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We hope you enjoy it! Rosa and Mark
The ownership of 'acquired' items, currently in the custody of museums and galleries worldwide, will always be a point of contention. Who owns items is open to interpretation, should the claimant be the receiver of the donated item, the buyer, the collector, or moral/cultural 'owner' of the artifact. Given the widespread nature of collections, both those displayed and in store, to what extent would the very nature of (say) the British Museum or the V&A be, should repatriation take place on a global scale?
Yup.....I apologise ;)...I suppose what I should have said was that this raises really interesting issues in relation to what constitutes 'cultural property' and 'cultural heritage'..... perhaps the nature of the acquisition of these particular objects suggests some relationship to frameworks such as the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict(1954), but the event took place almost a century before this, so perhaps it's outside such a frame?...and my feeling is that legislation is too much of a blunt instrument for these complex issues. But it's perhaps not too surprising that these Bronze Heads provide a useful screen for a whole range of politically motivated actions....as I've said many times before...artworks..they're Toxic! (Is that better?) m
The ownership of 'acquired' items, currently in the custody of museums and galleries worldwide, will always be a point of contention. Who owns items is open to interpretation, should the claimant be the receiver of the donated item, the buyer, the collector, or moral/cultural 'owner' of the artifact.
ReplyDeleteGiven the widespread nature of collections, both those displayed and in store, to what extent would the very nature of (say) the British Museum or the V&A be, should repatriation take place on a global scale?
Heads will roll over this!
ReplyDeletem
I can't believe you've polluted my post with such poor punnery. I don't think you're taking this subject sufficiently seriously!
ReplyDeleteYup.....I apologise ;)...I suppose what I should have said was that this raises really interesting issues in relation to what constitutes 'cultural property' and 'cultural heritage'..... perhaps the nature of the acquisition of these particular objects suggests some relationship to frameworks such as the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict(1954), but the event took place almost a century before this, so perhaps it's outside such a frame?...and my feeling is that legislation is too much of a blunt instrument for these complex issues. But it's perhaps not too surprising that these Bronze Heads provide a useful screen for a whole range of politically motivated actions....as I've said many times before...artworks..they're Toxic!
ReplyDelete(Is that better?)
m
That's more like it! Consider yourself redeemed.
ReplyDelete