The City of Bordeaux refuses a legacy of cultural property from seven African countries

The City of Bordeaux officially refused, Monday, June 1, a private legacy of 53 cultural goods from seven African countries, mainly Gabon, which is in the process of recovering its own. A former midwife who worked in some of these countries, who died in 2022, bequeathed to the Bordeaux municipality her collection made up of art objects and a lot of Tuareg jewelry and accessories, estimated in total at 30,810 euros.

These goods, since preserved at the Aquitaine Museum, originate from Gabon, Nigeria, Niger, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso and Togo. The former environmentalist municipality had initiated discussions with the National Museum of Arts, Rites and Traditions of Libreville, which confirmed in 2023 its desire to recover 33 pieces from Gabon. Ivory Coast and Nigeria have also expressed interest and the four other countries will have two years to do so according to the deliberation voted on Monday June 1.

“The City of Bordeaux wishes to promote a responsible, ethical and concerted museum policy, while respecting cultural rights and the principles of international cooperation.“, declared the Renaissance mayor of Bordeaux, Thomas Cazenave, elected in March. “The role of a museum in the 21st century is not only to preserve but also to dialogue, to share, to transmit.”

A Gabonese delegation came to attend the municipal council on Monday, June 1, ratifying the refusal of the legacy. This is the first time that a collection has been repatriated to Gabon from France. Another collection returned from Italy two years ago.

La déléguée permanent du Gabon à l’Unesco, Bernice Abegue Owono, a salué un événement “historical“and hoped he”lays the foundations for a new era“. “These are not simple objects of art but centuries-old links with our ancestors. They had been waiting a long time to go home“, added the ambassador.

On May 7, Parliament adopted a framework law facilitating the restitution of works looted during French colonization, requested for years in Africa, fulfilling a promise made by President Emmanuel Macron in Ouagadougou in 2017. Since then, restitutions have remained rare: in 2020, 26 treasures from Abomey were returned to Benin and the saber of El Hadj Omar to Senegal, and in February, a talking drum was returned to the Ivory Coast. The law adopted should make it possible to facilitate new ones. Useful clarification: the refusal of the legacy in Bordeaux does not fit into this framework.