so too quickly as it works to build a proper facility to showcase the heritage.
Benin's culture minister Jean-Michel Abimbola told a joint press conference that the two countries had agreed that the artworks would be handed back "in several stages".
He welcomed "the commitment of the French President to return these works" and "the opening of a broader discussion" concerning other artefacts.
The Kingdom of Dahomey -- in what became modern-day Benin -- reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries and became a major source of slaves for European traders before conquest by Paris in the 1890s ended its rule.
© Agence France-Presse
|
|
Today's News
December 17, 2019
Matisse & Picasso: Arts greatest rivals together in Australia for the first time
Superman's cape sells for nearly $200,000 in Hollywood auction
Active bidding and high sell-through rates at Koller's December auctions
France to return Benin artworks by 2021: minister
Inaugural auction dedicated to Aboriginal Art at Sotheby's New York achieves $2.8 million
MoMA PS1 prepares for Greater New York
CODART Canon announces the 100 most important Dutch and Flemish works of art
Louise Nevelson Trinity Columns from Chapel of the Good Shepherd in Manhattan on loan to the Farnsworth Art Museum
Sotheby's 'Design Week' auctions raise record $32.3 million in New York
Gershon Kingsley, Moog-loving composer, dies at 97
Clark Art Institute names Caroline Fowler as Director of its Research and Academic Program
Nazi enigma encrypting machine sold for $106,250 at Heritage Auctions
At Pulse shooting site, a plan to remember renews pain for some
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation appoints Cliff Fleet President and CEO
China dramatists wage 'guerrilla' fight for artistic freedom
Picture this: China coastal flats develop into major photo draw
'Five Hundred Years of Women's Work: The Lisa Unger Baskin Collection' on view at the Grolier Club
Andrew Clements, 70, dies; Wrote best-selling children's books
Seattle Art Museum presents prize-winner Aaron Fowler's solo exhibition
Michaan's December auctions led by American Art, Fine Estate Jewels, Tiffany Studios glass and Art Deco
Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers will kick off the 2020 season with a 444-lot auction
The Autry announces two new, defining curatorial appointments
Emilio Vedova exhbition opens at the Palazzo Reale in Milan
Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden presents works by Lukas Rehm
Ways To Incorporate Your Art At Home
|
|
|
|
|
Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography, Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs, Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, . |
|
|
|
Royalville Communications, Inc produces:
|
|
|
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful
|
|