Digital Commons Network^™

Looted Cultural Objects, Elena Baylis

Articles

In the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, museums are in possession of cultural objects that were unethically taken from their countries and communities of origin under the auspices of colonialism. For many years, the art world considered such holdings unexceptional. Now, a longstanding movement to decolonize museums is gaining momentum, and some museums are reconsidering their collections. Presently, whether to return such looted foreign cultural objects is typically a voluntary choice for individual museums to make, not a legal obligation. Modern treaties and statutes protecting cultural property apply only prospectively, to items stolen or illegally exported after their effective dates. …

Pillage As The Political Economy Of The Kurdish Anfal Genocide, Kaziwa Salih

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Scholars are critical of how economists overlook “the questions of genocide,” and of how legislatures have not paid adequate attention to the subject of looting, except in the case of the Armenian genocide. This article, informed by interdisciplinary perspectives, uses government documents, data, and semi-structured interviews to discuss the overlooked triangle of looting, economics, and the Anfal genocide of the Kurds in Iraq. The study refuses to limit itself only to the eight stages of the Anfal genocide that started in 1988, and instead offers data on its preliminary phases which occurred earlier in the 1980s. It then discusses the …

Contextualizing Resistance In Minneapolis Post-George Floyd: Race, Class, And The Paradox Of ‘Nice’, Muriel Ambrus

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

Statement of Purpose:

As a Black Minnesotan, I feel stuck between the binary of hope and despair after the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests during the summer of 2020. I had never seen as much vocal support for Black lives. However, reflecting two years later makes me fear the support was simply appeasement and empty promises. While Derek Chauvin was convicted of killing George Floyd, there have been several Black men murdered by Twin Cities police in the two years since his death including, Dolal Idd, Daunte Wright, Winston Smith, and more. Poor Black people in the …

Vulnerable Culture: Protecting History In War And Peace, Molly Luce

CMC Senior Theses

Cultural, historic, and religious sites and objects have a strong correlation with the identity of the community they belong to, in addition to that of humanity. Rosilawati et al. assert that “Cultural heritage and social identity exists in correlation and are interconnected. The shared identity associated with one’s cultural background and historic setting may initiate feelings of pride in one’s culture.”^[1]Essentially, the looting and destruction of such sites and antiquities is not only an attack on the tangible, but the very essence of a population. As the War in Ukraine rages on, Ukrainian cultural heritage sites and historic …

The Nazi Aesthetic: Nuance And Contradiction In Systematic Art Theft And Collection Efforts, Katharine J. Namon

Senior Theses and Projects

Nazi art collecting and looting was a strong and persistent undercurrent throughout World War II. The public and private practices of Nazi officials reveal both their aesthetic tastes and obsession with establishing themselves as highly educated, cultured patrons of the arts. Although the party’s artistic preferences are hard to define, it is evident that their stance on what constituted fine art and culture was entirely illogical, inconsistent, and incongruent. By examining their motives for acquiring such an astounding amount of art, the artistic tastes of individual Nazi officials, and the public exhibitions they held to advertise their values, one can …

The Restitution Of Nazi-Looted Art In The United States: A Legal And Policy Analysis, Katharine J. Namon

Senior Theses and Projects

Restitution of Nazi-looted art in the United States is a complicated legal and policy issue. Victims and their heirs seeking restitution of their stolen art frequently encounter inconsistent legal standards at the state, federal, and international levels. Moreover, there are many different parties involved in these cases, including countries, museums, private collections, auction houses, heirs, and individuals who may have an interest in the particular work of art. Ethics must also be considered, and in the past, international principles for nations have been established to guide the process of delivering victims of wartime looting justice. Unfortunately, the current legal framework …

Impacts Of Politicization And Conflict On Archaeological Resources: An Analysis Of Trends In Iraq, Andrew N. Vang-Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

Archeological resources have been used by political regimes to further their own interests since the discipline was established in the late 19th century. Regime-backed 20th century dictators in Iraq, Iran and Egypt understood that whoever controls a nation’s archeological resources controls its memory and its people. However, power changes hands and archeological resources are not immune to the shifting of power, be it through external conflict such as an invasion or internal conflict such as a revolution. In situations where the ruling party is overthrown and a power vacuum forms, destructive activities such as looting and land development increase and …

Embedded Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, And The Iraq War, Peter Geraci

Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

A common problem in archaeology is the constant shortage of time, money, and personnel necessary to process the extraordinary amount of artifacts that accompanies the excavation of heavily occupied prehistoric sites such as Cahokia and Koster. The debitage excavated during the 1974 University of Illinois-Chicago field school on the bluff crest of Starved Rock, 11LS12, has been sitting in storage awaiting analysis for nearly 40 years. Through the use of popular analysis strategies including mass analysis (Ahler 1989), attribute analysis (Andrefsky 2005), and raw material identification (Ferguson 1995) questions regarding raw material preference, core reduction strategies, and site disturbance can …

Embedded Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, And The Iraq War, Peter Geraci

Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

A common problem in archaeology is the constant shortage of time, money, and personnel necessary to process the extraordinary amount of artifacts that accompanies the excavation of heavily occupied prehistoric sites such as Cahokia and Koster. The debitage excavated during the 1974 University of Illinois-Chicago field school on the bluff crest of Starved Rock, 11LS12, has been sitting in storage awaiting analysis for nearly 40 years. Through the use of popular analysis strategies including mass analysis (Ahler 1989), attribute analysis (Andrefsky 2005), and raw material identification (Ferguson 1995) questions regarding raw material preference, core reduction strategies, and site disturbance can …

The Time Is Now: Why The United States Should Follow The United Kingdom's Lead And Implement A Federal Nazi-Looted Art Spoliation Advisory Panel, Chloe Ricke

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Complex Destruction: Near Eastern Antiquities And The Isis Spectacle, Lauren Bearden

Art and Design Theses

Throughout 2015, the Islamic State (ISIS) was a major news story for its destruction of Ancient Near Eastern collections and heritage sites, which created a spectacle across media. The focus of ISIS’s infamous video uploaded in February of 2015 was the colossal statue of a Lamassu, which was an ancient Assyrian guard deity. By focusing on the Lamassu, this thesis aims to address the Western concept of a “cradle of civilization” and ISIS’s motivation for destroying the sculpture. I utilize Kwame Appiah’s philosophy of cosmopolitanism in order to flesh out the language in which ISIS is communicating, namely through its …

Assessing Wyoming’S Public Perceptions And General Attitudes Towards Archaeology, And Statewide Trends In Looting, Kayla M. Bradshaw

Culminating Projects in Cultural Resource Management

This research was conducted with the purpose of gathering and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data related to archaeological looting and public opinion regarding archaeology and cultural heritage preservation legislation in Wyoming. Areas of the state in which impacts of looting are most prevalent and the trends in these activities, as well as statewide trends, were identified. Randomly selected residents (n = 2,040) in these areas were then targeted by an anonymous survey, which was implemented with the purpose of assessing public knowledge pertaining to cultural resource legislation and archaeology. The anonymous survey was also distributed to Wyoming Archaeological Society and …

Some Comparative Legal History: Robbery And Brigandage, Bernard S. Jackson

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Gurlitt Trove: Its Past, Present And Future, Jacob R. Collins

UVM College of Arts and Sciences College Honors Theses

Part of Hitler's plan to eradicate the Jewish population in Europe was the systematic seizure or destruction of works of art from important Jewish collections. Museums and art law experts have been involved with the restitution of works of art since the end of the war, but since Germany amended their restitution laws in 1998, many more cases have come to light. None is as impressive as the case of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of one of Hitler's art dealers, whose house was searched in uncovered a trove of 1500 modernist paintings, previously believed to be lost or destroyed. This …

A Theorization On Equity: Tracing Causal Responsibility For Missing Iraqi Antiquities And Piercing Official Immunity, Robert Bejesky

Pace International Law Review

Three weeks after the U.S.-led attack on Iraq, looters descended on the artifacts in the Iraq National Museum. Over ten thousand pieces were assumed destroyed or stolen, and the Coalition Provisional Authority estimated the losses at $12 billion. The gravity of the privation led the Security Council to include language in Resolution 1483 to restrict countries from trading in Iraq’s pillaged antiquities, and the U.S. Congress passed the Emergency Protection of Iraqi Cultural Antiquities Act of 2004 to enforce the measures. Several thousand pieces were recovered, but thousands remain missing. In March 2013, Hussein ash-Shamri, the head of the Iraqi …

The Art Looting Investigation Unit: Finding Their Place In World War Two History, Marykate Farber

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the work done by the Art Looting Investigation Unit (ALIU) during World War Two. The ALIU was created as a subdivision of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), an American intelligence unit created during the war that was the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency. The ALIU men sought to collect and build on information regarding the Nazi “art looting machine”. As such, they bore a strong resemblance to the activities of the Museum and Fine Arts and Archives (MFAA) commission (known as the “Monuments Men”). Thanks to a recent movie starring Matt Damon and George Clooney, …

Retroactivity In The 1970 Unesco Convention: Cases Of The United States And Australia, Katarzyna Januszkiewicz

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

As the current trend of returning looted artifacts to their countries of origin continues to grow, the need for stricter law enforcement and a reevaluation of the 1970 UNESCO Convention and its application has become apparent. Recently, museums and national governments worldwide have engaged in a repatriation dialogue through mutual cooperation with foreign institutions, rather than international litigation, which is both a long and expensive process. This is a result of both a shifting public opinion towards museums, and the growing awareness of the countries of origin regarding the value of their looted cultural heritage. Looted artifacts continue to flood …

Putting Government In Its Place: Cultural Racism, Sentiment, And Neoliberalism In Contemporary United States Responses To Natural Disasters Abroad, Corinne Wohlford Mason

All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects

The reasons for American distrust of government are multiple, and enumerating them is beyond the scope of this project. However, this distrust in the government supports the values of neoliberalism, especially the ideal of limited government. Rhetorically separating government and sentiment has serious effects on what kinds of change are possible in a world where there are no sanctuaries from the effects of the free market. Relegating government to the role of supporting the free market is loss for vulnerable people—especially black people—everywhere. Yet doing so makes Americans feel good about themselves. As Obama claimed in his Newsweek piece, indeed, …

The Tomb Of Ny-Ankh-Nesut: A Contextualized Study Of Looted Fragments, William L. Austin

Honors Papers

This paper’s aim is to place the looted fragments from Ny-ankh-nesut's tomb back into their original context within the tomb, based on what remains in the tomb today and on the meaning and significance behind the iconographic themes. In order to understand the meaning behind the fragments, this paper will begin with an introduction to the purpose of Old Kingdom tombs. Through observing the basic necessities of an Old Kingdom tomb, one can begin to discover how and why Ny-ankh-nesut would have chosen the specific program exhibited in his tomb. Along with illustrating the underlying principles of Egyptian funerary practices, …

Looting In Ancient Mesopotamia: A Legislation Scheme For The Protection Of Iraq's Cultural Heritage, Lindsay E. Willis

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Protecting Cultural Heritage By Strictly Scrutinizing Museum Acquisitions, Leila Alexandra Amineddoleh

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

There are many ways to protect cultural heritage as a valuable commodity. Although heightened security measures and extensive surveillance methods can deter theft, a more effective means for reducing theft is the elimination of the demand for black market art items. Trade in unprovenanced antiquities is a demand-driven crime; the market for illegal or undocumented items is driven by buyers’ wants. The most effective method of protection for cultural heritage is to eliminate the demand for black market for these precious objects, thereby reducing the market, a method known as the “market reduction approach.” There is a well-documented link between …

Beyond Wealth: Stories Of Art, War, And Greed, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

The article tells three stories of great art and priceless antiquities: one about early Christian mosaics from Cyprus, another about five paintings by the Viennese master, Gustav Klimt, and the third about an ancient statute of a Sumerian king from Iraq. All three stories discuss the international law protecting cultural heritage in time of war and occupation. They all tell of individuals pursuing extraordinary profits from the sale of the objects despite the international law that, properly applied, should have protected them from damage and kept them all in places of public display.The article also tells how in each case …

Corruption And The Curse: The Dictator’S Choice, Mare Sarr, Tim Swanson

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

We develop a dynamic discrete choice model of a self-interested and unchecked ruler making decisions regarding the exploitation of a resource-rich country. This dictator makes the recursive choice between either investing domestically to live off the productivity of the country while facing the risk of being ousted, or looting the country’s riches by liquefying the resources and departing. We demonstrate that important parameters determining this choice include the level of resources, liquidity and indebtedness. We find that the dictator’s choice regarding the timing of departure is significantly related to external lending, investment and debt. We then argue that this looting …

Zeugma As The Provenance Of 12 Mosaic Fragments At Bowling Green State University, Stephanie Langin-Hooper, S. Rebecca Martin, Mehmet Önal

Art History Research

Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Ohio is the current owner of 12 sections of floor mosaic dating to the 2nd-3rd c. A.D. Purchased by the university in 1965, these mosaic fragments were believed to be from the site of Antioch. In 2010-11, the mosaics were conserved and installed in BGSU’s Wolfe Center. In the following year the first-named author, organizing a symposium to celebrate the new display of the mosaics, invited R. Molholt to be the keynote speaker. During the course of preparing their respective papers for the symposium, she and Molholt uncovered evidence that an Antioch provenance for …

Tomato Season In The Ghor Es-Safi – A Lesson In Community Archaeology, Morag Kersel, Meredith Chesson

Morag M. Kersel

No abstract provided.

Nationalism, Archaeology, And The Antiquities Trade In Turkey And Iraq, Miranda Pettengill

Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects

The illicit antiquities trade is a vast and complex network comprising a large number of participants across the globe. This paper focuses specifically on looters and illegal excavators, those who first retrieve ancient objects from the ground to be traded on the black market. My research examines the reasoning and motivation behind looting; specifically, I evaluate how nationalistic ideologies in Turkey and Iraq affect the choices and actions of illegal excavators living there. I also discuss the benefits of community archaeology, an approach that includes local people in the practice and presentation of excavation, as a strategy to minimize the …

The Value Of A Looted Object – Stakeholder Perceptions In The Antiquities Trade, Morag Kersel

Morag M. Kersel

No abstract provided.

The Economics Of The Looted Archaeological Site Of Bab Edh-Dhra: A View From Google Earth, Neil Brodie, Daniel A. Contreras

Daniel A. Contreras

No abstract provided.

La Nueva Mirada, Andrés Bermúdez Liévano

Daniel A. Contreras

No abstract provided.

Google Earth Shows Clandestine Worlds, Heather Pringle

Daniel A. Contreras

No abstract provided.