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Reuters
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Benin reclaims 17th-century looted royal chair from Finland in restitution push
COTONOU, May 13 (Reuters) - Finland has returned a ceremonial stool that was looted from what is now Benin by French forces more than a century ago, a gesture that officials from both countries described as a milestone in the restitution of the West African country's cultural heritage. The katakle, a three-legged stool, dates back to the Kingdom of Dahomey, which was founded in the 17th century off the coast of modern-day Benin. "This is the epilogue, and we are now looking ahead to other areas of restitution, return and circulation," Benin's culture minister, Jean-Michel Herve Abimbola, said during a ceremony on Tuesday in Cotonou amid a round of applause. In 1892, French colonial forces looted 27 artefacts from the royal palace of the Kingdom of Dahomey, including two katakles, which were transferred to the Ethnographic Museum of the Trocadero in Paris, according to the National Museum of Finland. It was a ceremonial portable throne symbolizing stability and power, according to the museum, which added the king had a larger throne. France announced in 2018 that it would return 26 of the works, and it did so in 2021. However, one of the katakles was separated from the collection and had ended up in Finland's National Museum. "The process for returning the royal katakle back to Benin is an example of the power of modern rightful cultural policy," Mari-Leena Talvitie, Finland's science and culture minister, said on Tuesday. Western museums have traditionally resisted appeals to return objects to their countries of origin, which they often argue lack the necessary resources to care for the works. Benin has sought the repatriation of thousands of looted works.
South China Morning Post
27-03-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
How art therapy prescriptions for free museum visits help stressed and sick in Swiss town
The world's woes got you down? Feeling burnt out at work? Need a little something extra to fight illness or prep for surgery? The Swiss town of Neuchâtel is offering its residents a novel medical option: expose yourself to art and get a doctor's note to do it for free. Advertisement Under a new two-year pilot project, local and regional authorities are covering the costs of 'museum prescriptions' issued by doctors who believe their patients could benefit from visits to any of the town's four museums as part of their treatment. The project is based on a 2019 World Health Organization report that found the arts can boost mental health , reduce the impact of trauma, and lower the risk of cognitive decline, frailty and 'premature mortality', among other upsides. Art can help relax the mind – as a sort of preventive medicine – and visits to museums require getting up and out of the house with physical activity like walking and standing for long periods. Feather headdresses on display at the Ethnographic Museum of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Photo: Wikipedia Neuchâtel council member Julie Courcier Delafontaine said the Covid crisis also played a role in the programme's genesis.
