| الوصف: |
A decades-long debate exists on the repatriation of cultural property. The debate is complex and is far from being resolved. There are numerous areas and fields that this debate touches; it incorporates international law, domestic law, definitions and understanding of culture and cultural property, provenance, museum culture and ethics, and colonial deconstruction and reconstruction. Several of these areas are discussed and analyzed in this project. The project focuses on religious cultural heritage removed during times of disruptions to the social order, including but not limited to colonialism, war, conflict, and violence. Part of what this study will show are the complex guises under which many of these objects were removed from former colonies, including theft, loot, and “color of law” provided by the colonizers or colonial rulers themselves. From former colonies, these objects traveled to auction houses, galleries, private collections and museums in Western countries. This project focuses on repatriation claims being made by former colonies to reclaim their cultural heritage and property from Western repositories, principally museums. |
