Stolen Property or Finders Keepers

By Dede Tisone-Bartels

" What a society deems important is enshrined in its art"
Broudy

INTRODUCTION

The ownership of many priceless artworks has become questionable because of how each was acquired. Some were gotten through outright theft, others were the spoils of war. Some were taken in the process of colonization, some as bounty and others by treasure hunters. You will become investigators and reporters. After your investigations you will present a case which will help determine the legal and ethical title of the rightful owners.

Museums and the Spoils of War

From a paper by Alan Riding
New York Times Sec. 4,
P. 3, Sunday March 12, 1995

    Even before the Romans took their pick of Greek statues, art was treated as war booty. Throughout Europe's turbulent history, art works regularly changed hands through armed conflict or political domination. And from the 19th century, the Europeans began bringing Asian, African and Latin American treasures into their museums -- to save them, it was claimed, from destruction.

    Increasingly, however, "victim" countries are refusing to view history as a closed book. Greece has long demanded the return of the Elgin Marbles, the 253 sculptures from the Parthenon that are in the British Museum. Turkey, China, Cambodia, Nigeria, Mali and Bangladesh say their cultural heritage was ransacked. Mexicans lament that the feathered headdress of the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma is in a Vienna museum.

    "For Turkey, the point of departure is that pieces should be returned to their country of origin," said Ahmed Ulker, a Turkish diplomat at Unesco, the United Nations cultural body that promotes restitution of unique art treasures. "Of course, we don't want to empty Western museums. But, as a matter of principle, art works exported illegally should be returned." ....

    Teacher Notes

THE TASK
You will be divided into small groups. Each group will be asked to research an individual case which involves adventure, intrigue and sometimes actual theft. Each person in the group will become a professional investigator and will have separate tasks to complete. When each individual has completed his or her part of the work, the group will prepare a final presentation to the "Court of Public Opinion," which will decide the fate of this work. Will it stay with the present owner, or will it be returned to its country of origin?

OBJECTIVES
    To learn about the past
    To bring historical knowledge to a present day problem
    To understand the concept of "ethics"
    To research international law
    To explore a single case study
    To learn about the value in history of art and artifacts
    To be part of a "Court of Public Opinion"

TEAM ASSIGNMENTS

    1. KohiNoor Diamond resources - Originally Punjabi, but now one of the British Royal Crown Jewels

    2. The Elgin Marbles resources - Originally Greek, but now in the British Museum

    3. Greek Jewelry resources - dug from Greek burial ground then in hands of NY dealer

    4. Cypriot Mosaics resources - From Greek Orthodox Church in Cyprus, recently purchased by American art dealer

    5. Benin Bronzes resources - Taken from Nigeria during colonial period and now in Glasgow

    6. Degas Painting resources - Previously owned by a Jewish family, taken by Nazis, now in Germany

    7. AnkorWat resources - Being taken apart in small pieces and pirated out of the county

    8. Peruvian Antiquities resources

    9. Priam's Gold Collection resources from Troy via Germany to Russia

    10. American Indian Art resources in private collections

ROLES IN EACH TEAM

    Historian - person to compile the facts surrounding the case
    QUESTIONS TO ASK
      Who are the stakeholders? Who is claiming to own the objects and why?
      What is the position of each?
      What/who gives the legal right to possession of the object(s)?
      What code of ethics applies?
      Where did it come from?
      Where did it go?
      Where is it now?

    Illustrator to create a drawing or model of the item and a map
    QUESTIONS TO ASK
      What is this work of art?
      Where did it come from?
      Where did it go?
      Where is it now?

    Museum Curator/Appraiser - to discover the fact about the artwork itself
    QUESTIONS TO ASK
      What is this work of art?
      Why is it of interest to the parties involved?
      Why is it of value to anyone else?

    Lawyer - to research the law
    QUESTIONS TO ASK
      Who are the stakeholders? Who is claiming to own the objects? What law applies?
      What/who gives the legal right to possession of the object(s)?

RESOURCES

Teacher Notes

STOLEN ARTIFACTS AND ANTIQUITIES

1. A story of the Koh i noor Diamond Royal Crown Jewels and India/Pakistan

(return to team assignments)

2. GREEK ELGIN MARBLES British Museum and Greece

(return to team assignments)

3. GREEK JEWELRY FROM GRAVEYARD Greek Jewelry /NY art dealer

(return to team assignments)

4. CYPRIOT MOSAIC Government of Cyprus vs American Art Dealer

(return to team assignments)

5. BENIN BRONZES = Nigeria and Glasgow Museum

(return to team assignments)

6. NAZI THEFT FROM JEWS - Family of Jewish couple and an American private collector

    A chilling tale of Nazi war loot, a murdered Jewish couple and a small Degas pastel currently owned by a prominent American collector
    http://www.artnet.com/magazine/news/tully/tully8-30-96.html

(return to team assignments)

7. ANKOR WAT tourists, foreign governments, Cambodia

    Beautiful description with photographs of a tourist in Cambodia. Subheading Ankor's Angels is about stealing antiquities from the temples http://www.asiaplus-usa.com/asiaplus/zine/faces-of-cambodia.htm

(return to team assignments)

8. PERUVIAN ANTIQUITIES

(return to team assignments)

9. PRIAM'S GOLD COLLECTION From the ancient city of Troy to become the spoils of WWII

    Priam's Gold Collection
    http://www.nd.edu/~astrouni/zhiwriter/spool/96041901.htm


    A letter about a visit to the exhibition.
    http://www.umich.edu/~classics/archives/aegeanet/aegeanet.960703.02


    The current status of the Trojan gold
    http://atlantic.evsc.virginia.edu/julia/AW/trojan.html


    The Pushkin Museum where Priam's gold is on display. Currently there is nothing about this exhibit on this site.
    http://www.global-one.ru/english/culture/pushkin//

(return to team assignments)

10. NATIVE AMERICAN private dealers vs. Native American Tribal associations

(return to team assignments)

WHAT IS THE LAW?

GENERAL

(team assignments)

THE PROCESS

STEP ONE
Form teams and select a case to investigate

SPECIFIC CASES

    1. KohiNoor Diamond - Originally Punjabi, but now one of the Royal Crown Jewels

    2. The Elgin Marbles - Originally Greek, but now in the British Museum

    3. Greek Jewelry - dug from Greek burial ground then in hands of NY dealer

    4. Cypriot Mosaics - From Greek Orthodox Church in Cyprus, recently purchased by American art dealer

    5. Benin Bronzes - Taken from Nigeria during colonial period and now in Glasgow

    6. Degas Painting - Previously owned by a Jewish family, taken by Nazis, now in Germany

    7. AnkorWat - Being taken apart in small pieces and pirated out of the county

    8. German and Dutch State Property taken in WWII now in Russian museum

    9. Priam's Gold Collection - From the city of Troy to Germany to Russia as spoils of war

    10. American Indian Art in private collections

READ INTRODUCTORY MATERIALS AND STATE THE PROBLEM. LOOK AT THE SUGGESTED QUESTIONS THAT EACH GROUP WILL ANSWER.
Discuss the expectations of each participant

STEP TWO:
Decide on the role of each member of the group.
Review the tasks of each person.
Discuss expectations for final presentation. Create evaluation rubric.
Pass out name tags (HISTORIAN, ILLUSTRATOR, MUSEUM CURATOR, LAWYER)
Go over individual questions and make certain each person understands the task.

    Historian - person to compile the facts surrounding the case Who are the stakeholders? Who is claiming to own the objects and why? What is the position of each? What/who gives the legal right to possession of the object(s)? What code of ethics applies? Where did it come from? Where did it go? Where is it now?
    Illustrator to create a drawing or model of the item and a map What is this work of art? Where did it come from? Where did it go? Where is it now?
    Museum Curator/appraiser - to discover the facts about the art work itself What is this work of art? Why is it of interest to the parties involved? Why is it of value to anyone else?
    Lawyer - to research the law
    Who are the stakeholders? Who is claiming to own the objects? What law applies? What/who gives the legal right to possession of the object(s)?

STEP THREE:
Each group member begins work on his or her part of the problem

STEP FOUR:
The group reconvenes, discusses what each member has found and/or produced and plans the final presentation to the "Court of Public Opinion."

STEP FIVE:
PRESENTATION TIME!

STEP SIX:
The "Court of Public Opinion" evaluates the presentations

LEARNING ADVICE Do not confine your research to the Internet. There are valuable resources in books and other media about these works of art and about the history surrounding the case.

EVALUATION Your grade will be based on your group participation and on the final presentation of the group. The following is a suggested rubric for evaluation

The class will develop a rubric based on the following criteria:
  • Clarity of the introduction and statement of the issue.
  • Scope and depth of the information provided.
  • Use of primary resources (quotations, visuals, documents, etc.)
  • Restatement of the issues.
  • Persuasiveness of position on the issue.
  • Effective oral presentation.
  • Seriousness of the approach to the subject.
  • Positive interaction with others in your group during research and preparation

REFLECTION What have you learned about ethics, history, the law and the world of art as you participated in this project? Is there a remedy for the misdeeds of history?

CONCLUSION

This is a problem that is not going to go away. Your generation will be left to consider the following questions
  • Is there a moral difference between spoils of war and art acquired through corruption, intimidation or simple theft?
  • When and why do the ancient stories of history determine the present fate of an artwork?
  • Is an important work of art the property of the people of the world or an individual group?

    Teacher Notes


Back to Lesson List

Back to Home Page

Copyright © 1997.tisone