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Well, the US is still being held responsible for slavery even though that was outlawed 150 years ago, right? Just because it happened long ago doesn't mean tha

Well, the US is still being held responsible for slavery even though that was outlawed 150 years ago, right? Just because it happened long ago doesn't mean that the current government can abdicate any responsibility for reparation. The UK government should at least attempt to return the relics it has warehoused to their origins if they are under stable rule.

toyg 12y ago
> US is still being held responsible for slavery Should an African-American individual petition the US government to be resettled to Africa and compensated for the trouble, would the US government agree to pay? I don't think so. The US government is responsible for the enduring consequences of segregation, which ended less than 50 years ago in most of the country and is a separate issue from slavery, albeit strongly related. In the same way, the current UK government is responsible for preserving the artifacts it inherited so long ago and (theoretically) work towards a world where the Greek people will never be forced to sell their belongings because of economic hardship. > The UK government should at least attempt to return the relics Why this obsession with the British Museum, when the Louvre and other institutions are as full of less-documented loot as the BM? Are we holding the British responsible for keeping better records than others? There are tons of US and European museums with similarly-acquired catalog that are never really criticized for it. The Nike of Samothrace is so much more beautiful and powerful than anything the BM holds, but its location has never been much criticized. Could that be because modern Greek governments have had better relationships with France than with the UK? It's all just foreign policy by other means, usually by people who won't care about these relics the minute they've had their way. I personally think the best location for artifacts is among people who will cherish them and help the world see them and understand them. As an Italian, I think half of the relics we currently mis-preserve should probably be sold to people who would do a better job. The recently-located Imperial Port of Rome will likely never be fully excavated because we wouldn't have any money to preserve it as it would deserve, and the same happens every day for magnificent stuff all over Rome. I think that's a much more pressing issue than bickering about stuff we've already studied to death.
- mgr86 12y ago
  To your second point there has always been a contingent in the museum community who opposed the reparation of artifacts. This is not to say they may lament the means of acquisition but feel that the artifacts would be better protected in a more stable or better funded place. This group has been given more attention as of late. Especially with the rate of destruction currently occurring in parts of the middle east (re: ISIS). But even in other areas of the world this a concern. I've herd it said by some that artifacts returned to Peru cannot be fully accounted for. Admittedly, this was second hand, but it seems quite logical knowing a thing or two about the backlog of even the most funded museums.

toyg 12y ago

> US is still being held responsible for slavery Should an African-American individual petition the US government to be resettled to Africa and compensated for the trouble, would the US government agree to pay? I don't think so. The US government is responsible for the enduring consequences of segregation, which ended less than 50 years ago in most of the country and is a separate issue from slavery, albeit strongly related. In the same way, the current UK government is responsible for preserving the artifacts it inherited so long ago and (theoretically) work towards a world where the Greek people will never be forced to sell their belongings because of economic hardship. > The UK government should at least attempt to return the relics Why this obsession with the British Museum, when the Louvre and other institutions are as full of less-documented loot as the BM? Are we holding the British responsible for keeping better records than others? There are tons of US and European museums with similarly-acquired catalog that are never really criticized for it. The Nike of Samothrace is so much more beautiful and powerful than anything the BM holds, but its location has never been much criticized. Could that be because modern Greek governments have had better relationships with France than with the UK? It's all just foreign policy by other means, usually by people who won't care about these relics the minute they've had their way. I personally think the best location for artifacts is among people who will cherish them and help the world see them and understand them. As an Italian, I think half of the relics we currently mis-preserve should probably be sold to people who would do a better job. The recently-located Imperial Port of Rome will likely never be fully excavated because we wouldn't have any money to preserve it as it would deserve, and the same happens every day for magnificent stuff all over Rome. I think that's a much more pressing issue than bickering about stuff we've already studied to death.

mgr86 12y ago
To your second point there has always been a contingent in the museum community who opposed the reparation of artifacts. This is not to say they may lament the means of acquisition but feel that the artifacts would be better protected in a more stable or better funded place. This group has been given more attention as of late. Especially with the rate of destruction currently occurring in parts of the middle east (re: ISIS). But even in other areas of the world this a concern. I've herd it said by some that artifacts returned to Peru cannot be fully accounted for. Admittedly, this was second hand, but it seems quite logical knowing a thing or two about the backlog of even the most funded museums.