The desire of dispossessed countries to have returned to them parts of their cultural heritage which were taken under colonialism is a natural consequence of political self-determination. Each case must be decided on its merits, weighing both the importance of the object and the capability of the asking country to provide satisfactory conditions of conservation and security. The author maintains that none of the usual reasons given for retention by the holding country can be justified, and calls for a revision of Eurocentric attitudes. (originally published in encounter, March 1985, under the title losing one's marbles ).