Collecting Cultural Material: Principles for best practice
Legal and Ethical Framework
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In recent years, ensuring that stolen or looted cultural material does not form part of institutions' collections has been of increasing concern to governments, professional bodies, and collecting institutions around the world.
The type of illicitly traded or acquired cultural material, and the manner in which it becomes available to collecting institutions varies, but includes:
- art and antiquities looted during times of war, social upheaval, or natural disaster, for example, Nazi looted art and the raiding of cultural institutions in Iraq and Afghanistan;
- archaeological and palaeontological objects, as well as architectural sculpture, stolen from significant historical sites in at risk regions such as Africa, Asia and Latin America; and
- thefts from museums and private collections around the world.
The responsibilities of Australian institutions in relation to ethical treatment of such material are specified in international conventions, domestic law and the protocols of museum organisations. Individual institutions may also be bound by their enabling legislation or internal policies.
International Agreements and Australia's Responsibilities
The legal and ethical framework within which governments can cooperate to address the illicit trade in cultural property is underpinned by the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 1970 (the 1970 Convention). Australia is a party to the Convention, implemented through the enactment of the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 (the Act).
The Act is administered by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. The Act regulates the export of Australia's significant cultural heritage objects by implementing a system of export permits for certain heritage objects defined by the Act as ‘Australian protected objects'.
In addition, the Act includes provisions that allow Australia to respond to an official request by a foreign government to return movable cultural heritage objects that have been illegally exported from their country of origin. Requests can only be made for material which was removed after both Australia and the requesting nation implemented the Convention through domestic law. Such requests are dealt with at an inter-governmental level.
Australian movable cultural heritage is also protected by State and Territory Government legislation. The relevant legislation varies between jurisdictions and should be consulted as appropriate.
Museums Associations
International and Australian professional museum associations have developed their own codes of ethics with which members are expected to comply. These codes often include references to the acquisition and exhibition of illicit objects.
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) Code of Ethics for Museums (2004) sets minimum standards of professional practice and performance for museums and their staff. The sections relating to provenance and illicit trade refer to museums' responsibility to only collect objects with valid title, full history and provenance, which were recovered during authorised fieldwork.
Under the Code, museums should avoid displaying unprovenanced material and ensure they do not benefit from illicit trade, for example, through their role as an ‘identification service'. ICOM also provides frequently updated ‘Red lists' which document geographical areas and categories of objects which are at an increased risk, for example due to conflict.
The Association of Art Museum Directors' (AAMD) Report of the AAMD Task Force on the Acquisition of Archaeological Materials and Ancient Art provides guidance to assist its members in making informed and responsible decisions when collecting archaeological materials and ancient art. The report stresses the importance of balancing museums' obligations to preserve and provide access to cultural material with their duty to collect responsibly.
The Museums Australia (MA) Code of Ethics for Art, History and Science Museums (1999) is intended to assist its members in making decisions about the ethical issues that they may encounter. The Code refers to the conditions under which acquisitions should not be considered, for example, if legal title cannot be obtained or if the object has been exported illegally. MA's support of international efforts in addressing the illicit trade in cultural material, and reference to Australian and State Government legislation, is also included.
Links to these organisations' websites can be found at Appendix 3.
Collecting Institutions' Policies
Many individual collecting institutions develop their own policies to guide staff on provenance issues. These policies are generally informed by the international and national framework, combined with the institutions' own experiences. Guidance on provenance issues may be included in collection development policies, acquisition policies, and due diligence guidelines. The principles set out in this document reflect the collections policies of the National Collecting Institutions.
