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The role of conservators in facilitating the theft and trafficking of cultural objects: the case of a seized Libyan statue

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2017

Neil Brodie
Neil Brodie*
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology, University of Oxford.
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Abstract

A 2015 court judgment in the United Kingdom ruled that a seized Libyan statue should be returned to the ownership of the State of Libya. The judgment prompts a critical discussion of the involvement of professional conservators in the trafficking of cultural objects. Higher standards of due diligence are recommended for conservators and other professional experts engaging with cultural objects that might have been stolen and trafficked. Stronger professional due diligence is but one component of a broader policy of demand reduction that will be necessary to control the theft and trafficking of cultural objects, and to offer protection to cultural sites around the world.

في العام 2015، حكمت محكمة في المملكة المتحدة أن التمثال الليبي الذي تمت مصادرته يجب أن يتم إرجاعه لملكية دولة ليبيا. إن هذا القرار يحث على قيام نقاش نقدي لموضوع تورط الأوصياء أو القيميين المهنيين بالإتجار بالأغراض الثقافية. يجب وضع معايير أعلى من الإجراءات للأوصياء والخبراء الآخرين الذين يتعاملون مع الأغراض الثقافية التي قد تكون سرقت وتم الإتجار بها. إن هذه الإجراءات المهنية الأشد هي مجرد أحد عناصر السياسة المطلوبة لتقليل الطلب من أجل السيطرة على السرقة والإتجار بالأغراض الثقافية وتقديم الحماية للمواقع الثقافية حول العالم .

Type
Part 1: Conference proceedings ‘Libyan Antiquities at Risk’
Information
Libyan Studies , Volume 48 , November 2017 , pp. 117 - 123
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Libyan Studies 2017 

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