FOI_25-219 Repatriation of artefacts since 2015
Date of response: 05 August 2025
We have now considered your request of 21 July 2025 for the following information:
Please respond to the questions below. Where the answer is yes, kindly provide a summary, including numbers and countries where applicable.
Question 1. Has your institution repatriated any artefacts to a country of origin in the past 10 years?
- If yes: how many and to which countries?
Our response:
On this occasion it is not possible to provide any of the requested information. In line with your rights under section 1(1)(a) of the Act to be informed whether information is held, we confirm that the University does not hold any recorded information for any repatriated artefacts to their country of origin. The University has not repatriated any artefacts, in the last 10 years, to their country of origin.
Question 2. Has your institution loaned any artefacts to their country of origin in the past 10 years?
- If yes: how many and to which countries?
Our response:
On this occasion it is not possible to provide any of the requested information. In line with your rights under section 1(1)(a) of the Act to be informed whether information is held, we confirm that the University does not hold any recorded information for whether we have loaned any artefacts to their country of origin in the last 10 years. Whilst we have loaned artefacts, we do not record whether the country of origin was the country to which the item was loaned.
Question 3. Does your institution have a formal policy on repatriation or restitution?
- If yes: please provide a copy or link.
Our response:
Yes.
Link - 250511_Collections-Development-Policy_August-2025.docx
Question 4. Does your institution currently hold artefacts under formal request for return by a foreign government or institution?
- If yes: how many and from which countries?
Our response:
No.
Question 5. Has your institution ever declined a repatriation or loan request?
- If yes: how many and from which countries?
Our response:
No.
Question 6. Does your institution maintain a list of items with contested, colonial, or looted provenance?
- If yes: is this list publicly available?
Our response:
Our institution carries out detailed research to confirm the provenance of items held in our collection and which is publicly accessible via our digital collections database.
Question 7. Has your institution conducted provenance research on items possibly looted or acquired under colonial circumstances?
- If yes: how many items were reviewed and what were the outcomes?
Our response:
Please see our response to question 6.
Question 8. Has your institution consulted with source communities or countries of origin in the past 5 years?
- If yes: which countries or communities?
Our response:
Yes, the University has consulted with source countries across Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Europe.
Question 9. Does your institution view long-term loan as an alternative to permanent repatriation?
Our response:
No. Our institution regards these as being related but distinct, separate issues.
Question 10 . Is your institution currently involved in any projects related to decolonisation or restitution?
- If yes: please name the countries or institutions involved.
Our response:
On this occasion it is not possible to provide any of the requested information. In line with your rights under section 1(1)(a) of the Act to be informed whether information is held, we confirm that the University does not hold any recorded information for any current projects related to decolonisation or restitution. Whilst the University is concerned with working more fully with source communities on understanding and sharing the objects in our collection, we are not currently involved in any such projects.