[CPProt.net] reports CPProt.net April 9, 2003
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Wed Apr 9 12:18:46 CEST 2003
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April 9, 2003
__________________________________________________
- Are the Internet and GPS Technology Archaeology's Worst Enemies?
- Stink Bomb Protest at Art Auction
- INTERNATIONAL CODE OF ETHICS FOR DEALERS IN CULTURAL PROPERTY at
UNESCO site updated
- The costly destruction of rich history, culture
- Laundering Drug Money With Art
- Burrell Collection painting ruled part of Nazis' stolen art
treasures
- Police seek missing statue of icon
- Greece Repeats Demand for Return of 'Elgin Marbles'
_________________________________________________
Are the Internet and GPS Technology Archaeology's Worst Enemies?
The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY -- Bob Forsyth, a retired private investigator
living in Las Vegas, takes his Jeep into the high-desert backcountry
once or twice a week, searching for the elusive artwork of
prehistoric American Indians.
With a global positioning system receiver (GPS) mounted on his
dashboard and plugged into the laptop computer by his side, Forsyth
enters the no-man's land surrounding the Vegas glitz.
"I think of the people that were there, where you are, 1,000
years ago. You're walking in their footsteps," he said.
The question is: With exact GPS coordinates displayed across the
Internet, are too many people now walking in those footsteps?
Most of the ancient artwork carved and painted into the rock
walls and boulders of the American West have survived for thousands
of years in quiet obscurity. But technology has changed that.
These days, art that once took years for a person to stumble upon
can be quickly pinpointed with a GPS, and discoverers can post the
coordinates on the Internet. That leaves the ancient, priceless art
vulnerable to what the Bureau of Land Management calls "digital
vandalism."
"It certainly has changed how we think about our jobs. There's a
breathless feeling that the public is ahead of us now," said Dale
Davidson, a BLM archaeologist based in Monticello, Utah.
A quick peek at the Internet auction site eBay confirms the
ancient art is being plundered and sold piecemeal, said Kevin Jones,
Utah's state archaeologist.
It's not just the treasure hunters who concern the rock-art
aficionados. Some of the sites simply can't withstand public
adoration.
The use of GPS "hasn't changed the nature, but the scale" of
those who are finding the sites, Jones said.
Indians occupied the slickrock desert country of the Southwest
for at least 10,000 years. Much about them and their lives is a
mystery to archeologists. What is known about them is gleaned, in
large part, from the pictures etched on the rocks: hunting scenes,
handprints, ceremonies, even the arrival of pioneers.
There are "huge concentrations" of ancient rock art in Utah,
Jones said. He estimated that, throughout the West, there are
thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of rock-art sites.
When Forsyth, the Las Vegas adventurer, finds the treasure he
seeks, he writes down the GPS coordinates and takes a digital
photograph. Within hours, the photos -- and sometimes the GPS
coordinates -- are added to his personal Web site, http://www.
forsythlv.com/.
Forsyth wants to bring a glimpse of ancient cultures to the
public. But he often withholds directions to sensitive artwork. The
photos on his Web site of graffiti-covered rock art show why.
"This is the reason that the BLM and private organizations are
either restricting access or being very secretive about the locations
of petroglyph sites," he said on his Web site. "Second, this is the
reason why I am trying to locate and photograph all the sites that I
can. I want to see them before vandals have completely ruined them."
Even the selective access afforded by GPS on Forsyth's Web site
doesn't sit well with others who are known for their secrecy about
their favorite sites.
"We share coordinates between close, personal friends, but not
with strangers," explained Nina Bowen, vice president and archivist
for the Utah Rock Art Research Association. "We are so anti-telling
people about sites that we don't even have a file on these sites.
We're purposely very vague about (locations). It's our passion, and
we have seen so much vandalism in the past five years."
That's when handheld GPS units began being sold in sporting goods
stores, Jones said.
Sometimes, by the time archaeologists can get to a previously
unknown site posted on the Web, it's already been damaged and
information has been lost.
"Not only are we playing catch-up, but we're trying to record
something that's already been impacted," Davidson said.
There is a lot of talk about how to deal with this clash between
archaeology and technology, but no answers.
"We all stand around, kinda scratching our head about it,"
Davidson said. "It takes all sides to come to a conclusion here. It
took a lot of time for this to get to be an issue, and it will take
some time to figure out how to deal with it."
http://www.sltrib.com/
___________________________________________
Stink Bomb Protest at Art Auction
PARIS (Reuters) - Protesters let off stink bombs and hurled fake euro
bills as they vented their opposition to a Paris auction of artworks
seen as touchstones of Surrealism. The handful off protesters drowned
out the auctioneer's voice Monday as a crowd of more than 400 packed
the Drouot auction house when the first of 5,500 items collected by
the late Surrealist poet Andre Breton went under the hammer.
"You are murdering the poet," a protester shouted, reflecting
widespread anger in France's art community that the collection was
being sold instead of being saved for the nation. As bidding began,
the protesters flung imitation 10 euro bills into the crowd. The
smell of stink bombs spread through the room as the auction was held
up. Madonna and Bill Gates are reported to be among those interested
in an auction that is like a roll-call of modern art, including works
by Rene Magritte, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Salvador Dali, Jean
Arp and Marcel Duchamp. Auctioneers CalmelsCohen expect the
collection, which Breton put together in his tiny Montmartre studio,
to fetch more than $30 million.
_________________________________________
INTERNATIONAL CODE OF ETHICS FOR DEALERS IN CULTURAL PROPERTY at
UNESCO site updated
Members of the trade in cultural property recognize the key role that
trade has traditionally played in the dissemination of culture and in
the distribution to museums and private collectors of foreign
cultural property for the education and inspiration of all peoples.
They acknowledge the world wide concern over the traffic in stolen,
illegally alienated, clandestinely excavated and illegally exported
cultural property and accept as binding the following principles of
professional practice intended to distinguish cultural property being
illicitly traded from that in licit trade and they will seek to
eliminate the former from their professional activities.
ARTICLE 1 Professional traders in cultural property will not import,
export or transfer the ownership of this property when they have
reasonable cause to believe it has been stolen, illegally alienated,
clandestinely excavated or illegally exported.
ARTICLE 2 A trader who is acting as agent for the seller is not
deemed to guarantee title to the property, provided that he makes
known to the buyer the full name and address of the seller. A trader
who is himself the seller is deemed to guarantee to the buyer the
title to the goods.
ARTICLE 3 A trader who has reasonable cause to believe that an object
has been the product of a clandestine excavation, or has been
acquired illegally or dishonestly from an official excavation site or
monument will not assist in any further transaction with that object,
except with the agreement of the country where the site or monument
exists. A trader who is in possession of the object, where that
country seeks its return within a reasonable period of time, will
take all legally permissible steps to co-operate in the return of
that object to the country of origin.
ARTICLE 4 A trader who has reasonable cause to believe that an item
of cultural property has been illegally exported will not assist in
any further transaction with that item, except with the agreement of
the country of export. A trader who is in possession of the item,
where the country of export seeks its return within a reasonable
period of time, will take all legally permissible steps to co-operate
in the return of that object to the country of export.
ARTICLE 5 Traders in cultural property will not exhibit, describe,
attribute, appraise or retain any item of cultural property with the
intention of promoting or failing to prevent its illicit transfer or
export. Traders will not refer the seller or other person offering
the item to those who may perform such services.
ARTICLE 6 Traders in cultural property will not dismember or sell
separately parts of one complete item of cultural property.
ARTICLE 7 Traders in cultural property undertake to the best of their
ability to keep together items of cultural heritage that were
originally meant to be kept together.
ARTICLE 8 Violations of this Code of Ethics will be rigorously
investigated by (a body to be nominated by participating dealers). A
person aggrieved by the failure of a trader to adhere to the
principles of this Code of Ethics may lay a complaint before that
body, which shall investigate that complaint before that body, which
shall investigate that complaint. Results of the complaint and the
principles applied will be made public.
Adopted by the UNESCO intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the
Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its
Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation at its Tenth Session,
January 1999 and endorsed by the 30th General Conference of UNESCO,
November 1999.
Last update 18/04/2001
More :
http://www.unesco.org/culture/legalprotection/committee/html_eng/ethic
s1.shtml
International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property
Why a Code?
History of the Code
Contents of the Code
Advantages of the Code
International law on the illicit trade
Other action on illicit trade
__________________________________________________
The costly destruction of rich history, culture
By Andrea Miller
April 07, 2003
It's been said that war is the only way to teach Americans geography.
And maybe this time around, they'll learn even more -- after all, the
U.S. is bombing the cradle of civilization. Not everyone may realize
that the core of what was once ancient Mesopotamia is now the modern-
day state of Iraq.
"Iraq is a country with a long and very rich history," says Richard
Zettler, professor of anthropology and associate curator at the
University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
And to a striking extent, the history of Iraq belongs to all of human
civilization. It is the birthplace of writing, the site of Ur --
homeland of the biblical Abraham -- and home to great Islamic
dynasties.
The list is endless, but the tangible remains are not. And with the
second Gulf War now in full swing, while humanitarian concerns come
first, archaeologists and art historians are also concerned for the
safety of Iraq's historical monuments and sites -- the last remnants
of the region's abundant, once flourishing ancient cultures.
•
The entire country of Iraq is an archaeological gold mine.
"There are just thousands of archaeological sites," Zettler says.
"There are a lot of answers there just sitting and waiting for
someone to find," says Erika Tapp, a second-year art history graduate
student.
"The thing about archaeology is that you can't recover it once it's
gone," says Stephennie Mulder, also a second-year art history
graduate student. "All of that depends on stratographic relationships
that are completely destroyed."
Mulder is referring to the importance of context in an archaeological
find. The location of an object relative to others often provides
archaeologists with important clues.
For instance, ruin mounds -- rife with historical significance -- are
subject to use by the military since they are often the only high
ground available.
Zettler, however, is relatively optimistic given the situation.
"Even if you were to hit one of these ruin mounds with a bomb --
yeah, you'll put a crater in it," he says. "But these are big sites,
so I think... short of a nuclear explosion, the amount of damage
would be relatively minimal."
Conflict, however, is not the only cause of damage to archaeological
sites.
"Farmers in this area use the soil from archaeological sites as
fertilizer for their fields," Zettler says. "The simple fact is that
the archaeological sites are being destroyed by all kinds of human
activities all the time."
•
Archaeological sites are one thing. Standing monuments are quite
another.
"These monuments have lasted all this time because of their special
nature -- they were wonders of the world when they were built," says
Renata Holod, art history professor and curator at the University
Museum.
The huge vaulted arch of Ctesiphon is all that remains standing of
the famed Sassanian Palace -- yet, it too remains in grave danger
after suffering cracks during the first Gulf War.
Another site of particular interest is the great palace city of
Samarra, 21 kilometers outside of Baghdad. All that remains is the so-
called "minaret of Samarra."
"These are feats of engineering construction imagination," Holod
says. "It would be tragic if they were destroyed."
•
Monuments are not only important as historical records. They also
play a significant role in cultural identity.
"To come in contact with things that you know have been touched and
used and seen by people that are otherwise completely foreign to you,
it's really incredibly powerful," says College junior Meredith Gamer,
who has just finished researching iconoclasm.
"Monuments play a key role in rebuilding people's identity after a
conflict is over, and that's really the main reason why they're
important to preserve," Mulder says.
The loss of a site is especially poignant to some when it has
religious significance.
Take Karbalah and Najaf, two cities southwest of Baghdad, which are
two of the holiest sites in the world for Shiite Muslims.
•
But the gravest problems may be yet to come.
In the aftermath of the first Gulf War, Iraq's thousands of
archaeological sites and prestigious museums were ransacked and
looted.
Some of the stolen items can be found today on eBay. Others found
their way onto the black market.
"The Iraqi museum holds at least half, if not more, than that of
everything that's been excavated in Iraq since Iraq was founded,"
Zettler says. "If the artifacts and the field records are lost, then
everything is gone."
Often desperate for sources of income during the tough times of
economic sanction, Iraqis loot sites and museums in order to feed
their families.
Still, cultural organizations have issued various petitions and
continue to make valiant efforts to ensure that damage to historic
sites and subsequent looting are prevented. They also briefed the
U.S. military before the armed conflict began and provided them with
a list of the coordinates of invaluable sites.
"I hope that after the humanitarian aid, there will be some other
type of aid, archaeological aid," says Tarek Kahlaoui, a second-year
graduate student in art history from Tunisia. He hopes to be on the
first plane over.
Mulder, Tapp and Kahlaoui have been spearheading an effort to bring
awareness of these issues to the Penn community. At the behest of
Jackie Tileston, a professor of fine arts, the trio has assembled a
slide show detailing the Iraqi sites in danger. The exhibit will open
this afternoon in the lobby of Meyerson Hall.
"Obviously, putting up slides isn't really going to stop or change
anything," Mulder says. "But I think your average person doesn't
really know about the value of this area.... We hope that we can at
least begin to educate people to open their eyes a little bit."
http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/
__________________________________________________
Laundering Drug Money With Art
Martha Lufkin for The Art Newspaper
A Connecticut art broker is awaiting sentence after pleading guilty
to involvement in a money-laundering scheme intended to exchange
illegal drug proceeds for art. Two New York art dealers charged in
the case have not been scheduled for trial. The federal indictment
charges Shirley D. Sack, 74, and Arnold K. Katzen, 63, with
conspiring and attempting to sell two paintings for $4.1 million in
cash to an undercover agent posing as a drug dealer. According to the
defendants, the paintings in question are Amedeo Modigliani's "Jeune
femme aux yeux bleus," valued at around $2.5 million, and a pastel by
Edgar Degas, "La Coiffure," valued at around $1.6 million. These were
seized by the U.S. "Katzen and Sack indicated to the undercover agent
that they could resell the paintings overseas as part of the money-
laundering scheme," said the U.S. Attorney for the District of
Massachusetts, Michael J. Sullivan. The undercover sting
investigation, apparently prompted by an informant's tip, was
conducted by the U.S. Customs Service and the FBI. The U.S. alleged
that the Connecticut art broker, Alan M. Stewart, who pleaded guilty
in December 2001, acted in the money-laundering transaction. The
defendants face maximum sentences of 20 years in prison and $250,000
fines.
Under U.S. law, it is a crime to conduct a financial transaction
involving the proceeds or represented proceeds of an illegal activity
with intent to conceal the nature and source of the illegal proceeds.
The indictment says that Sack and Katzen promoted themselves as fine
art dealers who were "capable of selling various works of art to be
paid for in cash, as a way to launder money earned through illegal
drug trafficking. The pair "offered to resell overseas any works of
art first sold by them," the indictment says. One of the acts alleged
as part of the conspiracy was the purchase of a cash-counting machine
to sort out any counterfeit bills from the millions the pair expected
to receive, the indictment says. The conspiracy took place in New
York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, the U.S. says. The allegations
were supported by an affidavit of a U.S. Customs agent, which states
that he had received information about Sack. According to the
affidavit, Sack, seeking a buyer for a $12 million painting
supposedly by Raphael, stated that she did not care "if the money was
drug money, Russian organized crime money or mafia money; she just
needed a buyer," and gave the name of Alan M. Stewart as her agent.
In March 2001 in Boston, meeting with an undercover agent posing as a
drug dealer who showed interest in buying the putative Raphael,
Stewart said he could move cash, exchange cash for gems in addition
to art, and handle the resale of the Raphael, the agent's affidavit
says. Eventually, the deal shifted to the Modigliani and Degas, the
affidavit says, and Stewart fell out of the transaction.
Meeting with the undercover agent in May 2001, Katzen suggested
exporting the Modigliani and Degas out of the U.S. for resale, which
could take "six months to one year," the indictment says. Katzen
proposed to the agent that they build up an inventory in Europe to be
marketed "creatively" and that they establish a long-term
relationship in moving "large amounts," the indictment says. To
assure the would-be buyer, documents were sent to establish
authenticity, the indictment says. The dealers met the undercover
agent at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston, where they had stored the
paintings, and confirmed that the bill of sale was made out to a
"straw" company, Universal Investments. The curtain closed at the
Boston Seaport Hotel, where in the final scenes of the crime,
according to the indictment, Sack and Katzen "unwrapped and displayed
for the undercover agent the Modigliani and the Degas," and put the
money-counting machine to work, counting $300,000 in cash. At that
point, apparently federal agents arrested the dealers and seized the
paintings. Sack discussed transferring the proceeds from the resale
to an offshore account, the agent's affidavit says, and the dealers
explained that the buyer would see a net loss in funds. When the
undercover agent mentioned normally paying "10% to 15%" to launder
money, Katzen said the works could easily be sold at a 10% discount,
the affidavit says. Katzen said he would move the money very, very
slowly, the affidavit says, and told the agent he had a client in
Europe who was ready to buy the Modigliani "under these
circumstances."
The Saudi Prince, The "Goya" And The "Foujita" Four people, including
a Saudi prince, were recently indicted on narcotics charges in Miami.
The indictment cites one of the defendants with money laundering and
seeks forfeiture of two works of art in connection with the deal. The
oil paintings, seized by the U.S. in New York, are "Bandits attacking
a coach" attributed to Francisco de Goya and "Buste de jeune"
attributed to Tsuguharu Foujita. Both works are also known by other
titles. The indictment charges one José Maria Clemente with financial
transactions designed to conceal the source of illegal drug proceeds.
At a hearing in Miami in July 2002 on whether another of the
defendants, Doris Salazar, should be freed on bail, Assistant U.S.
Attorney Jacqueline Arango gave a glimpse of the government's case.
She alleged that in 1999 a drug transaction took place in which two
kilos of cocaine were flown from Caracas, Venezuela, to Paris on a
private jet owned by Nayef Al-Shaalan. He is believed to be "a Saudi
Arabian prince who is not in direct line for the throne" and who was
also Salazar's lover and owner of Cannes Bank in Switzerland, Arango
said. The deal was to yield about $20 million in cocaine proceeds as
Al-Shaalan's 50% share, Arango said. She described Clemente as a
Spaniard and banker in Switzerland who was the drug group's "European
money launderer" who had been "organizing their drug money and
laundering it through banks in Europe and Switzerland." The drug deal
was planned on a trip organized by Prince Al-Shaalan to an encampment
in the Saudi desert, featuring tents, Humvees [all-terrain vehicles],
and "horses and camels," Arango said. In Paris, the cocaine was taken
to "a nice villa in the suburbs of Paris," Arango said. A seizure of
190 kilos of cocaine off the Spanish border led authorities to the
stash in France, she said. Arango said that two cooperating witnesses
were "very involved in," and that Prince Al-Shaalan and Clemente knew
"a lot" about, "the art world," saying that "some of their
investments were made in art." As a result of a money-laundering
debt, the "two paintings arrived in Miami" to repay a drug debt, she
said.
The paintings were sent "in respect to a money-laundering
transaction," which was "related to this drug deal," she clarified,
adding that "it was the money-laundering debt that Clemente was
repaying." The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration believes that oil
paintings are "a way in which drug dealers launder money. It is an
investment for their drug transaction proceeds," she said. Telling
the court that Salazar might flee if allowed out on bail, Arango said
that Salazar had various different passports and a number of original
oil paintings at her house. But at a later detention hearing on
August 7, Arango said that the oil paintings had been examined and
were found to be worthless reproductions. Of the four defendants,
Salazar is in federal custody in Miami; Clemente was arrested in
Spain in mid-December and is awaiting extradition, either to
Switzerland or the U.S.; Ivan Lopez Vanegas was arrested in early
February in Columbia and is awaiting extradition to the U.S., while
Prince Al-Shaalan has not been arrested.
http://www.forbes.com/
_________________________________________________
Burrell Collection painting ruled part of Nazis' stolen art treasures
PHIL MILLER
ONE of Scotland's most renowned art collections has admitted one of
its paintings had been effectively looted by the Nazis in the 1930s
and has agreed two Jewish families have a "moral case" for its return
or financial compensation. The still life painting, Le Paté de Jambon
and attributed to Jean Chardin, is in the Burrell Collection. Glasgow
City Council is to ask the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in
London to help pay "reparation".
A committee of the council, dedicated to considering the repatriation
of stolen art works, has judged in a new report that two unnamed
German families have firmly established a case for recompense. This
amount could be £100,000 if proved to be by the French painter,
although experts judge the painting was by one of his followers and
may be worth only £20,000. Sir William Burrell, Scottish shipowner
and art collector, bought the painting in June 1936 from the German
art dealer, Julius Bohler, for £647.14s. However, an investigation by
the city council and new evidence from the families involved clearly
show the painting fell into Bohler's hands because of financial
persecution of the families by the Nazi regime. Such cases are
regarded as "forced transactions", in which the families have a clear
right to the painting, or at least financial compensation. The city,
which does not want to lose the painting, is expected to pay
compensation. It is "reluctant to jeopardise the integrity of the
collection by returning part of it". The report compiled by the
Repatriation of Artifacts Working Group reveals the families are the
heirs of an art house and gallery in Munich.
In 1935, the gallery was handed a huge tax demand despite a loss that
year, and were forced to sell paintings. A clearance sale took place
in Berlin, and included the still life, attributed to Chardin, which
was sold for £560. Bailie John Lynch, the chair of the repatriation
working group, said: "I must point out that there is no evidence
whatsoever that Sir William knew of the circumstances of the Berlin
auction that led to his acquiring Le Paté de Jambon." The request
concerning Le Paté de Jambon is the only one that the council has
received since publishing in May 2001 a list of 232 works of art
whose provenance or background could not be fully accounted for
between 1933-45.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/
______________________________________________
Police seek missing statue of icon
By Gary Klien, IJ reporter
San Rafael police are hoping to win one for the Nipper.
Nipper, an 88-year-old statue of the famous RCA dog listening to a
phonograph, has been stolen from the old San Rafael Improvement Club
at Fifth Avenue and H Street. The 3-foot-tall statue, like the
building that became the Improvement Club, was brought to San Rafael
from the 1915 Pan-Pacific Expo in San Francisco. The statue was part
of the Victrola pavilion at the Expo, police said. The San Rafael
Improvement Club, which has been undergoing years of costly
renovation, has been put up for sale by the Rotary Club of San
Rafael, so it donated the dog and other relics to the Marin History
Museum in San Rafael, police Capt. Tom Boyd said. But when museum
officials went to pick up the goods two weeks ago, no one could find
the dog. The museum told police the theft could have occurred any
time in the last four months. "It'd be wonderful if we could get it
back," Boyd said. "It's a bit of history." Its value is unknown, but
estimates range from $1,000 to about $5,000. San Rafael police have
already alerted local pawnshops and antiques stores about the
purloined statue. The museum, formerly the San Rafael Historical
Society, is offering an unspecified reward for its return.
"We're confident that Nipper will be returned to the museum, since
it's such an identifiable American icon," office manager Lynn
Skillings said in a statement. "It's an unfortunate circumstance that
we hope will be resolved shortly." The statue is made of ceramic or
plaster of Paris. The dog, which is painted white, except for
brownish black ears and a black nose, has its head tilted toward the
phonograph, as if listening to the voice.
Anyone with information can call San Rafael police at 485-3000 or the
museum at 454-8538.
Anonymous tipsters can also call Crime Stoppers of Marin at 472-2746
for a possible reward.
Contact Gary Klien via e-mail at gklien at marinij.com
_____________________________________________
Greece Repeats Demand for Return of 'Elgin Marbles'
Jenny Badner
New York
08 Apr 2003, 12:42 UTC
Listen to Jenny Badner's report (RealAudio)
http://www.voanews.com/mediastore/badner_parthenon.ram
Badner report - Download 627k (RealAudio)
http://www.voanews.com/mediastore/badner_parthenon.rm
AP Athens is once again demanding that the British Museum return the
legendary Elgin Marbles to the Acropolis before the 2004 Athens
summer Olympics.
Two hundred years ago, British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lord
Elgin, obtained the figures depicting an Athenian procession, with
permission of the Ottomans, who then occupied Greece. The figures
were then sold to the British Museum in London. The Greek government
has been lobbying for their return for more than two decades. Now,
the Onassis Center for Hellenic Art and Culture in New York is adding
its voice to the debate, calling for the British Museum to return the
ancient statues, which had been dismantled from a 146 meter section
of the Parthenon frieze.
Greece's former Ambassador to the United States, Loucas Tsilas heads
the Onassis Foundation. He argues that returning the statues will
restore the monument that symbolizes ancient civilization. "The
return of the Elgin marbles is requested by all Greeks, not some
Greeks," Mr. Tsilas said. "What Greece is asking is not that the
marbles return simply to Greece, but that the marbles return to a
monument which symbolizes the cradle of democracy, the classic
civilization, which as a matter of fact belongs to the universe to
the whole world." The Onassis Center is currently exhibiting a
reproduction of a carving of an ancient chariot race, split in two.
The accompanying caption reads: "both pieces, currently divided
between Athens and London, should be rejoined at the new Acropolis
museum." A model of that $100 million Acropolis museum is displayed,
too. Advocates say that the construction of the elaborate glass-
walled, earthquake-proof museum for the upcoming summer Olympic games
in Athens counters the British Museum's argument that it provides the
safest and most appropriate venue for the marbles. But the debate
over the fate of the statues is the most high profile in a growing
number of controversies with broad implications for the art world.
A Case Western University art historian and expert on the Parthenon
Frieze, Jenifer Neils, says that in opposing the return of the
marbles to Greece, art institutions are trying to avoid setting a
precedent for the repatriation of ancient art. "They have a kind of
floodgate mentality," she said. "Once you return something, you are
opening floodgates and everything will be asked for return. I do not
think this is the case, since most of this cultural property was
traded and exchanged and sold it is really is a special, case by case
basis." The topic is so hot that no curator who opposes the return of
the marbles would agree to be interviewed for this story. One art
director from a northeastern museum told VOA that he does not want
his name used because he worries that if he voices his view, "he will
never be invited back to Greece." But in an apparent show of support
for the British Museum, 18 of the world's leading museum directors,
including nine from the United States, signed a statement, published
in the British press last December. The document discourages illegal
trafficking of ancient and ethnic art. But it says repatriation
should be judged individually, because many objects have "become part
of the museums that have cared for them, and by extension, part of
the heritage of the nations, which house them." But Professor Neils
said throughout much of the world, museums have a national mission.
"If you go to museums in Italy, or Greece and Egypt, their museums
are not like ours," Ms. Neils said. They are not trying to be
universal museums, art museums. They have a different mission, which
is to present the culture of their own country." Many countries in
Europe, including France and Britain, also require export permits to
sell or remove important artistic works and some give governments the
right of first refusal. In 1970, the United Nations imposed strict
international regulations on the sale of ethnic or ancient art.
Onassis foundation director Loucas Tsilis says that the British
Museum can resolve the dispute by using the 2004 Athens Olympics as
justification for returning the marbles, perhaps as a long-term loan.
"The Olympic games are important because, as we will be celebrating
these important games in the land of their birth and almost 100 years
after their modern revival, it would be appropriate and a very good
sign to have an important monument of this era restored to its
integrity again," said Loucas Tsilis .
The controversy over the Elgin Marbles is one of several repatriation
disputes, including the fate of the Pergamon Alter, claimed by Turkey
but displayed in Berlin, the Benin Bronzes now in Scotland, and
Native American Indian art scattered all over the world in private
collections.
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