'Eloquent and powerful ... an invaluable collection of forgotten histories. The authors show
that colonial conquest was not only about erasing expropriating dispossessing extracting
exploiting but also looting and trafficking. They make the case for unconditional restitutions
and returns' Françoise Vergès author of A Programme of Absolute Disorder: Decolonizing the
Museum 'Brings much-needed diversity to a debate that has for too long focused on a very few
cases mainly seen from a European perspective. A great introduction to the history behind the
restitution process' Felicity Bodenstein Lecturer Sorbonne Université ' By focusing on
colonial violence this book not only reminds us of the nature of colonialism itself but also
of the unabated necessity to continue scrutinising museum collections and work towards
restitution' Larissa Förster Department of European Ethnology Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Debates around restitution and decolonising museums continue to rage across the world.
Artefacts effigies and ancestral remains are finally being accurately contextualised and
repatriated to their homelands. Fifteen Colonial Thefts amplifies and adds to these
discussions exploring the history of colonial violence in Africa through the prism of fifteen
African belongings - all looted at the height of the imperial era and brought to Western
museums. Each chapter is accompanied by an original illustration commissioned especially
for the book from both established and emerging African artists bringing these stories to
life for the reader. With contributors from across the continents of Europe and Africa
including scientists museum professionals artists and activists the book illuminates the
collective trauma and loss of cultural historical and spiritual knowledge that colonial theft
engendered. Sela K. Adjei is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher. He is a lecturer at
the University of Media Arts and Communication Institute of Film and Television Accra
Ghana. Yann LeGall is a postdoctoral researcher on the project 'The Restitution of
Knowledge: Artefacts as Archives in the (Post) Colonial Museum' at the Technical University in
Berlin. As a member of the initiatives Berlin Postkolonial and Postcolonial Potsdam he leads
guided tours on colonial history in both cities. The book includes a foreword by Peju
Layiwola an art historian and visual artist from Nigeria. She is Professor of Art and Art
History at the University of Lagos. Her works can be found in Yemisi Shyllon Museum Lagos and
in the homes of many private collectors. Her maternal grandfather was Oba Akenzua II King of
Benin who ruled from 1933 until 1978. Layiwola has led public advocacy for the return of art
works stolen from Benin during the Punitive Expedition of 1897.
