AIA-1I: Contested Objects in Academic Collections: Legal and Ethical Considerations (Colloquium)

Sponsored by:

Foundation for Ethical Stewardship of Cultural Heritage (FESCH)

Organizers

Mireille Lee, Foundation for Ethical Stewardship of Cultural Heritage

Discussants

Patty Gerstenblith, Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law

Overview Statement

This colloquium expands on the 2023 Annual Meeting workshop: “Provenance and Pedagogy in Academic Collections.” Following the 2024 Annual Meeting theme of “Movement, Mobility, and Displacement,” this session of five papers on unprovenanced objects in academic collections will focus on how they got there and where they ultimately belong. Over the past decades, faculty members have become increasingly concerned about the histories of the objects held by their institutions. Museum and collections staff know that many of these objects are problematic, but are often unsure how to manage them beyond refusing new acquisitions. We present five case-studies of antiquities in academic collections, each providing a unique perspective on the problem of unprovenanced antiquities and potential solutions.

Four of the five papers focus on the collectors themselves, some of whom were also academics. Francis Kelsey actively built the collections of the University of Michigan through purchases as well as random finds on archaeological sites. Walter Farmer was a “Monuments Man” during World War II whose private collection became the basis for the museum of Miami University. Sam Rayburn, a politician, received an ancient Greek amphora as a diplomatic gift, which now resides at the University of Texas.

Antiquities in academic collections might be housed in a specialized archaeology museum, as at the University of Michigan, or an art museum, as at Miami University and the University of Texas. The mission of an individual museum determines in part how students and scholars will interact with these objects. Objects bearing inscriptions also reside in library special collections, where they are treated more like rare books than antiquities. The “Where Is the Cuneiform” project underscores the difficulty of tracking such objects, and the particular legal and ethical issues associated with ancient texts.

Although all of the objects discussed lack provenance, they are problematic in different ways. Objects collected post-UNESCO are certainly suspect, but those attained in earlier decades may in fact be subject to national laws protecting cultural property. Even legally exported objects may be contested, as in the case of the Bonham amphora, which the US Capitol contends belongs in Washington, DC, not Texas. Unprovenanced objects require research to determine appropriate legal and ethical solutions, including restitution, as is proposed for the fragments of a Flavian monument held by the Kelsey Museum. The discussant will provide commentary on the legal and ethical issues at stake in each case.