Should Museums Return Looted Artifacts? It’s Not That Simple

In Jaipur, a city dotted with ancient sandstone forts built by Indian maharajas come and gone, executives managing the world’s richest art institutions gathered late last month to ponder a question: What are the responsibilities of a modern museum?

During a panel discussion at the Jaipur Literature Festival, one speaker said Western curators must do more to set exhibits in their appropriate cultural context. Pushing through a haze of academic jargon, others framed the debate as a very real tug of war between nations over who, ultimately, gets to own pieces of history.