Funding was approved for 12 projects, the foundation announced in Magdeburg on Friday. One focus is on research into collections from former German colonies, including human remains and sacred artefacts.

As part of the research, the perspective of those people whose ancestors were affected by colonial oppression and the deprivation of cultural assets is coming to the fore.

For example, a research project was recently launched at the University of Giessen, which was developed together with Tanzanian partners from the Kilimanjaro region. “This involves targeted research into human remains and personal artefacts from families known by name,” the foundation said.

Objects from Mali that are believed to have been looted from caves and burial sites are also being investigated. The project is to focus on sacred burial objects in the collection of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.

Another project involves Australian researchers and experts from the University of Potsdam, who are working on analysing business documents from London ethnographic dealers.

This could make provenance research easier for many German museums, as many museums also bought artefacts in England at the beginning of the 20th century, according to the report.

The German Lost Art Foundation was founded in Magdeburg in 2015 by the federal government, federal states and municipal umbrella organizations.

It is Germany’s central point of contact for questions relating to unlawfully appropriated cultural assets.

The main focus was initially on the National Socialist era, but the foundation was expanded in 2019 to include a specialist department for colonial contexts.

dpa