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Treasure Wars

By Gregon

National Geographic have begun a 9-part online video series titled “Treasure Wars: Who Owns the Past?”:

For centuries, treasures have been taken from their homelands. Should the artifacts go back? Who should decide?

Looks quite interesting – I’ll try and keep you up to date with the latest instalments as they come to hand.

Greg
Editor
Greg is the owner-editor of The Daily Grail, as well as the author of a number of books including Stop Worrying, There Probably is an Afterlife.
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2 Comments

  2. The right thing to do.
    It is a very hot topic. I think that if the countries where the ártifacts originally came from request their return, what gives the museums the right to decide over their ultimate destiny?

    Some museums fear that if they return the pieces that have adorned their collections for decades to their original countries might be lost forever if said countries fall into some political or military conflict; and I can understand that, since I went to see here in Mexico a wonderful exhibition full of pieces that came from Iran, sadly thinking that if that country fell into a simmilar social turmoil that affected its neighbours, those treasures I had the luck of viewing might be turned to dust. Nevertheless that is not a decission for the european museums to make, lest they feel entitled to still exercise colonial dictatorship over artifacts that were acquired by means that have noting to do with how the world operates today.

    Granted, many pieces are so frail now that they may not survive the transfer, but we cannot assume that future techniques won’t allow this to change. Museums and nations should make a pact that, when a panel of experts formed by members of all the interested parties decide that the objects can widthstand leaving their current site, they should do so. And if the museums fear for the integrity of their exhibitions, well they had many years to make copies, right?

    —–
    It’s not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me…
    It’s all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!

    Red Pill Junkie

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