Museums join forces to stop repatriation claims
Matthew Taylor
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2558359.stm
Monday, 9 December, 2002, 14:58 GMT
Museums thwart artefact claims
Some of the world's leading museums have joined forces to declare that they
will not hand back ancient artefacts to their countries of origin.
Directors of 18 institutions, from St Petersburg to New York, signed a
declaration saying their collections act as "universal museums" for the good
of the world.
People have only been able to fully appreciate ancient civilisations because
their institutions have provided access to archaeological, artistic and
ethnic objects, they say.
The statement follows increased calls for the return of artefacts that were
removed decades or centuries ago, such as the controversial Elgin Marbles,
which are in the British Museum.
Click here to see a full list of the museums
A similar row has simmered over the Benin Bronzes that are kept in London
and Berlin, while Turkey has been pushing for the return of the Pergamon
Altar, also currently on show in Berlin.
In 1993, the Metropolitan Museum of Art reluctantly handed over 363 pieces
of gold, silver, precious stones, paintings and sculptures to Turkey after a
court case.
The directors' declaration said: "The universal admiration for ancient
civilisations would not be so deeply established today were it not for the
influence exercised by the artefacts of these cultures, widely available to
an international public in major museums."
It said Greek culture would not have become so lauded if museums had not put
statues on show.
'Not comparable'
"The collections of public museums throughout the world marked the
significance of Greek sculpture for mankind as a whole and its enduring
value for the contemporary world."
The acquisition of objects in past eras cannot be treated the same as
illegal trade in antiquities today, the directors said.
"The objects and monumental works that were installed decades and even
centuries ago in museums throughout Europe and America were acquired under
conditions that are not comparable with current ones," the statement said.
Parthenon row
The statement was discussed at an informal meeting of directors earlier in
2002, and the heads of institutions including the Louvre in Paris, the
Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
signed up.
The British Museum has not signed up to the declaration, but says it fully
supports it.
Over recent years, it has faced growing calls to hand back the Elgin
Marbles, sculptures taken from the Parthenon in Athens in the 19th century.
But the British Museum has said it is the "best possible place for them".
"They must remain here if the museum is to continue to achieve its aim,
which is to show the world to the world," director Neil McGregor said
recently.
Museums signed up to the declaration:
The Art Institute of Chicago
Bavarian State Museum, Munich (Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek)
State Museums, Berlin
Cleveland Museum of Art
J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Louvre Museum, Paris
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Prado Museum, Madrid
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Matthew Taylor
"Matthew Taylor" <matthew....@NOSPAM.mtaylor.co.uk> wrote in message
news:kVadnUtVC_c...@brightview.com...
> From:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2558359.stm
>
>
> Monday, 9 December, 2002, 14:58 GMT
> Museums thwart artefact claims
>
Relating to previous message:
----- Original Message -----
From: "Museum Security Network"
Sent: Monday, December 09, 2002 10:30 PM
>
> Museums thwart artefact claims
>
>
> (Moderator's comment: the standpoint these museum directors take
> towards the return of the Parthenon marbles is very much against the
> ICOM code of ethics, besides it is extremely undemocratic. One must
> realize that in Elgin's time already the majority of the English were
> opposed to the arrival of these marbles in England. Recent polls show
> that the majority of the English still are in favour of returning the
> marbles. The director's declaration: "The universal admiration for
> ancient civilisations would not be so deeply established today were
> it not for the influence exercised by the artefacts of these
> cultures, widely available to an international public in major
> museums" is outright cultural colonialism. The countries of origin
> never had a chance to agree with the removal of their cultural
> property to Europe or the USA. The 'appreciation' of ancient (and far
> away) civilisations still is 'exercised' in a continuous and growing
> illicit trade in artifacts.
>
> There even are recent examples of illicit traffic in which museums
> participate. The 363 pieces of gold that the Metropolitan had to
> return to Turkey were outright stolen from that country, and the
> curators and director of the Metropolitan were aware of this (read
> Making the Mummies Dance by former Met director Thomas Hoving). The
> MIHO Museum in Japan still is involved in a case about looted art.
> The louvre recently was involved in a case about the illicit
> possession of NOK statues from Nigeria.
>
> The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, director Ronald de Leeuw tonight declared
> that in the time the Parthenon Marbles were taken to England the
> state of Greece did not even exist. This is outright nonsense: in
> those days Greece was occupied by Turkey. The Parthenon Marbles were
> made at a time the state of The Netherlands nor the state of England
> did exist in it's present legal structure. According to De Leeuw the
> presence of these Marbles stimulated the appreciation for Greek art.
> Whether this be true or not: the country of origin never had a say in
> the transportation of these marbles to London. In legal terms this is
> theft.)
>
>
<rest of message is a copy of the original article>
astron
a pitiful excuse to not give back their loot and is quite racist , if you
read between the lines , not to mention grossly arrogant .
The Metropolitan Museum Of Art in New York City has at least 2 possibly more
artifacts( take Kouros statue which is in all likelihood the result of an
illegal excavation with no provenance in key time periods ) which it
refuses to give back to the Greek people .
Further , it is a well known "secret" that the Met and the Los Angeles
County Museum is " in the market " , colluding with Art smugglers to obtain
artifacts illegally , so as to bolster its "collection" . The Los Angeles
County Museum has benefited from stolen Afghani and Pakistani Gandharan
artifacts .
This "declaration" should be viewed with a grain of salt .
If the culprits continue to have this line , then Greece should withdraw
from all conventions of "cultural property" so that any "stolen" art work
that shows up in Greece ( from the United States or other countries ) cannot
be repatriated and becomes the property of the Athens Museum( following
nominal compensation to the original giver) Rembrandts etc without having to
travel so far . Greece would be doing the Art starved World a big favor .
Greece needs paintings from the Dutch Golden Age . Why should the Dutch
museums have them all ? The World needs to see them in Greece and study them
objectively !
"Matthew Taylor" <matthew....@NOSPAM.mtaylor.co.uk> wrote in message
news:kVadnUtVC_c...@brightview.com...
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WolfWolf
"astron" <ast...@texas.com.us> wrote in message news:at51e3$cag$1...@lust.ihug.co.nz...
> Greece needs paintings from the Dutch Golden Age . Why should the Dutch
> museums have them all ? The World needs to see them in Greece and study them
> objectively !
Two Masterpieces Stolen from Van Gogh Museum
Sat December 7, 2002 08:26 AM ET
By Paul Gallagher
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Two Vincent Van Gogh oil paintings were snatched by thieves on
Saturday in a daring robbery at an Amsterdam museum dedicated to the tortured 19th
century Dutch artist.
Thieves scrambled onto the roof of the Van Gogh Museum using a ladder and descended
into the building before disappearing with two world renowned oil paintings before the
museum opened its doors for the day, police said.
The thieves, who triggered the burglar alarm, fled with the oil paintings
"Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen" and "View of the Sea at
Scheveningen" from a museum with the largest Van Gogh collection in the world.
"Just before eight (a.m.) they disappeared. There is still a police investigation
going on," a museum spokeswoman said.
Astron, where have you been last Saturday at eight o'clock in the morning????
Matthew Taylor
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/front/RTGAM/20021210/wxmuse1
210/Front/homeBN/breakingnews
POSTED AT 5:16 AM EST Tuesday, December 10
Museums assert right to possess artifacts
By JAMES ADAMS
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
The world's top museums say they've played a positive role in preserving
objects obtained dubiously, but some cultural observers decry the statement
as a last-ditch attempt to prop up the British Museum's continued possession
of the famous Parthenon Marbles.
In a 500-word declaration released yesterday, 18 organizations — including
the Louvre, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Madrid's Prado Museum and
the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles — say that "objects acquired in
earlier times ... whether by purchase, gift or partage ... must be viewed in
the light of different sensitivities and values, reflective of that earlier
era."
The statement, called a "declaration on the importance and value of
universal museums," was drafted after a meeting in October in Munich of the
International Council of Museums.
While representatives of the British Museum who attended the meeting did not
sign the declaration, that absence "is by no means because we don't
absolutely support it," a spokeswoman for the museum said yesterday.
"We do. It was just us wanting to make it more of an international statement
... and not to get it bogged down on that one argument or those particular
objects," Hannah Boulton said, referring to the marbles.
The only objects specifically mentioned in the four-paragraph declaration
are "the sculpture of classical Greece."
Appreciation of Greek art in the Western world, the statement declares,
"appears all the more strongly as the result of their being seen and studied
in direct proximity to products of other great civilizations."
The British Museum has been the focus of an intense international campaign
in recent years to have the Parthenon Marbles it has housed for almost two
centuries returned to their original home in Athens.
The marbles, dating from the fifth century BC, were taken to London from
Turkish-occupied Greece over 10 years at the turn of the 19th century by
Lord Elgin, Britain's ambassador to Constantinople.
Greece made an official request for the return of the Parthenon Marbles in
1983, but England has steadfastly refused the request, saying the artifacts'
continued well-being is best served by keeping them at the British Museum.
Steve Ashton, Minister of Conservation for Manitoba's NDP government and
secretary of the Canadian Committee for the Repatriation of the Parthenon
Marbles, said yesterday that the museums' declaration "shows the growing
momentum of the movement" for returning the works to Athens.
In fact, the statement can be seen as both an attempt to forestall their
transfer and "an anticipation on the part of these other museums that the
Parthenon Marbles just could be returning to Athens," Mr. Ashton said.
Bribes helped smooth their exit from Athens and in 1816 Lord Elgin sold them
to the British Museum for what today would be about $5-million.
For the past two years repatriation advocates have focused on getting the
marbles back to Greece by mid-2004, in time for the Olympic Summer Games in
Athens.
The Greek government has said it would build a new climate-controlled,
smog-proof Acropolis museum there to permit the reunification of the
so-called Elgin Marbles with the remaining marbles of the Parthenon. It's
even suggested the English marbles go to Greece on a long-term loan while
Greece, in return, would lease some of its most important artifacts to the
British Museum. Their box-office draw would help that institution reduce its
$12-million deficit.
Recent polls indicate the majority of Britons favour the return of the
Parthenon Marbles. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, however, thinks they
should stay, while the trustees of the British Museum recently proclaimed
their institution "a truly universal museum of humanity accessible to five
million visitors every year free of charge."
Mr. Ashton said arguments for showcasing the marbles in London might have
been valid decades ago, "but those arguments don't apply in an increasingly
globalized world, a world of cultural tourism."
No Canadian museums or galleries are signatories to the declaration. Matthew
Teitelbaum, director of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, said he was
unable to attend the Munich meeting, but had he been asked to sign a draft,
"I would have."
"We must acknowledge the exchange of ideas between cultures that museums so
ably facilitate," he said, "and we must consider that in individual
circumstances specific judgments must be made."
The lost marbles
1799-1803:
Thomas Bruce, seventh Lord Elgin and British ambassador to the Ottoman
Empire, began a collection of ancient Greek sculptures and architectural
details. The artifacts were moved from the Parthenon in Athens and other
ancient buildings, then shipped to England, causing both controversy and an
investigation by Parliament.
1802-1812:
Ships sailed back to England with the artifacts. One ship was lost in a
storm off Greece, but its cargo was recovered. Lord Elgin left the embassy
in 1803 and arrived in England in 1806. During the next 10 years, the
collection remained private, against Lord Elgin's wishes. Lord Elgin was the
victim of much criticism, but eventually was able to put the collection on
display to the public. In 1812, the Crown bought the collection for Ł35,000,
less than half of what it cost Lord Elgin to get it home.
1983:
The Greek government demanded the return of the marbles, but the British
refused and the issue remains unresolved.