The article was prepared by Ulyana Savoskina, Svetlana Petrova and Kristina Frank.
While the international arena is engaged in discussions on a new world order, another no less important debate remains in the shadows – the right to dispose of one’s own past. BRICS countries possess a rich cultural heritage, part of which is today kept outside their borders. Many artefacts were removed during the colonial era, lost by countries of origin as a result of wars or diplomatic exchanges, and now reside in foreign museums. This year, the issue of the return of cultural heritage has gained new momentum – in the declaration of the BRICS Summit 2025, the leaders of the group stated, “We stress the importance of the return of cultural property and heritage to their countries of origin and its potential for rebuilding international relations in a nonhierarchical, cooperative basis, and we recognise the need for a more robust international framework on the matter; as a path for promoting social cohesion, cultural and historical justice, reconciliation, and collective memory.” What stands behind these words, and which artefacts are today becoming symbols of peaceful dialogue based on the principles of sovereign equality, cooperation, and consensus?
Cultural and historical heritage objects of the BRICS countries in museums around the world
Tipu’s Tiger – the mechanical beast of the Indian Sultan
More than 70 years have passed since India declared independence in 1947, yet the issue of returning national treasures removed during the colonial period remains unresolved. For decades, Indian politicians, public figures and religious leaders have appealed to the United Kingdom to return cultural assets that ended up in British museums and private collections. Tipu’s Tiger occupies a special place among the objects India wishes to see returned. This is not merely a work of art but an important historical artefact symbolising the resistance of Indian rulers against British expansion.
Tipu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore or the Lion of Mysore, ruled the Indian princely state of Mysore from 1782 to 1799. He entered the history of India as a national hero who led resistance against British colonisers during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. His principality was the last to fall under British control. The tiger, as a symbol of strength and irreconcilable struggle, became the Sultan’s personal emblem. This image was engraved on his coat of arms, armour, weapons and coins, adorned the palace walls and decorated the ruler’s throne. Its most famous embodiment, however, is the wooden mechanical toy commissioned by the Sultan – Tipu’s Tiger. The figure of a tiger mauling a British soldier was crafted almost life-size, with an 18-note organ mounted in the side and a complex internal mechanism that allowed the tiger to roar and the soldier to cry out and move his arm.
British soldiers found the mechanical creature in the music room of Tipu Sultan’s palace on 4 May 1799, following the capture of Mysore. Governor-General Lord Mornington sent the wooden tiger to the United Kingdom. For a time, the automaton was displayed to the public in the reading room of the East India Company Library, and in 1880 it was transferred to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where it remains today as part of the permanent exhibition “Imperial Courts of South India”.
The United Kingdom rejects repatriation requests, citing legal norms under which these objects were acquired legitimately. In India, however, such arguments are viewed critically, with emphasis placed on the fact that many artefacts were removed in conditions of unequal colonial relations. Nevertheless, some separate initiatives have been successful – in 2022, thanks to an agreement between the Indian diplomatic mission in the United Kingdom and the leadership of Glasgow museums, seven historical objects were returned to India. Six artefacts, including carved stone reliefs of the 14th century and an 11th-century doorframe, had been removed in the 19th century from Hindu temples. The seventh object – a talwar sword – had been stolen in 1905 from the collection of the ruler of Hyderabad, Asaf Jah VI, by his prime minister and later sold to a British general.
The Koh-i-Noor – the diamond of a Hindu god in the British Crown
Since 1937, the Koh-i-Noor has occupied a place of honour in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth and is kept in the Jewel House of the Tower of London. The history of one of the world’s most famous diamonds is shrouded in mystery. Neither its original weight nor the exact century of its discovery is known. It is generally believed that the Koh-i-Noor was found in the 14th century in the Golconda mines of southern India. Legends, however, attribute its possession to mythical heroes and gods, and the stone is mentioned in the famous Indian epic the Mahabharata. According to one legend, the first owner of the Koh-i-Noor was Karna, the son of the Sun God. A belief said: “He who owns this diamond will rule the world, but he will also know the sorrow of the world. Only God or a woman may wear the diamond without punishment.”
The ominous legend did not prevent rulers from seeking the gem, which repeatedly became part of war booty or trophies seized in military campaigns. First, it passed into the ownership of the Delhi Sultanate and later became part of the treasury of the Mughal Empire. The diamond adorned the turban of Shah Jahan – the famous ruler who commissioned the construction of the Taj Mahal – and later became the central decoration of the opulent Peacock Throne. In the 18th century, after the Persian ruler Nader Shah invaded India, the stone was taken to Persia. It was at this time that it received its current name – Koh-i-Noor, meaning “Mountain of Light” in Persian. In the early 19th century, the diamond came into the hands of Afghan Emir Shuja Shah Durrani and was then transferred to the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh as compensation for military support. The decisive turning point occurred in 1849, when, after the annexation of Punjab by the British East India Company, the diamond was officially ceded to Queen Victoria under the Treaty of Lahore. Queen Victoria wore it as a brooch. At the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, the diamond failed to impress viewers due to its outdated oval cut characteristic of the Mughal era. Queen Victoria then ordered it to be recut in Amsterdam, reducing its weight from 191 to 108.9 carats.
The diamond remains on display in the Tower of London and continues to attract crowds wishing to glimpse the legend. For more than a century, disputes have persisted over the ownership of this most mysterious and famous of diamonds. India insists on its return due to its historical origin. Pakistan claims rights as the successor to Punjab. Iran recalls the period when the gem was held by Persian shahs. Afghanistan bases its claim on Emir Shuja Shah’s possession. In 2016, the Government of India stated that it would not officially demand the return of the Koh-i-Noor, but civil organisations and activists continue to raise the issue at various international platforms, including the UN and UNESCO.
The Rosetta Stone – the key to the secrets of Ancient Egypt
Without the decipherment of the Rosetta Stone, the history of ancient Egyptian civilisation would likely have remained a mystery to scholars. However, in 1822, French orientalist and founder of Egyptology Jean-François Champollion achieved a breakthrough by reading the inscription and opening the way to understanding this ancient culture. The Rosetta Stone, created by Egyptian priests in 196 BC to honour the Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy V Epiphanes, is a well-preserved fragment of a temple stele. It is a monolithic slab of dark basalt inscribed with three identical texts. Two inscriptions are in the Egyptian language – written in Egyptian hieroglyphs and the later, simplified demotic script – while the third is written in Ancient Greek.
The stone, which became the decisive tool in deciphering the writing of the pharaohs, was discovered in 1799 in the city of Rosetta during Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign. After France’s capitulation in 1801, the artefact passed to the United Kingdom under the Treaty of Alexandria. Since 1802, the Rosetta Stone has been kept in the British Museum in London, where it occupies a central place in the Egyptian collection. Initially, researchers assumed that deciphering the text would not take long – the Ancient Greek inscription, understandable to scholars of the time, was expected to serve as a basis for translating the hieroglyphic section. Edward Dolnick, author of “The Writing of the Gods: The Race to Decode the Rosetta Stone”, wrote: “The first people to look at the Rosetta Stone thought it would take two weeks to decipher. It ended up taking 20 years.”
Many leading scholars of the time attempted to solve the mystery of the Rosetta Stone, but only French researcher Jean-François Champollion succeeded. He devoted his life to the study of ancient Egyptian civilisation. His deep knowledge of the extinct Coptic language, which belongs to the Egyptian linguistic group, proved one of the keys to decoding hieroglyphs. British scholar Thomas Young also made a significant contribution. Although Egyptology was not his main specialisation – unlike physics and medicine – the opportunity to solve one of the greatest scientific puzzles of the era captivated him. Young focused on cartouches – sets of hieroglyphs enclosed in oval frames. He attempted to find phonetic correspondences between Greek and Egyptian, assuming that the name “Ptolemy” must have been written identically in both languages. However, he progressed no further.
The combined efforts of these scholars ultimately led to a breakthrough in understanding ancient Egyptian writing. Drawing on his knowledge of Coptic and building on Young’s methods, Champollion proposed a hypothesis about the hybrid nature of Egyptian script. His insight proved correct: hundreds of pictograms alternated between representing sounds, objects or symbols. Thus Champollion was able to decipher additional cartouches and establish the phonetic value of hieroglyphs.
Today, the stone remains one of the most visited museum exhibits in the world. Egypt regularly appeals to the United Kingdom for its return. The British Museum, however, proposes alternatives that exclude its transfer to Egypt. In 2005, the British Museum offered to provide Egypt with a replica of the stone, and in 2018, it suggested using virtual-reality technology that would allow museum visitors in Egypt to examine the exhibit in detail. Following the global opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza – the largest and most modern museum in the world – discussions among Egyptologists on the possibility of resuming dialogue on the Rosetta Stone’s exhibition location have continued. However, the UK has not received an official request from the Egyptian government.
The Maqdala Manuscripts – the spiritual heart of Ethiopia
Ancient Ethiopian manuscripts removed from the fortress of Maqdala in 1868 represent a unique collection of religious texts, historical chronicles, and church relics. These works of writing and art were preserved for centuries in the sacred repositories of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and served as a vital link in maintaining the country’s cultural and spiritual tradition.
The transfer of these manuscripts abroad is linked to the military conflict between the British Empire and Ethiopia. During the 1867–1868 expedition to free British hostages held by Emperor Tewodros II, British troops besieged the fortress of Maqdala and seized a significant part of Ethiopia’s ecclesiastical and monarchical heritage. Among the trophies were valuable illustrated manuscripts, ancient gospels, royal chronicles, and liturgical books.
Today, more than one thousand religious manuscripts remain in the United Kingdom: in the collections of the British Library, the British Museum and the National Museum of Scotland. In recent decades, Ethiopia has actively pursued the return of its lost relics. In 1999, the Association for the Return of the Ethiopian Maqdala Treasures (AFROMET) was established. The organisation has succeeded in returning some artefacts to Ethiopia, including a wooden tabot adorned with biblical verses. In 2018, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Maqdala, the Victoria and Albert Museum returned the Maqdala crown, the queen’s wedding dress and several household items, and in 2024 the Maqdala shield was repatriated. Yet most of the manuscript heritage of Maqdala remains abroad. These ancient manuscripts remain the subject of cultural debate. For Ethiopia, they represent not merely historical documents but an essential part of national memory.
Artefacts from the Summer Palace – treasures of the imperial Chinese garden
The Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan, meaning “Garden of Perfect Clarity”) is regarded as the grandest architectural monument of imperial China. This palace and park complex, constructed over the 18th and 19th centuries, represented the height of Chinese architecture and landscape design. Its luxurious pavilions housed priceless collections of art – from ancient bronze vessels and jade objects to exquisite porcelain and masterpieces of calligraphy.
The tragic fate of these treasures is closely tied to the events of the Second Opium War. In October 1860, Anglo-French expeditionary forces captured and looted the Summer Palace – thousands of artistic valuables were removed to Europe. Many found their way to the United Kingdom as war trophies, later entering the collections of leading museums, including the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The present status of these artefacts remains a complex issue in cultural and political relations between China and the United Kingdom. Since the late 20th century, China has made consistent efforts to recover its lost relics, regarding them as an essential part of national cultural heritage. Although most of the collection remains in British museum holdings, some items have been returned to China via auction houses and private initiatives. For example, thanks to private collectors and Chinese foundations, 7 of the 12 zodiac animal sculptures that once adorned the palace fountain have been repatriated. The bronze heads of the ox, monkey, tiger and pig were returned through the China Foundation for the Development of Cultural Heritage. In 2013, the French Pinault family donated the heads of the rabbit and rat to China, and in 2020 a Chinese businessman completed another return by purchasing the horse head at auction for US$8.9 million.
Commenting on the importance of returning cultural objects to their original locations, BRICS leaders emphasise that this process carries significant potential for restoring international relations on a non-hierarchical, shared basis, “social cohesion, cultural and historical justice, reconciliation and collective memory”. Experts note that this explains “the need for more robust international frameworks on this matter”.
You can read a brief analytical note prepared by experts of the TV BRICS International Media Network on recent initiatives regarding intangible cultural values in BRICS countries:
Analytical note “Recent initiatives on intangible cultural values in BRICS countries (January 2024 – November 2025)”
Summary
The note presents international forums and government initiatives of BRICS countries where issues of restoration, protection, and strengthening of intangible cultural values and cultural identity were discussed between January 2024 and November 2025.
International forums
Brazil: II BRICS Forum “Traditional Values” – Brasilia. The programme includes literature, education, ethics and cultural policy; a platform for discussing traditional values and cultural identity. This is the largest event dedicated to Brazil’s folk and traditional cultures. The event plans to address the creation of a unified legal framework that would shift the notion of “goodwill” into legally binding standards. The discussion will include regulatory initiatives and a new architecture of the global art market.
Source: Official website of the Brazilian BRICS Chairship
Russia: BRICS Forum “Traditional Values” – Moscow. A multi-day forum under the theme of “Traditional Values”, including sessions on national cultural codes, historical memory and the strengthening of cultural identity as part of international cooperation. The forum was first held during Russia’s BRICS Chairship in 2024 at the initiative of the Russian side and was later included in the plan of annual BRICS events.
The annual St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum and the Symposium “Inventing the Future” are recognised platforms for extensive discussion of issues relating to the preservation of cultural heritage and the return of exhibits to museum collections. In September 2025, Russia hosted foreign delegations at the St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum to discuss the preservation of cultural heritage and the adjustment of legal and economic mechanisms for restitution.
Source: Official website of the Brazilian BRICS Chairship
Indonesia: Within the international cultural conference CHANDI 2025 (Culture, Heritage, Arts, Narrative, Diplomacy and Innovation) in Denpasar, Bali, experts addressed the preservation of cultural heritage and possible exchanges in art and culture. At the ministerial meeting held during the conference, a joint declaration was adopted – the “Bali Cultural Initiative”, unanimously supported by 35 countries. The declaration reaffirms commitment to promoting cultural diversity, protecting the noble value of cultural heritage and strengthening cultural diplomacy as a bridge towards sustainable and inclusive global development. It highlights the idea that cultural diplomacy serves as a bridge to peace, dialogue and mutual understanding.
Sources: Radio Republik Indonesia, Televisi Republik Indonesia
Iran: The annual International industrial Exhibition EXPO EURASIA in 2025 was dedicated, alongside logistics and trade development, to the preservation of cultural heritage and cultural exchanges.
Source: Mehr News Agency
China: The preservation of cultural heritage has become a key theme in China. Chengdu hosts the Tianfu Forum on Chinese Culture. The main topic is the protection of cultural heritage and the continuation of historical and cultural policy relating to the return of artworks from other countries.
Source: China News Service
UAE: Within its state programme, the UAE is actively returning museum exhibits linked to cultural heritage. The General Conference of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) became a platform for discussing the topic and the need to continue dialogue on returning cultural objects to their countries of origin. A central event will be the opening of the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi. Under a 10-year agreement, several cultural assets are expected to be returned, although the exact list has not yet been published. It has been announced only that the presumed artefacts will be connected with the history and culture of the UAE. Whether these will be temporary exhibits or constitute genuine repatriation has not been revealed.
Source: Al Bayan
Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Culture (26 May 2025). Joint declarations emphasise the role of culture in strengthening identity, interpersonal ties and cooperation to protect intangible heritage.
Source: Press Information Bureau of the Government of India (PIB) – materials of the BRICS Ministers of Culture Meeting
UNESCO Regional Dialogues on Return and Restitution – Addis Ababa, 27 January 2025. UNESCO regards return not only as physical repatriation but also as the restoration of memory, practices and cultural rights of communities.
Source: UNESCO
Government Initiatives of the BRICS Countries
Brazil: Initiatives of 2024–2025 highlight the recognition and inclusion of cultural practices of indigenous and Afro-Brazilian communities in national cultural policy.
Source: Official website of the Brazilian BRICS Chairship
Russia: Forums on traditional values and cultural diplomacy aim to strengthen historical memory and traditions as part of national identity. Issues of system development and state and private initiatives on returning cultural assets to Russia are also addressed by the Presidential Council for Culture and Art.
Source: Official website of the Brazilian BRICS Chairship
India: Programmes of the Ministry of Culture and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) aim to promote India’s intangible cultural heritage internationally (e.g., Global Engagement Scheme, 2025), including festivals and bilateral cultural exchanges.
Sources: Press Information Bureau of the Government of India (PIB) – cultural diplomacy programmes; Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) – press releases and materials on international cultural exchanges
China: State programmes for the protection of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), festivals and demonstration bases are employed to strengthen cultural confidence and national identity.
Source: UNESCO – reports on the protection of intangible cultural heritage
UAE: The UAE successfully combines progress with the preservation of cultural identity. The country’s historical heritage is showcased alongside modern innovation, and museum collections continue to grow to create a new global treasury integrated with the digital world. The UAE hosts active debates on the architecture of the future art market and its transformation under modern technologies.
Source: Al Bayan
South Africa: The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) and the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) promote memorialisation policies and the inclusion of marginalised narratives in culture to strengthen identity (draft policy 2025).
Source: Department of Sport, Arts and Culture of South Africa (DSAC) – National Memorialisation Policy Draft 2025
UNESCO’s continued regional dialogues and possible events in 2026. UNESCO encourages the creation of agreements that take intangible cultural rights into account within restitution and cultural rights programmes.
In autumn 2025, UNESCO officially opened the digital doors of the world’s first museum containing digital copies of cultural assets once taken from countries – the UNESCO Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects. Through 3D modelling and virtual-reality technologies, the online exhibition is being expanded with digital copies of artefacts removed from countries in various historical periods and now kept in museums around the world. UNESCO’s virtual museum underscores the value of cultural heritage as a key element of identity and cultural rights.
Source: UNESCO
These and many other initiatives aim to transform approaches to how cultural assets are stored and transmitted across time and space.
Photo: arsenisspyros, iStock / Музей Виктории и Альберта / Shutterstock / gyro, iStock / tang90246, iStock
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