Are Strings Attached?

Today's New York Times article When Strings Are Attached, Quirky Gifts Can Limit Universities rekindles concerns over the ethical and moral issues of big donations to educational institutions.

Two years after the announcement of the $300 million gift from private collector Shelby White to New York University to finance a new Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW), the furor seems to have faded, if not completely disappeared. Ms. White, who has been criticized for allegedly collecting objects that are looted from their countries of origin, recently returned a number of disputed objects to Italy.

Robert K. Durkee, vice president and secretary of Princeton was quoted in the article that “Institutions do get shaped by the interests of donors”. We can only hope that the fears of Randall White, a professor of anthropology at NYU for 25 years, who resigned his honorary position with the university’s existing Center for Ancient Studies in protest over NYU's acceptance of the gift are unfounded.

According to its website, "ISAW is a center for advanced scholarly research and graduate education, intended to cultivate comparative and connective investigations of the ancient world." Perhaps the study and "analysis of artifacts", also mentioned on ISAW's website, will emphasize the importance of documentation and context, so that such investigations may be possible.

Loans of Archaeological Material

The acquisition of antiquities during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s has turned sour. One of the lessons from the recent returns of archaeological material to Italy is that museums need to check the documented history of objects before the pieces are purchased.

And so a new era has dawned. An era when there are more rigorous acquisition policies.

But is there a loop hole?

Loans.

I know that the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) issued guidelines on the loan of Archaeological Material and Ancient Art in 2006. But can archaeological material from controversial private collections end up being displayed in public institutions without the same scrutiny as a formal acquisition?

What do you think?

Express your view over the loan of a bronze krater from the Shelby White collection. Vote now.

Shelby White to Return Antiquities

It has been reported today that Shelby White is in the process of returning 10 antiquities to Italy. But remember that the Italian Government were seeking the return of 20 pieces. It will be interesting to see the final list for the returns; and to note which pieces have been retained.