Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Repatriating artefacts

"Who is the rightful owner of ancient artifacts – the famed Elgin marbles taken from the Parthenon, say, or the elegant Nefertiti head? Is it the museums and collectors housing them, or the lands from which these antiquities came? The question takes on more relevance with each new case of ownership being passed back to the country of origin. In February, the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art agreed to return several prized items to Italy. Last week, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles agreed to return two ancient works to Greece. Both countries claimed the items were stolen."
See the above article for the full story.

Although many of these articles are not specific to Egypt, I continue to cover them because they are relevant to the international heritage community in general, and each new agreement helps to form a series of precedents to guide future negotiations.

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