Any debate on the ownership of cultural property is to be welcomed – however, based on past experiences, any involvement of Robert Anderson will mean that only the view of the issue as seen b the British Museum is represented.
From:
Web News Wire [1]
Who owns antiquities?
Submitted by editor on May 11, 2010 – 11:32Dr Robert Anderson, former Director of the British Museum and Vice-President of Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge, will examine who really owns antiquities lost, stolen and unearthed over recent years.
Speaking ahead of the event, he said, Antiquities, frequently being valuable and sought-after, often lead exciting, itinerant lives, ending up in places remote from where they originated. They can get into the news by being unexpectedly unearthed, offered surprising identities, sold for huge prices, exported ( sometimes illegally ), stolen, and even deliberately destroyed.
Examining a range of cases to emphasise the complexity of the issue, subjects under the spotlight will include the Lewis Chessmen, the Lindisfarne Gospels, Napoleon and the appropriation of Italian antiquities, the Rosetta Stone, Nazi spoliation, the Euphonios Krater ( Met Museum ), and the Baminyan buddhas.The event is organised by the recently formed Scarlet Gown Society.
The lecture, at 17.15 in School VI, St Salvators Quadrangle, is open to the public..
ENDS
Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews
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