Four things.
Currently in British museums.
For each object: what it is, how it arrived, where it is now, and what is being asked. Read the facts. Consider the question. There are no correct answers here — yet.
The Benin Bronzes are among the most significant works of African art in existence — brass plaques and sculptures created by royal craftsmen of the Edo people from the 13th century onward. They were not traded or gifted. They were taken during a British military expedition mounted after the killing of a British diplomatic party. The objects were subsequently sold to museums and private collectors across Europe. Many are still there.
In 2022, Germany began returning Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. The Smithsonian in the United States also began returning objects. The British Museum, governed by an Act of Parliament, says it cannot legally do the same.
The Parthenon sculptures were part of a building completed in 432 BC. They depict the Panathenaic procession — a civic and religious celebration central to Athenian identity. Half are in London. Half are in Athens. The two halves cannot be displayed together.
The British Museum argues the marbles were legally acquired and are better preserved in London. Greece argues they were taken under colonial conditions and belong with the building they came from. The Greek government has called their removal an act of vandalism.
The Koh-i-Noor — meaning "Mountain of Light" — is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world. It has been part of the British Crown Jewels since 1849. It is worn by British queens at coronations. It is among the most visited objects in the Tower of London.
The treaty under which it was ceded was signed by a ten-year-old under military occupation. Multiple countries claim it as part of their national heritage. The British government argues it was legally transferred and that returning it would set a precedent for the return of other objects.
The Rosetta Stone was created in 196 BC under Ptolemaic rule in Egypt. It is inscribed in three scripts — Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Ancient Greek — and was key to deciphering hieroglyphics. It is Egyptian in origin, captured by the French, then taken by the British.
The British Museum describes it as part of "world culture" and argues that a universal museum in London serves more people than a national museum in Cairo. Egypt argues it was taken under colonial conditions and belongs to the people whose ancestors created it.