Jamaica’s Culture Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange has renewed her thrust to retrieve post-colonial Taino wooden sculptures being housed at the British Museum in the United Kingdom.

Addressing the recent virtual staging of the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) Heritage Fest, Grange said her ministry, with the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, has initiated the process of “engaging our British partners” to get the artefacts.

Information obtained from the IOJ states that the Taino wooden sculptures — the ‘Boinayel figures’ and ‘Birdman’ — were removed from a cave in Carpenter’s Mountain in the parish of Vere, now known as Manchester, during the 18th century.

An IOJ document states that the artefacts, also called Carpenter’s Mountain carvings, “are slated to have been acquired by the British Museum in the period between 1799 and 1803. They were formally entered into the museum’s collection in 1977”.

Grange noted that in 1981, the British High Commission in Jamaica had identified approximately 137 objects from Jamaica that were housed at the British Museum.

“As minister, I am determined to ensure the repatriation of cultural objects taken from Jamaica, which constitute our rich cultural heritage,” she said, adding that the return of the artefacts “will fill the gaps in our history that are critical to the process of understanding ourselves and fostering greater cultural awareness”.

In July last year, Grange had told Parliament that the Government is working — via the National Commission on Reparations — to have the artefacts returned.

Last year August, a report posted on Global Voices said a “spokeswoman from the British Museum, which currently curates the artefacts, said they had not yet received an official request to have them returned”.