France does the Right Thing & Gets to Dig at Saqqara Again.
It doesn't happen all that often that the battle over 'mere tomb paintings' makes headline news - why would they, when they have the highly debated return of the Elgin Marbles to the Acropolis Museum to write about? But the whole world was shocked last week, when Dr. Zahi Hawass accused France's most famous museum of theft. Or at least, of purchasing looted artefacts and then refusing to return them to Egypt. Dr. Hawass hit back by refusing to let the Louvre's Saqqara team dig in Egypt.
The Louvre stated that it was forced to wait for permission to return the artefacts. But now the committee has advised that the fragments from Tetiki's tomb are to be returned - President Sarkozy has even phoned President Mubarak to ensure they'll be shipped to Egypt in six days' time. Dr. Hawass says: "When the objects return I will be very happy to renew our archaeological relationship with the Louvre and allow them to excavate again at Saqqara."
As soon as the fragements arrrive in Egypt, possibilities to reinstate them in their proper position on the walls of TT15 will be looked into. If that's impossible, they will get a prime position in the planned Grand Egyptian Museum.
Stolen Artefacts Still Abroad
The wall paintings of tomb TT15 in the Louvre are not the only artefacts whose return Egypt demands. They want to see the the mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer repatriated from the Saint Louis Art Museum in the United States, and artefacts from the UK's Ashmolean Museum and the Royal Museum of Fine Art in Brussels.
Dr. Hawass warns these organisations will see their excavations suspended as well: "Any museum that buys stolen artifacts will receive this same treatment. I was forced to cut archaeological ties with the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the Saint Louis Art Museum because they would not return artifacts, even after the SCA presented evidence they had been stolen."
"I hope this story will be a warning to everyone not to deal in stolen antiquities."
He adds that loss of cultural property is not the only risk, but that looters also damage the items that remain as well, by taking the artefacts out of their context. "When robbers enter the tombs and cut pieces out of the walls and take the objects, they are not just damaging the beauty of the tombs, they are damaging history," adds Dr Hawass. "I hope this story will be a warning to everyone, all museums and archaeologists, Egyptians and foreigners, not to deal in stolen antiquities."
Why does Dr. Zahi Hawass keep saying 'stolen'. Isn't this a case of 'finders, keepers, sellers'?
Not according to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. When we say artefacts are in a museum 'illegaly', the museum authorities likely broke Article 7 of the internationally ratified treaty:
The States Parties to this Convention undertake:
(a) To take the necessary measures, consistent with national legislation, to prevent museums and similar institutions within their territories from acquiring cultural property originating in another State Party which has been illegally exported after entry into force of this Convention, in the States concerned. Whenever possible, to inform a State of origin Party to this Convention of an offer of such cultural property illegally removed from that State after the entry into force of this Convention in both States;
(b) (i) to prohibit the import of cultural property stolen from a museum or a religious or secular public monument or similar institution in another State Party to this Convention after the entry into force of this Convention for the States concerned, provided that such property is documented as appertaining to the inventory of that institution;
(ii) at the request of the State Party of origin, to take appropriate steps to recover and return any such cultural property imported after the entry into force of this Convention in both States concerned, provided, however, that the requesting State shall pay just compensation to an innocent purchaser or to a person who has valid title to that property. Requests for recovery and return shall be made through diplomatic offices. The requesting Party shall furnish, at its expense, the documentation and other evidence necessary to establish its claim for recovery and return. The Parties shall impose no customs duties or other charges upon cultural property returned pursuant to this Article. All expenses incident to the return and delivery of the cultural property shall be borne by the requesting Party.
Article 7, Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 1970
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Comments
I'm glad Dr. Hawass is executing this process of regaining "stolen" artifacts from "foreign" museums. It sends a strong message to scholars (in offices and in the field) and derivatives thereof. However, I don't see the illegal trade of stolen antiquities ceasing to exist because of this. Even Howard Carter was not immune to toting away an artifact or two.
Can you imagine the effect if Hawass can get the British Museum to hand over the Rosetta Stone? (I read somewhere he asked to "borrow" it, but I have a feeling he wants to do something more than borrow it). If anything has a weighty signifance to ancient Egyptian history, then this artifact is king of all Egyptian artifacts. Without it (and Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion) there wouldn't be this thing called Egyptology...and the literary language of the ancient Egyptians would be forever lost to us. The Germans will no longer have a good enough excuse to withhold Nefertiti from Egypt if the British give up the Rosetta Stone (which has been in their possession for over 200 years!). Zahi has tried to get the Stone before, but will the British....Budge...? (Sorry, I had to lol).
Has anyone ever done an inventory of what would be left in the British Museum or in the Louvre if everything was repatriated? Must be a scary thought for the guardians of those two institutions.
I've always wondered that. Another thought would be: what is the real purpose of this taking back of "significant" Egyptian artifacts? What is the true inspiration and intent Zahi Hawass wants to execute here? So far, it looks like he wants to put an end to thievery in the field...but what of local theivery, the type that sells the Real McCoy to tourist? At least artifacts in "foreign" museums are well cared for (in most cases). Ick! It's a Catch-22 (ish)!
Jenny, I don't think there is that much real on the tourist-market. Selling them good fakes and shipping the real things of on a more professional black antiquities market seems to make more sense than digging under a old house and running the risk of things collapsing on top of you. (If you've never read 'Forging Ahead - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love eBay', surely correct that.)
I wonder if they are figures about how much 'illegal artefacts' are stopped at Egypt's borders each year. (And assume/hope they have a tighter control than Turkey?) Remembering still the impression the sign at the Cairo airport that read the punishment for smuggling drugs, I'm sure they must have some systems in place to stop artefacts from disappearing, and not only to get them back when they surface in collections and museums abroad?
I would hope things have become better than they used to be when Egyptology was in it's infancy--that is, "foreign" teams being more respectful of the rules concerning Egyptian artifacts unearthed at their dig site, particularly in the event that a particular discovery is heavily significant to Egypt's ancient history. I'd expect, like you, there to be a small percentage (if any at all) of real artifacts sold to tourists (hopefully things have become better since the days of the Abd el-Rasouls). Most of that stuff is all massed produced and are very easily distinguishable from the real artifacts they're supposed to look like ;)
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