African Objects and Restitution

Within wider debates surrounding the restitution of African objects, Achille Mbembe’s thought has not yet received full exploration. Compared to major contributions by Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy, Mbembe’s work on the matter remains relatively marginal. This article argues that Mbembe’s writings on restitution merit greater visibility and centrality. It demonstrates how his views on restitution are distinguished by their unusually broad philosophical and historical framing. Exploring Mbembe’s critique of existing positions within the debate on restitution, it analyzes his account of African objects’ epistemological significance and their function in precolonial African cultures. Indeed, Mbembe connects these objects with foundational questions about human/material relations as well as with the structure of Western forms of philosophical knowledge. True restitution, for Mbembe, rather than lesser acts of recuperation, requires a reckoning with these broader issues, including, ultimately, the treatment of Africa within European philosophy. This wider framing of restitution both enlarges our understanding of the parameters of the debate on the return of African objects and enlarges our perception of these objects’ global philosophical significance.