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REPATRIATION:

Where do Historic Antiquities Belong?

By Judy Weaver Gonyeau, managing editor

Hartwig Fischer, the director of the British Museum, has
caused controversy and is facing an international backlash
after defending the removal of the Parthenon marbles
from Greece in the early 1800’s as “a creative act.” George
Vardas, the secretary of the international association for
reunification of Parthenon Sculptures, stated, “What
was so creative in the destruction of the tem-
ple and looting and pillage of a
nation’s keys to its ancient
history?” And another
debate begins.

On the Trail for Ownership
hroughout history items of historical significance have been
stolen, traded, sold, picked up as “souvenirs,” used as trophies to Following ancient artifacts across continents and through the many
Tgain power and control, considered “spoils of war,” copied, well hands that brought them to their current destinations can prove
(or badly) restored, or simply lost to time. The collecting focus within difficult at best. As an example, Ioannis Stefanidis, Professor of Modern
the antiquities marketplace is always being influenced by an object’s History at the University of Thessalonica in Greece, wrote in the March
heritage especially as Nationalism, environmental concerns, and 3, 2019, issue of History Today, “Few artifacts encapsulate the intricacy
preservation causes have become more prominent across the globe. For of this question better than the ‘Horses of Saint Mark’ (shown below,
example, the increase in values for Chinese artifacts took place as China left). Variously dated to classical Greek or Roman antiquity, these
was looking to repatriate its history by buying it back. Restrictions copper statues of four horses found their way to the Hippodrome of
surrounding the buying and selling of antiques made from ivory came Constantinople in the fourth century AD, were looted and shipped to
under heavy scrutiny, requiring dealers and collectors to maintain an Venice after the sacking of the Byzantine capital by the Crusaders in
exacting trail of provenance and age in order to show it was not from 1204, removed from St Mark’s Basilica and placed on the Arc de
the poaching of elephants or other creatures. Spoils of war such as the Triomphe in Paris by Napoleon in 1797 and, following Waterloo,
fine art stolen by the Nazis during WWII continue to be researched and
returned to their rightful owners as the world continues to right so “‘But if you ask me,’ Indiana Jones said,
many wrongs. ‘it belongs in a Museum.’ He paused to
When it comes to antiquities and centuries of them being moved let that sink in.”
around the world, copied, stolen, and hidden, how do experts know
where to place them next? – The South Asian Speakers Presents the Archeologist and Adventurer Indiana Jones
returned to Venice, where they remain. More recently, one or more of
them were displayed in various cities abroad and in Milan, before they
were relocated inside St Marks in 1982 as a precaution against further
damage from air pollution.”
But perhaps the most disconcerting reason for lost antiquities of
heritage and history is theft – not just the occasional trinket but the
taking of massive amounts of historically significant items, especially
during wartime. The definition of theft is hotly debated today and
includes everything from burglars stealing from a museum to multi-level
illegal operations to the spoils of wars past, to archeological digs with
items taken to museums to be preserved, protected, and put on display.
The South Asian Speakers Presents the Archeologist and Adventurer
Indiana Jones—a monologue written by Tania James and performed by
Bryan Cranston on NPR’s Selected Shorts program (www.npr.org/pod-
casts/381443486/pre-selected-shorts)—is an interesting take on the
debate between who is the “robber” and if the item is truly “saved.”
It begins with the phrase, “‘But if you ask me,’ Indiana Jones said,
‘it belongs in a Museum.’ He paused to let that sink in.”
The performance goes on as if Jones were in a Q&A with audience
members who were asking interesting questions about his adventures.
Horses of St. Mark, Venice The questions centered around an item’s heritage—its home of origin
and its impact on its maker, its people, its meaning—but Indy was only

26 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles