Is a Museum Just a Trophy Case? (Update)

The world’s great museums are full of art and artifacts that were plundered during an era when plunder was the norm. Now there’s a push to return these works to their rightful owners. Sounds simple, right? It's not. (Part 2 of an updated series originally published in 2023.) SOURCES: Matthew Bogdanos , assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and chief of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit. Nicholas Cullinan , director of the British Museum. Victor Ehikhamenor , Nigerian writer and artist. David Frum , staff writer at The Atlantic. Dan Hicks , professor of contemporary archaeology at the University of Oxford and curator of world archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum. Bénédicte Savoy , professor of art history at the Technical University in Berlin. RESOURCES: " These Looted Treasures Are Home. What Now? ," by Alex Marshall (New York Times, 2025). " France's Long-Awaited Restitution Policy Is Finally Here ," by Vincent Noce ( The Art Newspaper, 2023). Africa’s Struggle for Its Art: History of a Postcolonial Defeat , by Bénédicte Savoy (2022). " Who Benefits When Western Museums Return Looted Art? " by David Frum ( The Atlantic, 2022). " Museums in England…