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HEADS are in the news this week. China has demanded the return of two 18th century bronze animal heads that belonged to the late French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and auctioned in Paris on Wednesday. Egypt wants the famous head of Nefertiti back from the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. There will be many who are sympathetic to the view that all historic and cultural artefacts seized decades or even centuries ago in war, by colonial regimes or in similar questionable circumstances should be returned to their countries of origin, if so desired. There are many such demands. . . .
A line has to be drawn somewhere. A hundred years seem a good cut-off point. That would cover anything stolen within the lifetime of an individual or owned by his or her immediate family. A statute of limitations is standard procedure in many countries. An item stolen 200 years ago would have been bought in good faith many times over since (the case with the Chinese bronze heads and why a French court agreed the auction could proceed). But it needs a UN treaty to give it teeth. That would help in the task of tracking down and repatriating items recently stolen and smuggled as well as ensuring that world heritage items long held in distant museums remain protected and treasured.
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