The February issue of Art and Auction magazine contains a detailed review of the recently published book entitled Who Owns the Past? edited by Kate Fitz Gibbon. The review by Hugh Eakin is worth the read as it outlines a cogent analysis of the positions raised by contributors (including dealers, lawyers, museum experts, collectors) to the book.
"Surely something is awry in our system of acquiring and displaying the precious remains of ancient civilizations when the most common analogy to describe it is the international drug mafia," writes the reviewer to provide context for the issued raised in the book. "Dealers and collectors -- the central cogs in this rarefied sector of the art market -- are likened by governments and the press to rapacious gangsters and slavering addicts who will spare no effort to get their hands on ancient troves."
Who Owns the Past is a collection of essays that attempts to provide balance to the skewed press coverage of late and to provide a voice to those whose reasoned approaches to the licit antiquities market have been drowned by the torrent of salacious headlines. Eakin calls the book "an informative tour d'horizon of the cultural property debate and some of the broader legal and philosophical underpinnings."
The reviewer states that "One of the ways collectors and museums can claim the higher moral ground is to put collecting into perspective with other kinds of threats to the archaeological record. Looters with metal detectors and electric tools rampaging through tombs may be the subject of graphic tales, but they are only part of the problem. From Italy to Egypt to China, large-scale infrastructural projects -- subways and dams in particular -- have destroyed huge swaths of buried cultural patrimony that can never be recovered. The Turkish government's flooding of Zeugma, a 2,000-year-old Roman city with some of the world's best mosaics, is a case in point. The archaeological community, dependent on the goodwill of the same governments to continue its work, is often unwilling to take action."
Hopefully the book will open the door to much needed further debate between all parties and interests. Ultimately sensible dialog, not witch hunts and media circuses disguised as trials, will lead to rational solutions that are truly in the common good. Perhaps Gibbon's book is a step in this direction.
to the authors:I was in the first class of trneaid docents at the Getty and remember what a wonderful time we all had (innocents in the museum world). I remember Jiri Frel very well an imposing enthusiastic figure always striding thru the galleries and very friendly. Your book had me astonished at what was going on under our very noses, but kept me glued to the story as any thrilling detective story would. (I am a detective story addict).I have been to both the Getty Center and have revisited the new Getty Villa (once my frequent destination when I lived in Pacific Palisades),but now live in Arizona not too far to visit again!Many Thank yous for your monumental investigation and enthralling story!Sally Cole, Carefree, Arizona
Posted by: Keila | April 26, 2012 at 02:16 AM