Who Owns Antiquity?: Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage [Hardcover]

James Cuno (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0691137129 | ISBN-13: 978-0691137124 | Publication Date: April 21, 2008 | Edition: First Edition

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. Cuno explains how partage broadened access to our ancient heritage and helped create national museums in Cairo, Baghdad, and Kabul. 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A condemnation of cultural property laws that restrict the international trade in antiquities, the book doubles as a celebration of the world's great border-crossing encyclopedic museums. -- Jori Finkel, New York Times

Who Owns Antiquity? is an impassioned argument for what Cuno calls the 'cosmopolitan aspirations' of encyclopedic museums. By this he means not only collecting and showing art from every place and era, but also, and more crucially, the promotion of an essential kind of cultural pluralism. . . . Whatever one makes of Cuno's thesis, it brings into focus some urgent questions--for museums and for archaeology--that have yet to be given much attention. -- Hugh Eakin, New York Review of Books

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

[A]n illuminating...book. -- Edward Rothstein, New York Times

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

Cuno sets his stage for a discussion of an ongoing legalistic international battle dealing with archaeological objects by introducing the case of the Elgin marbles. What superficially may seem a simple matter of 'ethnic nationalism' is described as considerably more complex, dealing with such matters as 'cultural property,' the notion of nation-states, and 'partage'--the sharing of archaeological finds (the author's suggested solution to disputes). . . All readers interested in current interaction among museums, academics, collectors, politicians, and so forth will be well informed here. -- K. Marantz, Choice

James Cuno's passionate, finely reasoned new book, Who Owns Antiquity? . . . is a fresh salvo in the ongoing battle between museums that collect antiquities and modern states that claim to be the legal heirs of ancient societies and cultures. . . . Cuno mobilizes a wealth of anecdotes and examples to support [his] position. -- Benjamin Genocchio, Art in America

The book is cogently argued and extremely well documented. The 'select bibliography' is ten pages. It explores in great depth all of the recent turmoil regarding the legal ownership of antiquities. . . . No one involved in the acquisition of antiquities can ill afford to pass this book by as it sets the stage and defines the complexities involved in this heated battle that is sure to rage on for years to come. -- Jerome M. Eisenberg, Ph.D., Minerva

Whether or not you agree with Cuno's arguments, I believe this book is an important addition to the discussion on museum collections. -- Richard Gerrard, Muse

Cuno raises key issues that need to be addressed. -- David W. J. Gill, American Journal of Archaelogy

Art Institute of Chicago director James Cuno's book Who Owns Antiquity?, published May 2008, offers a spirited, cogent defense of encyclopedic museums' right to collect such treasures. The book has provoked equally spirited controversy. -- Tom Mullaney, Chicago Artists' News

Overall, Cuno's analysis presents a range of themes, particularly the role of the encyclopedic museum in contemporary society, that will resonate with the museum community and students of museum studies. Nationalistic agendas are set within a compelling theoretical argument that should be read by those engaged in writing as well as following museum and archaeological policies, provided that the reader understands that Cuno's emphasis is on objects and access to them rather than on the more pressing issue of the preservation of archaeological sites and cultural landscapes for a cosmopolitan world community. -- Christina Luke, American Anthropologist

From the Inside Flap

"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, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; First Edition edition (April 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691137129
• ISBN-13: 978-0691137124
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #812,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One Side of the Story, October 16, 2008

By 

Matthew Milliner (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Who Owns Antiquity?: Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage (Hardcover)

(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, should museums comply? "The world is divided on this question," explains James Cuno, with "museums, private collectors and art dealers" on one side, and "archaeologists, academics, and source nation cultural ministers" on the other. Cuno defends the museum side of the issue, and he is well suited to make the case. Cuno, once director of the Harvard University Art Museum, is currently director of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The hero of Cuno's book is the Enlightenment-inspired "encyclopedic museum," such as the Louvre or the British Museum. The villain is nationalism, which is fortified by recent laws that keep archaeological discoveries within national borders or demand their return. These laws, says Cuno, are an unenforceable "bouillabaisse of good intentions and bureaucratic ambitions," and their "trajectory of retention is tightening, from protection to prevention to return." Cuno's alternative is the legal scholar John Merryman's triad of knowledge, preservation, and access. Museums that best meet such benchmarks should get the goods.

The book is packed with informative tangents but will do little to mollify those who suspect Western museums of purchasing or retaining illegally exported antiquities. Because UNESCO resolutions have not prevented looting, Cuno calls them a "failed regime." We could say the same of "Thou shalt not steal." Cuno laments violent, divided humanity, and he promises that museums "serve as a force for understanding, tolerance, and the dissolution of ignorance and superstition about the world." Museums are indeed wonderful, but while there are no easy answers to the antiquities question, there may be more compelling explanations for human imperfection than the fact that not enough people spend afternoons at the Met.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Arrogant, self-serving and dreary, November 30, 2011

By 

babs - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Owns Antiquity?: Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage (New in Paper) (Paperback)

This book is a pompous yet feeble argument for allowing art and antiquities pilfered from age-old civilizations to remain in the hands of thieving, bowtie-wearing blowhards like author Cuno and his harrumphing confederates. The argument is easily undercut, as it has been by other reviewers, by the tale of the Elgin Marbles. But applying Cuno logic would also mean, for example, that if the Ark of the Covenant, stolen by the Romans, were someday to pop up in Italy, the land of Israel would have no claim on it. Same applies to the art looted by Nazis that has yet to resurface. What say some of it does reappear, in 100 years, in Buenos Aires, in a Cuno-esque *global museum*? How could one claim it should be returned to the Jews of Poland, who essentially no longer exist? What about hunters of American Colonial artifacts who come from Holland and Canada with metal detectors? Do they get to keep the Revolutionary sabres and muskets they find? One must suppose Japan has no claims on the glorious 600-year-old Samurai swords confiscated by the US military after WWII, all of them great works of art - and national treasures - fattening collections and wallets on the Eastern Seaboard. AFter all there are no more Samurai. No, Cuno really has no case here, just a lot of vain bluster from a chief perpetrator and beneficiary of the depredations he shamelessly espouses.

26 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Museums are not bad, May 21, 2008

By 

William Suddaby (Sugarloaf Key, Fl USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Who Owns Antiquity?: Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage (Hardcover)

Anyone who has ever been enthralled visiting one of the world's great archeological museums would benefit from James Cuno's book. So would archaeologists, museum directors, curators, antiquities dealers...and journalists who have signed on to the out-of-control drumbeat demonizing museums and collectors. Source country bureaucrats and power-wielders should read it as well, but they probably will not. Cuno's is a refreshing, insightful and intelligent counterpoint to mainstream misinformed denigration of the world's great archaeological museums. It convincingly argues that nationalistic retention laws for antiquities neither preserve sites nor objects, nor do they benefit the larger interests of civilization and mankind. There is probably more here than the non-specialist is interested in, but the beginning and end of the book are more than enlightening, and the reader can go back to middle chapters for background and revealing histories of the modern nations of Turkey, China and Italy. This book is an eloquent plea to save the inspiring fragments of mankind's long history which belong to us all. Cuno believes using them for nationalistic agendas is not the way.