Who Owns Antiquity?: Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage,Books,Free Shipping,0691137129,

	Who Owns Antiquity?: Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage by James Cuno
	List Price $24.95 Our Price $16.47 You Save $8.48 (34%) Prices subject to change. Eligible for FREE Shipping See details Availability Usually ships in 24 hours
	Marketplace New from $15.58 Used from $14.69
Product Details Binding Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number 930.1074 EAN 9780691137124 ISBN 0691137129 Manufacturer Princeton University Press Number Of Items 1 Number Of Pages 256 Publication Date May 11, 2008 Publisher Princeton University Press Availability Usually ships in 24 hours Product Description Whether antiquities should be returned to the countries where they were found is one of the most urgent and controversial issues in the art world today, and it has pitted museums, private collectors, and dealers against source countries, archaeologists, and academics. Maintaining that the acquisition of undocumented antiquities by museums encourages the looting of archaeological sites, countries such as Italy, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and China have claimed ancient artifacts as state property, called for their return from museums around the world, and passed laws against their future export. But in Who Owns Antiquity?, one of the world's leading museum directors vigorously challenges this nationalistic position, arguing that it is damaging and often disingenuous. 'Antiquities,' James Cuno argues, 'are the cultural property of all humankind,' 'evidence of the world's ancient past and not that of a particular modern nation. They comprise antiquity, and antiquity knows no borders.' Cuno argues that nationalistic retention and reclamation policies impede common access to this common heritage and encourage a dubious and dangerous politicization of antiquities--and of culture itself. Antiquities need to be protected from looting but also from nationalistic identity politics. To do this, Cuno calls for measures to broaden rather than restrict international access to antiquities. He advocates restoration of the system under which source countries would share newly discovered artifacts in exchange for archaeological help, and he argues that museums should again be allowed reasonable ways to acquire undocumented antiquities. The first extended defense of the side of museums in the struggle over antiquities, Who Owns Antiquity? is sure to be as important as it is controversial. ...an illuminating...book. -- Edward Rothstein New York Times Who Owns Antiquity? by Art Institute of Chicago director James Cuno deals with one of the most sensitive questions in today's art world: Should antiquities be returned to their country of origin? [T]his book provides a lot of worthwhile background. Wall Street Journal It would be a mistake to see this deeply felt and carefully reasoned argument as self-serving. The crux of his argument is that modern nation-states have at best a tenuous connection with the ancient cultures in question, and their interests are political rather than scientific...Cuno advocates instead a universal, humanistic approach to the world's shared cultural treasures...Cuno's pleas for a more expansive approach to cultural artifacts must be taken seriously. Publishers Weekly The author's message is that stewardship, not ownership, is what matters. Trade in antiquities should be dictated not by politics, but by the demands of conservation, knowledge, and access. The argument presented here is thought-provoking. Cuno may be over-optimistic. But you can't help feeling that he is right. Financial Times Cuno worries that 'encyclopedic' museums such as the Art Institute and the Louvre, which contain antiquities from around the planet, are endangered by nations that, simply put, want their stuff back -- and don't want any more stuff to leave their borders. In Who Owns Antiquity? Cuno answers his own question this way: All of us do. -- Andrew Herrmann Chicago Sun Times Chronicles [Cuno's] views about the antiquity trade--a global community enmeshed in a war of ideas. Collectors, museum directors, archeologists, dealers and even nations are in dispute. The battle line is drawn between those who believe that national policies should prevent the looting of archeology sites and those--including a very outspoken Cuno--who think that such policies don't prevent plundering and should be changed to ensure artifacts are globally shared. -- Madeline Nusser Time Out Chicago I can't remember a book on museums that has generated quite so much publicity and critical comment as this one. Artknows Cuno implicitly poses the question: 'Whose nation is it anyway?' ... His is a cogent and powerful argument that he expresses with personal conviction. -- Robin Simon New Statesman James Cuno, director of the Art institute in Chicago, has written a clear, well-argued...book about the vexed question of how great museums like his should collect ancient objects. Art Newspaper Impressive in its grasp of historical and political issues, ranging across anthropology, archaeology, and law, Cuno's book evinces careful thought about the implications of antiquities trafficking across many eras. American Scholar Cuno defends the museum side of the issue, and he is well suited to make the case. -- Matthew J. Milliner First Things [F]ascinating, and extremely helpful in providing a lucid account of changing attitudes to cultural property since the Second World War... Many of his arguments are persuasive. Literary Review Who Owns Antiquity? by James Cuno explores the impact of new restrictions being placed on the acquisition of antiquities and how these will affect future museums. Art and Antiques [Cuno] argues convincingly that current cultural property laws are too retentionist... It's difficult to disagree with the idea that people benefit when antiquities of other countries can be seen in museums around the world. And the virtues of partage also seem clear. As Cuno points out, the collections at the great museums of the world could not have been put together under our current system of cultural property laws, and the millions of people who have marveled at these collections would be poorer for not having seen them. -- Mary Katherine Ascik The Weekly Standard ...an illuminating...book. (Edward Rothstein New York Times ) Who Owns Antiquity? by Art Institute of Chicago director James Cuno deals with one of the most sensitive questions in today's art world: Should antiquities be returned to their country of origin? [T]his book provides a lot of worthwhile background. (Wall Street Journal ) It would be a mistake to see this deeply felt and carefully reasoned argument as self-serving. The crux of his argument is that modern nation-states have at best a tenuous connection with the ancient cultures in question, and their interests are political rather than scientific...Cuno advocates instead a universal, humanistic approach to the world's shared cultural treasures...Cuno's pleas for a more expansive approach to cultural artifacts must be taken seriously. (Publishers Weekly ) The author's message is that stewardship, not ownership, is what matters. Trade in antiquities should be dictated not by politics, but by the demands of conservation, knowledge, and access. The argument presented here is thought-provoking. Cuno may be over-optimistic. But you can't help feeling that he is right. (Financial Times ) Cuno worries that 'encyclopedic' museums such as the Art Institute and the Louvre, which contain antiquities from around the planet, are endangered by nations that, simply put, want their stuff back -- and don't want any more stuff to leave their borders. In Who Owns Antiquity? Cuno answers his own question this way: All of us do. (Andrew Herrmann Chicago Sun Times ) Chronicles [Cuno's] views about the antiquity trade--a global community enmeshed in a war of ideas. Collectors, museum directors, archeologists, dealers and even nations are in dispute. The battle line is drawn between those who believe that national policies should prevent the looting of archeology sites and those--including a very outspoken Cuno--who think that such policies don't prevent plundering and should be changed to ensure artifacts are globally shared. (Madeline Nusser Time Out Chicago ) I can't remember a book on museums that has generated quite so much publicity and critical comment as this one. (Artknows ) Cuno implicitly poses the question: 'Whose nation is it anyway?' .... His is a cogent and powerful argument that he expresses with personal conviction. (Robin Simon New Statesman ) James Cuno, director of the Art institute in Chicago, has written a clear, well-argued...book about the vexed question of how great museums like his should collect ancient objects. (Art Newspaper ) Impressive in its grasp of historical and political issues, ranging across anthropology, archaeology, and law, Cuno's book evinces careful thought about the implications of antiquities trafficking across many eras. (American Scholar ) Cuno defends the museum side of the issue, and he is well suited to make the case. (Matthew J. Milliner First Things ) [F]ascinating, and extremely helpful in providing a lucid account of changing attitudes to cultural property since the Second World War. . . . Many of his arguments are persuasive. (Literary Review ) Who Owns Antiquity? by James Cuno explores the impact of new restrictions being placed on the acquisition of antiquities and how these will affect future museums. (Art and Antiques ) [Cuno] argues convincingly that current cultural property laws are too retentionist. . . . It's difficult to disagree with the idea that people benefit when antiquities of other countries can be seen in museums around the world. And the virtues of partage also seem clear. As Cuno points out, the collections at the great museums of the world could not have been put together under our current system of cultural property laws, and the millions of people who have marveled at these collections would be poorer for not having seen them. (Mary Katherine Ascik The Weekly Standard ) James Cuno has written thoughtfully and responsibly on cultural property matters, and in this book he goes beyond the usual legal and ethical ground to address deeper philosophical issues. This is a must-read for all concerned with the fate of our ancient heritage, whether source countries, archaeologists, collectors, or museum curators. The topic is of the greatest importance to all of us. (Philippe de Montebello, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art ) Whether antiquities should be returned to the countries where they were found is one of the most urgent and controversial issues in the art world today, and it has pitted museums, private collectors, and dealers against source countries, archaeologists, and academics. Maintaining that the acquisition of undocumented antiquities by museums encourages the looting of archaeological sites, countries such as Italy, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and China have claimed ancient artifacts as state property, called for their return from museums around the world, and passed laws against their future export. But in Who Owns Antiquity?, one of the world's leading museum directors vigorously challenges this nationalistic position, arguing that it is damaging and often disingenuous. 'Antiquities,' James Cuno argues, 'are the cultural property of all humankind,' 'evidence of the world's ancient past and not that of a particular modern nation. They comprise antiquity, and antiquity knows no borders.' Cuno argues that nationalistic retention and reclamation policies impede common access to this common heritage and encourage a dubious and dangerous politicization of antiquities--and of culture itself. Antiquities need to be protected from looting but also from nationalistic identity politics. To do this, Cuno calls for measures to broaden rather than restrict international access to antiquities. He advocates restoration of the system under which source countries would share newly discovered artifacts in exchange for archaeological help, and he argues that museums should again be allowed reasonable ways to acquire undocumented antiquities. The first extended defense of the side of museums in the struggle over antiquities, Who Owns Antiquity? is sure to be as important as it is controversial. 'James Cuno has written thoughtfully and responsibly on cultural property matters, and in this book he goes beyond the usual legal and ethical ground to address deeper philosophical issues. This is a must-read for all concerned with the fate of our ancient heritage, whether source countries, archaeologists, collectors, or museum curators. The topic is of the greatest importance to all of us.'--Philippe de Montebello, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art James Cuno is president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago and former director of the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Harvard University Art Museums. He has written widely on museums and cultural policy. His books include 'Whose Muse?: Art Museums and the Public's Trust' (Princeton). Customers who bought this item also bought Whose Muse?: Art Museums and the Public Trust Loot, Legitimacy and Ownership: The Ethical Crisis in Archaeology (Duckworth Debates in Archaeology) The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War Loot: The Battle over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World The Ethics of Collecting Cultural Property : Whose Culture? Whose Property? Customer Reviews for: Who Owns Antiquity?: Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage Rating - One Side of the Story (A version of this review first appeared in the August/September 2008 issue of First Things.) "Hey hey, ho ho. Western culture's got to go!" So went the chants on the campus of Stanford University in 1988, criticizing the classical canon. Well, it's going -- literally. Antiquities of questionable provenance held by many museums are being "repatriated" to their source nations, sometimes as the result of a mere threat. When a claim is made, ... Read More Rating - Art of Antiquity Belongs to the World Some ancient art belongs to the world, not necessarily to the present nations who now claim it. Several times over the years, I have seen, studied, photographed, and talked about the Elgin Marbles in London's British Museum. During my long life I have heard about and have read about the Parthenon, but I have seen it only once--two years ago. Should I now try to go to Greece to see the Elgin Marbles? At age 81 and here in California I think of the Elgin ... Read More Rating - Pub Weekly, it is ENTIRELY self-serving! The book underlines the attitude behind Cuno's outspoken cultural superiority. In a recent AP interview, Cuno said: "Cuno: I think any of these modern nations can exercise a greater claim than any other nation on antiquities found within their jurisdiction. But not in terms of an identity with those ancient people. It is not on the basis that they are the modern heirs to the achievements of these ancient peoples, that they descend from them in any kind of continuous ... Read More Rating - WILL CUNO AND CO EVER LEARN? Cuno is a defender of the so-called "universal museums", now called "encyclopaedic museums" and perhaps more correctly, imperialistic or totalitarian museums. The museum that never has enough of anything and seeks a total control of all cultural objects by all means, including the use of force by the army of the country where the museum is situated-Louvre, British Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. These museums now lament the end ... Read More See all books by author James Cuno

Books : Who Owns Antiquity?: Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage