African governments could learn a thing or two from the Chinese. When two looted bronze works went on sale at Christie's in Paris in late February, an adviser to the national organisation in China that works to retrieve looted objects, independently bid for the lot and won. It is now reported that he refuses to pay - calling it a patriotic act.
China had previously attempted to stop the auction of the statues from going ahead. The rat's and rabbit's head that are owned by the estate of Yves Saint Laurent, say the Chinese, were plundered by the French and British during the second Opium war. They sold for £13m each.
On the 15th of this month, 81 items of mainly African artefacts are to go on sale at Sotheby's New York - and the lot includes at least two Benin Bronzes. Many of the 81 items come from Frank Crowninshield, one of the founders of New York's Museum of Modern Art, who sold to a private collector in the 1940s. The total sale is anticipated to reach $4m.
Discussion is rife in the African British community, across social networking sites, as to the likelihood of an individual standing up to try and save the items.
The conclusion is that it is unlikely that anyone will feel in a position to place their head above the parapet. After all, which African government will have them back? When Labour MP Bernie Grant died in 2000, his Africa Reparations Movement (ARM) UK all but died too.
The Chinese case is going to be an interesting one to watch. It appears that Christie's has the French courts on its side. What will happen to the artefacts - will they simply stay with the owner and be auctioned at an alternative date? But the patriotic act has at least been a powerful symbolic message to the west that it should begin to reassess its actions.
And what could the future be for Africa and its artefacts? It's simple. Africa needs to get organised. As China continues its economic march through Africa - the continent may well get the chance to learn lessons of all kinds.
China had previously attempted to stop the auction of the statues from going ahead. The rat's and rabbit's head that are owned by the estate of Yves Saint Laurent, say the Chinese, were plundered by the French and British during the second Opium war. They sold for £13m each.
On the 15th of this month, 81 items of mainly African artefacts are to go on sale at Sotheby's New York - and the lot includes at least two Benin Bronzes. Many of the 81 items come from Frank Crowninshield, one of the founders of New York's Museum of Modern Art, who sold to a private collector in the 1940s. The total sale is anticipated to reach $4m.
Discussion is rife in the African British community, across social networking sites, as to the likelihood of an individual standing up to try and save the items.
The conclusion is that it is unlikely that anyone will feel in a position to place their head above the parapet. After all, which African government will have them back? When Labour MP Bernie Grant died in 2000, his Africa Reparations Movement (ARM) UK all but died too.
The Chinese case is going to be an interesting one to watch. It appears that Christie's has the French courts on its side. What will happen to the artefacts - will they simply stay with the owner and be auctioned at an alternative date? But the patriotic act has at least been a powerful symbolic message to the west that it should begin to reassess its actions.
And what could the future be for Africa and its artefacts? It's simple. Africa needs to get organised. As China continues its economic march through Africa - the continent may well get the chance to learn lessons of all kinds.
