A response to the earlier editorial article about how corruption threatens the security of some ancient artefacts in Nigeria.

From:
Modern Ghana

SAFEGUARDING NIGERIA’S CULTURAL TREASURES
By Kwame Opoku, Dr.
Feature Article | Wed, 13 Aug 2008

There are probably few countries in the world that can boast of such an abundance of cultural treasures as Nigeria, one of the richest countries in the world. But Nigeria has also an enormous amount of organizational problems which are also reflected in the cultural area. The constant lamentations about the weak security in many Nigerian museums often cause distress to those concerned about the fate of cultural objects that were unlawfully taken out of the country and which have to be returned in the future. Those conscious of these problems are discussing how to combat corruption in this area and how to achieve high standards of security.
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As in previous years, the Acropolis site will be open late during summer full moon evenings.

From:
Athens News Agency

16/08/08
August Full Moon

The Culture Ministry will open 72 archaeological sites, monuments and museums all over the country on Saturday night, the night of the August Full Moon.

The development is taking place as part of efforts to familiarise the public with archaeological sites and with the country’s cultural heritage in general.
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Items such as the Benin Bronzes were removed from Nigeria in dubious circumstances during the colonial period. In some cases though, work needs to be done to secure the remaining artefacts within the country rather than losing focus on them whilst those outside the country are the issue.

This does not of course take into account that there is no moral argument for their retention by an appointed party without any attempts to enter into dialogue with the rightful owners.

From:
allAfrica

Nigeria: Safe-Guarding Our Treasures
Daily Trust (Abuja)
EDITORIAL
12 August 2008

The original Benin bronze-head, the exquisite symbol of the creative ingenuity of the Bini, Nigerian and indeed African people still lies in some British museum where it is being kept, after having been stolen by the British colonialists.

Sporadic efforts at reclaiming it a few years ago became a court case and the British Court ruled that the bronze head may have originated from Nigeria but it is now a priceless world cultural heritage and therefore can be kept by any country, particularly when the country holding it would do a better job at its safe-keeping.
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Maurizio Fiorilli has in recent years been no stranger to restitution cases in his work for the Italian Government. Here he talks about some of the issues he is dealing with, as well as the way that the problems of looting are exacerbated by the policies of many of the museums that receive the stolen artefacts.

From:
Sunday Telegraph

Maurizio Fiorilli: scourge of the tomb raiders
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 10/08/2008

Bad news for the art thieves who for years have been selling Italy’s ancient treasures to foreign museums: ‘Il Bulldog’ is on your case. Alastair Smart meets the resolute attorney demanding their return

Pasquale Camera didn’t do light lunches. After a third plate of veal Napolitano, washed down by his nth glass of Barolo, the 25-stone ex-police captain galumphed his way out of a Naples restaurant, climbed into his Renault 21, and set off north for Rome. The August heat was intense, and just a few miles up the motorway, he fell asleep at the wheel, smashed into the guardrail and overturned his car. He died instantly.
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This article is covers a number of interesting aspects. Gaza is in a situation where it has few museums & much of its heritage has been lost to collections in Israel, leading to the potential for many restitution requests in the future. More interesting though is the reasoning behind charging for admission – the British Museum always puts free entry as one of its top arguments in debates over the Elgin Marbles, but possibly Jawdat Khoudary is right – people don’t learn to value the heritage when they can see it for free. Certainly, many others have noted that free admission does tend to come at a price.

From:
Independent

The refuge that allows Gaza to reflect on past glories
By Donald Macintyre in Sudaniya, Gaza
Saturday, 9 August 2008

It may seem an odd dilemma in a territory where more than half of families live below an internationally defined poverty line, but Jawdat Khoudary is wondering whether there should be museum charges in Gaza.

As the owner and creator of the Strip’s first purpose-built archaeological museum, he has no doubt that the most prized patrons, the organised parties of schoolchildren already starting to flock to it, must come for free. And having sunk a small fortune – he won’t say how much – into building this elegant and air-conditioned space overlooking the Mediterranean just north of Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp, he certainly isn’t trying to make money from it. But the 48-year-old owner of one of Gaza’s biggest construction companies worries that if he doesn’t charge a couple of shekels for individual entry, Gazans may not realise the value of their heritage as much as he does.
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In this interview, Bernard Tschumi makes it very clear that he believes that the Elgin Marbles will return to Athens, stating that the return will make sense to everyone once they see the facilities created within the New Acropolis Museum.

From:
Wallpaper

Bernard Tschumi Q&A exclusive
Architecture
8 August 2008

After nearly 30 years of planning, and eight years since the international competition was launched for the project, the New Acropolis Museum in Athens is ready: the collections are carefully being moved in as we speak, and the official opening is expected with much anticipation towards the end of the year.

Proudly headed by architect Bernard Tschumi, the new museum project team also comprises local architect Michael Photiadis and the museum’s director Professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, who showed us around the new bright and airy building, where we had the chance to meet Swiss-born Tschumi, and discuss his concept, the design, Athens and the Parthenon sculptures.
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An exhibition about the New Acropolis Museum has been running in Beijing since February.

During July though, in the run up to the Olympics, many more exhibits were added & a catalogue was produced to explain about both the museum & some of its contents that were on display.

This catalogue (in English, Greek & Mandarin) can be downloaded from the New Acropolis Museum’s website here.

More information on the request by Kenya for the return of numerous cultural artefacts from museums & institutions around the world.

From:
ArtInfo

Kenya Demands Return of Significant Artifacts
By ARTINFO
Published: August 6, 2008

NAIROBI—Kenya is asking for the return of artifacts of significant national importance that are currently owned by museums in the United States and England, the Independent reports. More than 2,000 artifacts housed in the British Museum and thousands more held by U.S. museums and in private collections are being compiled by Kenyan officials into a list of significant objects that the country wants repatriated.

In the past, attempts by Kenya to get artifacts returned were countered by arguments that the country did not have suitable facilities for them. But last month, the new National Museum, whose renovation was financed by the European Union, opened in Nairobi, and Kenyan heritage officials now insist that they can care for all types of objects.
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John Huntley follows up his earlier letter to the Scotsman, explaining the basis for how legal action could be taken in the Scottish courts over the Elgin Marbles.

From:
Scotsman

Purchase or plunder? A clear case for Scottish court to decide
Published Date: 06 August 2008
By JOHN K HUNTLEY

LET’S go to Fife to see the Parthenon Marbles. We might have done, had Thomas Bruce had his way. The seventh Lord Elgin “acquired” them for his new mansion at Broomhall. Grand designs for a grand man.

Instead, we can see them in London’s British Museum, which “acquired” the “Elgin” Marbles in 1816.
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A review of James Cuno’s new book in the Financial Times gives the impression that the provenance of all artefacts is somewhat vague. This seems to be a grossly inaccurate statement, which ignores the vast numbers of artefacts with clearly traceable provenance, whilst attempting to legitimise the position of museums & institutions of the west who hold onto artefacts whose provenance is many levels below murky.

David Gill expands on this on his blog.

From:
Financial Times

Who Owns Antiquity?
Review by Christian Tyler
Published: August 4 2008 08:08 | Last updated: August 4 2008 08:08
Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle over our Ancient Heritage
By James Cuno
Princeton University Press £14.95, 265 pages
FT Bookshop price: £11.95

The provenance of antiquities has always been murky. In the past, it didn’t stop museums from acquiring great collections. These days, it is such a political issue that curators have to work hard to defend what their museums already hold, let alone add to their collections.

Many governments are nationalising the antiquities in their countries – by criminalising private possession, banning exports and demanding the restitution of objects which have been held abroad for years.
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I’ve argued in the past, that institutions such as the British Museum are being excessively presumptuous in their attempts to put themselves in the role of Universal Museum for the whole world – in effect, deciding what is best for everyone else.

This article looks at that issue & beyond it, to the way in which the international community is lead by a relatively small group of western nations, acting generally on what is best for them, rather than what is best for all parties involved in the discussion.

From:
Daily News (Sri Lanka)

Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Who appoints the ‘International Community?’
S. Pathiravitana

There was a time when newspapers used to have the figure of a man wearing a hat on his head which resembled the earth’s globe and was meant to signify World Opinion. This figure has now disappeared and newspapers refer instead to an ‘international community.’

Unlike the earlier figure which readily made you think of world opinion, the phrase which has replaced it restricts itself to an ‘international community.’
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A commentary of Kenya’s request for the return of artefacts by Kwame Opoku.

From:
Afrikanet

Kenya demands once again the restitution of Artefacts
Written by Dr. Kwame Opoku
Wednesday, 06 August 2008

As we have often emphasized in our various articles, no one intends to empty the European museums of all the African objects but there must be a selection of those the European and American museums can keep and those the African owners want back home. As the Director-General of Kenya’s National Museums has stated in the report below, we want people in Europe and America to see our artefacts but the most important ones must return home to where they belong. Is this not fair enough? In these days when museum directors and others are talking about the “heritage of mankind”, should the producers of these artefacts also not have their own share of the “heritage of mankind”? Or does that heritage belong only to those who have acquired the artefacts under dubious circumstances?
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