Challenging a museum’s ownership of artifacts is fairly common, but it is far less common for the museum to actually give back the piece. Museums must perform an intense balancing act when it comes to doing the right thing. On one hand, the museum must look out for the interests of those who support the museum, from trustees to donors to the general public. At the same time, returning an object to the rightful owner should be the priority. The issue at hand is proving who the rightful owner actually is while also doing what is best for the museum. Recently, the Met agreed to return two ancient Khmer statues to Cambodia and they came to a decision rather quickly (some disputes can go on for decades while museums are “awaiting proof”). In this deal, Cambodia agreed to a major Khmer exhibit at the Met next year, which shows some sort of compromise. This is far from the norm as other museums are not as willing to give up items that may be a centerpiece in a collection and they are not eager to admit a piece they have was obtained unlawfully.
Read the full article here to find out what else goes into a museums decision to return an artifact.
