Sometimes, stripping back the complexities to think about issues on a human level can be helpful in overcoming the fear of difficult conversations, or of ‘making mistakes’ which can otherwise hinder progress towards resolution. It is important to be alert to the possible sensitivities of claimants, and to the deep sense of hurt and alienation which some of them may feel. It is also worth remembering that the cost to a claimant of bringing a claim – both financially and emotionally – can often be very significant. Equally it is important to establish whether the claimant has standing to make the claim, and whether they are entitled or authorised to do so.
Restitution and Repatriation: A Practical Guide for Museums in England, p. 2.
As I finished reading the recently released Restitution and Repatriation Cases: A Practical Guide for Museums in England, unconsciously, I found myself humming the first lyrics of the 1977 song Love is in the air, substituting love for change:
Change is in the air
Everywhere I look around
Change is in the air
Every sight and every sound
Everywhere one looks around today there is a story in the news of some museum returning stolen or ill-gotten cultural heritage items. And every sight and every sound these days is about returning, reuniting, and restituting looted artwork and other cultural heritage items long-thought to be secured and entitled to by encyclopedic museums such as the Louvre and the British Museum. To put a button on this, just in the past month or so, we saw the return of three bronze sculptures to Cambodia (which had been looted and later sold to the National Gallery of Australia), the return of 478 cultural objects to Sri Lanka and Indonesia from the Netherlands (acquired/looted during Dutch colonial rule), and 250 stolen ancient artefacts returned to Italy from the United States. And aside from the ubiquitous requests for the Parthenon Marbles, we also saw attention drawn for the return of the Roseta Stone to Egypt. Providing a timeline of all the artwork repatriated so far this year, one article asks: Is 2023 the Year Looted Art Returns Home? It seems so. The examples of recent and not so resent returns of cultural heritage items are plentiful. It is as if the multi-colored toothpaste is out of the tube. There is a sense of inevitability. Change is in the air.
Or so it seems.
Just as I posted a review of The Parthenon Marbles and International Law by Professor Catherine Titi, the Restitution and Repatriation Cases: A Practical Guide for Museums in England (“Guidance”) was released. Prepared by the Arts Council of England in collaboration with the Institute of Art & Law, with contributions from Professor Janet Ulph (University of Leicester) and other experts, the Guidance is:
intended to provide advice and best practice for museums in England on responding to restitution and repatriation cases. It sets out recommendations on all aspects of museum operations affected by these issues, guiding and empowering museums to take proactive action in a spirit of transparency, collaboration and fairness, qualities that sit at the heart of this guidance (p. 2).
A total of 30 pages, aside from an informative introduction and three useful annexes, it is divided into two sections. Section 1 titled “Getting started” is divided into three subsections (provenance research, accessibility, and policy), which sets up Section 2, “Working through a claim” – the core aspect of the Guidance. Without giving away too much – so as to encourage you to judge for yourself the pragmatic and functional nature of the Guidance – Section 2 gives a nice cookbook, step-by-step approach, summarized as follows:
Stage 1 – Developing understanding.
You may be approached by a party interested in a particular item, or enquiring more generally about whether there are items in your collection to which they have a particular connection. What preliminary steps and questions should you consider and discuss with the party?
Stage 1A – Understanding the object(s)
You will need to gain a full understanding of the object(s) in question. This will usually involve working together with the interested party, and with others, to gather and interpret the relevant information.
Stage 1B – Understanding each other
As initial discussions progress, you will need to ensure that each party understands the basic structure and status of the other.
Stage 1C – Involving other stakeholders
You should consider, with the interested party, what other stakeholders might need to be involved.
Stage 2 – Work through a formal claim
Once a formal claim is submitted, what practical steps will follow?
Stage 3 – Assessing the claim
How do you assess the information in reaching decisions about the claim and the relevant object(s)? You will need to consider the ethical principles relevant to the particular circumstances, as well as any legal grounds for the claim, if such exist.
Stage 4 – Implementing the outcomes
What needs to happen to put into practice any agreements reached or decisions taken about the claim and the relevant object(s)?
The Guidance seems primarily designed for the return of (African) human remains and Nazi spoils found in English museums. However, the suggested approach in determining claims and working through the machinics for eventual return of disputed items of cultural heritage is exceptionally sound. It certainly demonstrates an acknowledgement that English museums may have on display or in their possession of items that were wrongly (intentionally or unintentionally) obtained and thus subject to be returned once certain criteria are established.
Now to my point in raising hope for the return of the Parthenon Marbles. Change just might be in the air – or at least there is now a recognized process that could serve as a model.
While the Guidance does not apply to the wrongful acquisition of the Parthenon Marbles by virtue of an act of Parliament having whitewashed Lord Elgin’s illegal removal of them and damaging the Parthenon in the process, it does provide a practical road map for a serious dialogue and reexamination of the provenance of the Parthenon Marbles. Thus far, this has been lacking (along with genuine good will) – and not for want of trying by Greece.
Professor Titi’s excellent book, The Parthenon Marbles and International Law, lays out all the legal / justiciable permutations available. She concludes, however, much as I do, that the return of the Parthenon Marbles are inevitable not through protracted litigation but through constructive and persistent diplomacy. To this end, the Restitution and Repatriation Cases: A Practical Guide for Museums in England offers a refreshing reset button and useful matrix for a constructive dialogue between the governments of Greece and the UK.
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