France Returns Looted Talking Drum to Côte d'Ivoire After More Than a Century
A Djidji Ayokwe talking drum seized by French troops in 1916 has been formally returned to Côte d'Ivoire, extending the slow restitution shift from symbolic promises to state action.
France has returned a Djidji Ayokwe talking drum to the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, in a move that addresses a colonial-era seizure dating to 1916. The instrument, historically used by Atchan and Ebrié communities to communicate between villages, had long sat in a French public collection.
The return adds momentum to a restitution process that has often moved more slowly than public rhetoric. In recent years, French officials have repeatedly acknowledged the legitimacy of repatriation claims from African states, but concrete transfers have remained selective and legally complex.
Restitution matters most when an object moves from diplomatic language back into cultural life.
The drum carries meaning beyond material value: it functioned as a communication technology, a social instrument, and a cultural record. Returning such an object is not just a museum transaction, it is a restoration of context that colonial collecting practices systematically destroyed.
For museums across Europe, the case is another reminder that provenance research now has political consequences. For Côte d'Ivoire, it is a recoverable piece of historical memory and a test case for additional claims that are likely to follow.