Heritage 2

• Cultuurwetenschappen
• WO
• Studiejaar 1

Thievery & Deception

The dark history behind museum collections

Unethically acquired art

COLONISATION

• Foundation of the British museum
• Parthenon Marbles
• Getty Museum
  

COLONISATION

• Foundation of the British museum
  
• Parthenon Marbles
  
• Getty Museum
  

War

• Constantinople
•  Venetians > Bronze horses of Hippodrome
• St. Marks Basilica
•  Jerusalem

"So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all: he also carried away the shield of Soloman."

.

- The Book of Chronicles, 2nd chronicle, 12:9

Many of these old civilizations don’t exist anymore. Is it unethical to keep these objects away from the new countries that rose up from these fallen empires? Does it belong to them, and is it their heritage?

WAR

• Napoleonic Wars: Art squad
  
• The Wedding Feast at Cana, Paolo Veronese
• 1797
• Congress of Vienna

WAR

•  WW2: Nazi plundering
•  ERR
• 200.000 - 300.000 artworks & 2.000.000 - 3.000.000+ manuscripts & books


• Altmann vs. Austria

How did the Altmann vs. Austria case end?

1. Galerie Belvedere in Austria got to keep the paintings
2. Maria Altmann got the paintings back

WAR

• Looting Nazi German > The allies take revenge
• Accidental thievery


• Louvre > 296 unclaimed
• Private collections

Stolen via illegal archaeology and 18th, 19th, 20th century

REPATRIATION 

and its issues

REPATRIATION
To whom should the artifacts return?

How should countries go about getting their artefacts back if museums refuse to give them?

Should museums take responsibility for how they acquired their shady objects in the past?