Australia: Australian authorities have returned three historical artefacts to Beijing that are believed to have been illegally exported from China. According to reports, the artefacts returned to Chinese officials in Canberra include a dinosaur fossil aged more than 100 million years and two Tang Dynasty figurines.
The police working at the Australian border seized the items and referred them to authorities for investigation. The handover comes shortly before Australian Prime Minister Mr. Anthony Albanese’s visit to China in November.
“Today we’ve witnessed how two nations can work effectively together to return cultural property to its rightful home. Whether it’s items of cultural significance Australia holds or items overseas that belong to us, they should be returned,” Minister for the Arts Mr. Tony Burke commented.
The returned items include a fossil of a hyphalosaurus, a long-necked reptile species that lived in north-eastern China between 120 and 133 million years ago. Other items include a Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE) figurine depicting a rider on horseback playing a wind instrument and a Tang Dynasty gilt bronze figurine of the Buddhist deity Avalokitesvara, which was likely an altar piece.
According to reports, the ceremony also saw two other items dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties given to China by the National Gallery of Australia and a private collector.
Earlier, in August 2023, the National Gallery returned three bronze sculptures to Cambodia after a years-long investigation found that they were stolen. In recent months, China has been calling for the return of historical artefacts stolen from the country, including items currently owned by the British Museum.
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