If we return Nazi-looted art, the same goes for empire-looted

Erin Thompson | Aeon | 5th July 2016

Startlingly, the Elgin marbles may not be the worst example of looted art. “European museums are full of artworks taken from countries under colonial control. [P]riceless Chinese porcelains … sacred Australian Aboriginal objects … bronze sculptures made to honour the kings of what is now Nigeria. These histories of force and desecration make Elgin’s bribes look quaint, even gentlemanly.”