Looted Antiquities, Art Museums and Restitution in the United States since 1970

Abstract

US attitudes towards restitution and the problem of looted antiquities have shifted since 1970, as pressure builds to change norms for the acquisition of unprovenanced artefacts that have fueled a transnational trade in stolen objects and the depredation of archaeological sites worldwide. This article traces several triggers for change and initial steps towards a revised policy while also cataloguing areas of resistance. It examines the mechanisms of US government policy for international heritage protection and suggests that domestic legislation of the 1990s protecting the heritage of Native Americans has played a significant role in changing museum attitudes and policies. The new transparency for indigenous artifacts has produced museum displays that address their ownership history, larger social context and the distinctly different values assigned them by various groups. For classical antiquities, in contrast, attention to aesthetics still trumps such vital contextual information. This article suggests a different approach, one that showcases the biography of the object, its various lives or contexts, and the way different stakeholders have valued it over time. By drawing attention to restitution and the looting of heritage sites, such an approach better explains the history of the work of art and the continued importance of antiquity today.