The statues date back to the 12th century.

With support from the Mellon Foundation, Open Restitution Africa has supported microgrants to develop case studies.

The museum has secured a temporary stay while it pursues an appeal.

The move is being positioned as both a symbolic and legal milestone: the first application of France's new framework for returning human remains taken during colonial campaigns.

The return could pave the way for future repatriations by the museum.

The agreement stipulates that the Kunsthalle Bremen will publish a book that details the persecution of its original owners, the van den Bergh family.

The panel said that the paintings were transferred to Grosz's dealer before the Nazis rose to power.

The work is being returned after its location was unknown for 80 years.

The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid and the heirs of a Jewish collector have battled for decades over a work sold under duress during the Nazi regime.

The artifact entered the museum's collection in 1982.