United States returns looted antiquities to India.

The United States has returned 657 antiquities with a total value exceeding US$14 million to India, according to a press release issued by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office on 28 April 2026. Many of the items are alleged to have been smuggled into the US by a trafficking ring led by Subhash Kapoor, an art dealer who formerly ran a gallery in Manhattan, as well as an import/export business specialising in antiquities from India and Southeast Asia. Kapoor is currently serving a seven year prison sentence in India for crimes relating to theft and smuggling. The artefacts were returned to Indian Consul to New York, Rajlakshmi Kadam, in a ceremony in Manhattan.

The returned items include a bronze figure of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, seated on an inscribed double-lotus base over a lion-flanked throne, with an inscription identifying it has having been made by the master craftsman Dronaditya of Sipur. This was part of a collection of bronze statues unearthed near the Lakshamana Temple in Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, in 1939, and placed in the collection of the Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum in Raipur. The statue was stolen and smuggled to the US some time before 1982, entering a private collection in New York before 2014, from where it was seized by the US authorities in 2025. The statue has an estimated value of about US$2 million.

A bronze statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara returned to India after being stolen and smuggled into the US. Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Another item returned was a red sandstone figure of a Buddha standing with his right hand raised in an abhaya-mudra gesture, signifying protection. This item is believed to have been looted somewhere in northern India, and to have been damaged in the process; the statue's feet are broken off, as is most of a halo which would once have sat behind the Buddha's head. It was recovered from a storage unit in New York belonging to Subhash Kapoor by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit, and is believed to have been smuggled into the US by him. The statue has been valued at about US$7.5 million.

A sandstone statue of the Buddha believed to have been looted from northern India. Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Another notable item returned is a sandstone statue of the Hindu God Ganesha in a dancing pose. This statue is alleged to have been stolen from a temple in Madhya Pradesh, India in 2000, by Ranjeet 'Shantoo' Kanwar, a convicted trafficker and co-conspirator of Subhash Kapoor, and smuggled into the US by Vaman Ghiya, another notorious trafficker from Jaipur in Rajasthan, where it was sold to the New York art dealer Doris Wiener. When Wiener died in 2012, the item passed to her daughter, Nancy Wiener, who has admitted to knowingly falsifying provenance records for looted items, and sold at Christie's Auction House in New York to a private collector, who surrendered it to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office earlier this year. 

A sandstone statue of Ganesha alleged to have been stolen from a temple in Madhya Pradesh. Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

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South Africa returns Chapungu Bird and Human remains to Zimbabwe.

Iziko Museums of South Africa have returned a Chapungu Bird taken from the Great Zimbabwe site in Zimbabwe and eight sets of Human remains to representatives of the Government of Zimbabwe at a ceremony held in Cape Town on 14 April 2026. All were removed from sites within Zimbabwe during the nineteenth century and found their way into the collection of the museums. The timing of the restoration follows a directive from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that the items should be returned before the Zimbabwean Independence Day Celebrations on 18 April, part of a broader program by South African museums which aims to return objects and remains removed during the colonial era to the countries and communities from which they were taken.

The Chapungu Bird in the collection of the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town on 13 April 2026, before its repatriation to Zimbabwe. ZimLive.

The Chapungu Bird is one of eight such statues removed from the site by British adventurers in the nineteenth century. Each is made from a dark grey/green soapstone (a soft metamorphic rock) and stands 33 cm high. The statues formerly stood on pedestals about a metre high at the Great Zimbabwe site, and have been taken as a national symbol by the modern state of Zimbabwe, appearing on the national flag as well as coins and banknotes. The statue from Cape Town is the last to be returned to Zimbabwe, which has been seeking their restitution since independence in 1980.

As well as the Chapungu Bird, Iziko South African Museums has returned eight sets of Human remains which were removed from sites in Zimbabwe during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The remains are thought to have come from different communities around Zimbabwe, although full details have not been made available. One set of remains is thought to have belonged to a chief, and to have been exhumed and taken to South Africa in 1910. Another has been reported as a man murdered following accusations of witchcraft. All are known to have been taken from graves without the permission of their families of communities, and to have been retained at the museum as scientific specimens.

The remains of eight individuals taken from Zimbabwe during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and returned by Iziko Museums South Africa on 14 April 2026. ZimLive.

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France returns historic Djidji Ayôkwé drum to Côte d’Ivoire.

France has returned a historic ceremonial drum, known as the Djidji Ayôkwé ('Panther-Lion'), to Côte d’Ivoire. The drum had been held in the collection of the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac in Paris since 2006, and has been returned to its home country as the fulfilment of a commitment made by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2021.

The Djidji Ayôkwé is a 3.3 m long, 430 kg slit drum with a Lion or Panther figurine at one end, carved from a single piece of iroko wood. It originally belonged to the Achan (or Tchaman) people who live around modern Abidjan, who used it for communicating over long distances (the large size of the drum meant that it could be heard over a distance of about 20 km).

The Djidji Ayôkwé drum with representatives of the Achan people and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire during a ceremony at the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac on 23 February 2026. Lisa Villy/RFI.

The ability of the Achan people to communicate over long distances was deemed a threat by the French colonial administration in Côte d’Ivoire, leading to it being seized during a punitive expedition by the French Army in 2016. Following this, it sat in the official residence of the French governor of Côte d’Ivoire in Abidjan until 1929, when it was sent to France and placed in the collection of the Trocadéro Museum (now the Musée de l’Homme). It was moved to the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac in 2006.

Following a ceremony at the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac on 23 February, the drum was flown to Abidjan on 13 March, where it was formerly handed over in a second ceremony at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny Airport. The drum will remain inside a packing crate until April 2026, in order to allow it to acclimatise to the local climate (sudden changes in temperature and humidity can cause old wooden objects to crack and split). It will then be placed on display in the new Musée des Civilisations de Côte d’Ivoire, as part of an exhibition funded via a US$100 000 donation from UNESCO.

A ceremony in Abidjan on 13 March 2026 to welcome the Djidji Ayôkwé back to Côte d’Ivoire. Issouf Sanago.

The Djidji Ayôkwé is the first artefact to have been returned to Côte d’Ivoire by France, one of 148 objects the African nation has requested. Despite pledges by French politicians, France has to date only returned 27 objects to its former African colonies, mostly to Senegal and Benin.

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University of Cambridge transfers ownership of 116 artefacts deemed to have been looted from Benin in 1897 to the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

The University of Cambridge has transferred the ownership of 116 artefacts deemed to have been looted from Benin in 1897 to the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments, according to a press release issued on 8 February 2026. Most of the objects are expected to be returned to Nigeria in the coming year, although seventeen will remain in Cambridge on loan for three years, remaining on display in the university's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Small bronze high relief figure of a warrior. Probably part of a pendant. University of Cambridge.

The Kingdom of Benin dates back to at least the twelfth century, and covered much of what is now southwest Nigeria. The Oba (King) of Benin ruled from his capital, Edo, which (slightly confusingly) is now the modern city of Benin in Edo State, Nigeria. By the 1890s the Benin had become a major exporter of Palm oil to British traders on the Niger Delta, but in 1896, following a dispute over taxes, the Oba of Benin cut off this supply of oil. The Acting Consul-General of the Protectorate of Nigeria, James Robert Phillips, drew up plans to invade the state and overthrow the Oba, but these were rejected by the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Salisbury. Instead, Philips dispatched an expedition to 'negotiate' with the Oba, which included 250 soldiers and a pipe band. This force was interpreted as an invasion by the Iyase (commander in chief of the army) of Benin, who dispatched a force to intercept the party. The two forces met at Ughoton, with the British force being defeated and the majority of its leaders either killed or captured.

This was used by Philips to justify a much larger 'punitive' expedition, under the command of Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson. On 9 February 1897 Rawson invaded Benin with a force of 1200 heavily armed soldiers and marines, with the city of Edo falling on 18 February. The city was subsequently looted of its rich artwork, with individual soldiers, sailors and marines stripping not just the royal palaces and major temples of the city, but also smaller shrines and the homes of individual citizens. These artefacts were subsequently shipped back to the UK, and disposed of as their new owners saw fit, either being sold privately to museums or collectors, or retained as mementos of the expedition. 

A brass penannular bracelet decorated with heavy slanting bands. University of Cambridge.

The university of Cambridge holds about 470 items from Benin (collectively, often known as 'Benin Bronzes' although this is a little misleading, as none of the items are made of bronze; many metal objects are made of brass, but items made from wood, ivory, and over materials are also lumped under this description). Some of these were donated by family members of people who had been involved in the expedition, but many more were obtained either from the auction house J.C. Stevens, which held a major auction of items from Benin in June 1902, or via the ethnographic dealer and collector William Downing Webster, who made a speciality of dealing in these items. The majority of the items held by the university, however, were donated later in the twentieth century, making it harder to determine their exact provenance. 

The ethnographic dealer and collector William Downing Webster with a collection of carved Elephant tusks. Despite the huntsman-like pose, Webster is not recorded as ever having visited Africa, but travelled widely in the UK, contacting soldiers who had taken part in the sacking of Benin in order to purchase items from them, which he then sold on to museums across Europe. Wikimedia Commons.

In 2017 the university hosted a meeting of the Benin Dialogue Group, which had been set up in 2007 by a consortium of European museums in combination with the Government of Nigeria and the Royal Court of Benin, with a view to building a museum in Benin to house the artefacts looted from the city, at which it was agreed, at least in principle, that the university would consider returning the objects it held to Nigeria. 

In 2019 the university formally adopted a commitment by the to return artefacts to their countries' of origin when they appeared to have been removed illegally, which has also seen items returned to Uganda and Australia. Since when a number of visits have been made to Nigeria by staff from the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and to Cambridge by representatives of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

Brass Leopard with raised spots, attached by the head to a chain. University of Cambridge.

In 2022 the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology received a formal request from the National Commission of Museums and Monuments in Nigeria for the return of items taken by British-led forces from Benin City in February 1897.  Following this, staff at the museum prepared a list of 116 items which could be traced directly to the expedition, which was then put to the Museum’s Management Committee,  the University Council and the UK Charity Commission for approval. Once this was gained, the museum began drawing up plans for the change of ownership.

Prince Aghatise Erediauwa and Professor Nicholas Thomas, pictured at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 2021 as part of The Benin Dialogue Group. University of Cambridge.

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Born on this day 1946, Richard Fortey, English palaeontologist, mycologist, and author.

Richard Fortey, 1946-2025. Anne Purkiss/The Royal Society.

Richard Alan Fortey was born on 15 February 1946 in Ealing, West London, the son of Frank Fortey, who ran two fishing tackle shops, and his wife Margaret (formerly Wilshin) the elder of two children. His father, who had moved to the city from rural Worcestershire, was recalled by Fortey as a font of knowledge on natural history, particularly fish, but a rather less successful businessman. At one point the family had a house in Ealing as well as two shops, as well as land by the River Lambourne in Berkshire, with a caravan where Fortey recalls spending much of his youth. However, Fortey senior apparently omitted to pay tax on his businesses, leading to the loss of both the family home and the land in Berkshire, and the family moving into a flat above one of the shops.

Richard Fortey recalled finding his first fossil, an Ammonite, while on a family holiday to Dorset when he was about ten. He attended Ealing Grammar School for Boys, which offered a geology O level, including a course which included a field trip to Wales, during which he discovered his first Trilobite, a discovery which foreshadowed his future career. Fortey displayed talent in many fields while at school, but was advised by his headmaster to pursue a career in science.

While preparing to sit exams for a scholarship to Cambridge University, Fortey's father was killed in a car crash. Despite this, Fortey won his scholarship, going on to study Natural Sciences, with a specialism in geology. At the end of his second year as an undergraduate, Fortey took part in an expedition to Spitsbergen Island, off the north coast of Norway, during which he and another, older student were left at a remote location with supplies, a riffle to fend of Polar Bears (Fortey never saw one), and no way to contact the outside world. During this expedition, Fortey collected several hundred fossil Trilobites, a collection which would later become the basis for his PhD (the project was originally intended to be the other student's but he performed less well academically). 

Richard Fortey graduated in 1968, having completed a dissertation on Trilobites under the supervision of Harry B Wittington, one of the world's leading experts on the group, and was awarded a first class degree in Natural Sciences. On 2 October 1968, he married his first wife, Bridget Thomas. In 1970 Fortey was awarded an MA by Cambridge University, and took on his first job, as a Research Fellow at the Natural History Museum, specialising in Trilobites, a role which he described as having become fortuitously available following the resignation of another palaeontologist.

In 1970, Fortey was awarded a PhD bu the University of Cambridge, for his thesis, Stratigraphy, Palaeoecology and Trilobite Faunas of the Valhallfonna Formation NY Friesland, Spitsbergen, again written under the supervision of Harry B Wittington. The same year, he took part in a second expedition to Spitsbergen, this time under the leadership of palaeontologist David Bruton.

In 1973, Richard Fortey became a Senior Science Officer at the Natural History Museum. In 1974 his first marriage ended in divorce. On 21 June 1978 he married his second wife, Jacqueline Francis (generally known as Jackie), a book editor and, later, an author. Also in 1978 he became a Senior Principle Science Officer at the Natural History Museum, and published his first book, Early Ordovician (Arenig) Stratigraphy and Faunas of the Carmarthen District, South-West Wales, co-authored with Robert Owens of the National Museum of Wales.

In 1980, Fortey published his first book as a solo author, The Ordovician Trilobites of Spitsbergen, then in 1981, a humorous book, The Roderick Masters Book of Money-Making Schemes, or How to Become Enormously Wealthy with Virtually No Effort, under the pen-name Roderick Masters. In 1982 co-authored a second humorous book, Bindweed's Bestseller, under the name WC Bindweed, which was in fact a collaboration with his wife Jackie and the literary agents Heather and David Godwin. In 1982 Fortey published the first of his popular science books, Fossils: The Key to the Past.

In 1986 Fortey was awarded a DSc by the University of Cambridge. In 1988 he became a Merit Researcher and Senior Palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum. In 1989, he made his first television appearance, in an episode of David Attenborough's  Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives, a four part series about fossils. In 1990 he published his only book specifically aimed at children, The Dinosaur's Alphabet, which illustrations by Josh Rogan.

In 1991, Richard Fortey was made Visiting Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Oxford. In 1993 he published his second popular science book, The Hidden Landscape, about the geology of Britain and how it has shaped the society built upon it, which was nominated for the Wildlife Trusts' Natural World Book of the Year. In 1996 he was awarded the Lyell Medal by the Geological Society of London, and in 1997 elected to the Royal Society. 

In 1997 Fortey published his third popular science book, Life an Unauthorised Biography, describing the first four billion years of life on Earth, which was nominated for the Rhône-Poulenc Prize, and listed as one of ten Books of the Year by The New York Times. The following year saw the publication of a more academic title, Arthropod Relationships, which Fortey co-edited with Richard Thomas, an aracologist at the Natural History Museum. 

In 2000 Richard Fortey was awarded the Frink Medal for British Zoologists by the Zoological Society of London. In 2001 he published a fourth popular science book, Trilobite!: Eyewitness to Evolution, which was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize (now the Baille Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction). In 2002 he was appointed Collier Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Technology at the University of Bristol (a single year appointment). In 2003 he won the Lewis Thomas Prize for writing about science, and co-edited the volume Trilobites and Their Relatives: Contributions from the Third International Conference, Oxford 2001 with Philip Lane and Derek Siveter. In 2004, Fotey published another popular science book, Earth: An Intimate History, which was again nominated for the Rhône-Poulenc Prize.

In 2006 Richard Fortey retired from the Natural History Museum. In the same year he was awarded the Michael Faraday Prize for the public communication of science by the Royal Society, and the Linnean Medal of the Linnean Society of London. In 2007 he was elected as president of both the Geological Society of London and the Palaeontographical Society (both single year positions). In 2008 he published Dry Store Room No 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum. The same year he was awarded the Raymond C Moore Medal for Paleontology by the Society for Sedimentary Geology.

In 2009 Fortey retired from his position at the University of Oxford. In the same year he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature for his works of popular science, making one of a very small number of people ever to have been made fellows of both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Literature. In 2010 Fortey appeared in the David Attenborough documentary First Life, with the two travelling to the Atlas Mountains to film a hunt for Trilobites.

In 2011 Fortey was appointed President of the Fungus Survey of Oxfordshire, in recognition of his long-term hobby, the study of Mushrooms. In the same year he published another book, Survivors: The Animals and Plants That Time Has Left Behind, on the subject of living fossils. In 2012 he presented a three-part TV program based upon this book, Survivors: Nature’s Incredible Creatures, the first of a series of collaborations with BBC Four.

In 2013, Fortey presented two further TV programs, The Secret Life of Rock Pools and The Magic of Mushrooms. In 2014 he was awarded the Lapworth Medal by the Palaeontological Association, the highest medal the society awards, given in recognition of a highly significant contribution to the science of palaeontology by somebody who has produced a substantial body of research and been of service to the scientific community.

In 2016 Fortey presented another program for BBC Four, Nature’s Wonderlands: Islands of Evolution, on the subject of island biogeography. In the same year he published another book, The Wood for the Trees: The Long View of Nature from a Small Wood, concerning a patch of Beech woodland he had purchased with the proceeds of his television appearances. This year also saw him awarded the Paleontological Society Medal, which is given by the Paleontological Society in recognition of eminence in the field of palaeontology.

In 2021 Richard Fortey published his autobiography, under the title A Curious Boy. In 2023 he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year Honours for services to palaeontology and geology. In 2024 he published his final book, Close encounters of the Fungal Kind: In Pursuit of Remarkable Mushrooms. In the same year he was awarded the Fungal Outreach Award by the British Mycological Society, in recognition to his contribution to that science.

Richard Fortey died on 7 March 2025, following a short battle with cancer. He was survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and children Dominic, Rebecca, Julia, and Leo.

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