Ownership

Repatriation and the Ownership of Antiquity

James Cuno, among others, has asked a compelling question:  who owns antiquity?  The ownership or natural right to works of ancient art is an ongoing debate.  Museums have traditionally been bastions of cultural promotion and preservation.  As recent events have shown, however, museums can be far from secure, and the works within them can be destroyed, lost, or reclaimed.  Questions have also been asked about the rights of modern nation states to the artifacts from their ancient past, and if current ownership should take precedence over cultural inheritance.  Also part of this debate is the role museums play in their respective societies, and whether or not the traditional model of encyclopedic museums – traditionally a western form of institution – promotes or prevents a globally sensitive understanding of culture and meaning.  A team of dedicated students have tackled this complex series of issues, asking, among other questions:

  • Does one modern nation have the inherent right of ownership over materials from their region that pre-date the existence of the modern state? Why or why not?
  • What purpose(s) do cultural institutions, like encyclopedic museums serve to the global community? Does this purpose allow them to overlook or ignore claims of cultural ownership? Why or why not?
  • What type of audience is best served by encyclopedic museums? Does that audience have rights to materials from other nation states? A greater right than citizens of modern nation states? Is one audience privileged over another in/by encyclopedic museums, and if so, should they be?
  • How can we balance a global sense of history and heritage with the demands and issues of modern nation states?

Bibliography

For the purposes of this project, our team of student investigators began with two articles: Chas. Chaillé Long, “Send Back ...

Repatriation and the Ownership of Antiquity

Some countries believe that artifacts and major discoveries that originated in their own country belong to them regardless of who ...
Detail of the top of the obelisk.

Who Owns It?

Who owns it? by Josh Ford First of all, what exactly is ownership and how do we define it in ...
An obelisk inscribed with hieroglyphs.

Repatriation and the Ownership of Antiquities

The current issue surrounding the talk of antiquities lies in ownership or rather the lack there of, of antiquities. This ...
An obelisk inscribed with hieroglyphs.

What is Ownership?

Jennifer Ocampo Professor Morris Art History 351: Ancient Art 5 March 2015 What is Ownership? A question one must consider ...

Crossing Lines: Where Art Historians Stand in Antiquities Ownership

     The art historical community is locked in a decades-old struggle over defining rightful custody of found artifacts and objects that ...

Museums and Ownership

Stuart Fleischer ARH 351 Position Paper Museums & Ownership Every time you go to an art museum, you get the ...

The Eye of the Obelisk Must Look Toward Home

“A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most, wretches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, ...
Obelisk inscribed with hieroglyphs.

Rights and Wrongs of Modern Ownership

The issue of ownership in today’s society is still highly prevalent. Throughout the world, there are countries making laws about ...
Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut

Egypt: Repatriation and the Ownership of Antiquity

Antiquities have for centuries held historical importance to the cultures and places from which they originate. These ancient objects have ...