Debate has peaked in the last year or so about the treatment and possible restitution of so-called colonial artifacts in Western (i.e., European and North American) museums. The conversation is important for many reasons, but one interesting facet is the way in which the discussion moved from a peripheral topic to one consuming high-level government attention in a very short amount of time. In the process, institutions that have been devoted for well over a century to artistic, archeologic, and ethnographic displays have found themselves in a very public conversation about the future and even the validity of their mission. This discourse culminated last fall in a report commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron, authored by Bénédicte Savoy of France and Felwine Sarr of Senegal, recommending (among other things, as discussed below), that objects sent to France should be returned if the country of origin requests it. Germany has now joined the conversation with the announcement of a collective declaration addressed to the collection of German federal and state museums.
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Topics:
Berlin,
ICOM,
Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste,
Germany,
Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art,
SPK,
Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz,
International Council of Museums,
1970 UNESCO Convention,
Monika Grütters,
Art Law Report,
Capital Requirements Regulation,
Bénédicte Savoy,
Felwine Sarr,
Emmanuel Macron,
Humboldt Forum,
Unter den Linden,
Stadtschloss,
Frederick the Great,
East Germany,
Volkskammer,
Collective Declaration,
Dahlem,
Nama,
Namibia,
Federal Ministry of Culture, Media, and Sport,
Länder,
German South West Africa,
Deutsches Zentrum Kulturverluste,
Ethnological Museum,
Gemäldegalerie,
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin,
Herero
In the course of our work here, I like to call out books and articles that I feel are worthy of praise, usually the in the course of a particular post or issue. After a too-long stay on the corner of my desk awaiting time to read it, I finally finished a book published last year that should be an essential for any collector, or lawyer dealing with clients across borders. Entitled The Art Collecting Legal Handbook (Thomson Reuters), the book is edited by Bruno Boesch and Massimo Sterpi, both notable European practitioners in art and cultural affairs law, at Froriep in London and Studio Legale Jacobacci & Associati in Rome, respectively.
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Topics:
Legislation,
the Middle East,
looted property,
Forgery,
Auctions,
VAT,
Studio Legale Jacobacci & Associati,
authenticity,
London,
Sam Keller,
Julien Anfruns,
droite de suite,
Froriep,
Moral Rights,
Europe,
North America,
Holocaust claims,
California,
Fondation Beyeler,
Howard Kennedy FSI,
Thomson Reuters,
Asia,
Rome,
Restitution,
International Council of Museums,
Massimo Sterpi,
United States,
World War II,
Sabina von Arx,
1970 UNESCO Convention,
Morgan Stanley,
Art Fairs,
Publications,
Litigation,
due diligence,
Immunity from Seizure Act,
Museums,
Bruno Boesch,
1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Ex,
Daniel McClean,
New York
