City of Belmont - Ruth Faulkner Public Library

Who owns history?, Elgin's loot and the case for returning plundered treasure, Geoffrey Robertson

eng

Bibliography: pages 259-270

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Who owns history?

Geoffrey Robertson

Elgin's loot and the case for returning plundered treasure

Taking his cue from Cicero, the great Roman barrister, Geoffrey Robertson argues that justice requires the return not only of the 'Elgin' Marbles to Greece, but of many looted antiquities on display in the museums of Britain, Europe and America. He argues that the Gweagal Shield - dropped when Cook shot at Aboriginals in Botany Bay in 1770 - should be returned to Australia from the British Museum. He wants the government to acquire the hull of HMS Endeavour recently located off Rhode Island. He has located Arthur Phillip's tombstone for Yemmerrawanne, the first Australian expatriate, in a South London churchyard, and he wants to bring it back. Robertson's judgement is uncompromising: cultural heritage belongs to the people of whose history it is a part, unless its return would be attended by danger to the artwork itself. And since the movement for the restitution of cultural property is based on human rights, governments that want it back must show respect for the rights of the peoples on whose behalf they make the claim. Who Owns History? not only delves into the crucial debate over the Marbles, but examines how the past can be experienced by everyone, as well as by the people of the country of origin. -- Cover

pt 1. Whose history is it? -- Background -- The cultural property debate -- The right of states - and peoples -- Macron's challenge -- The Marbles -- a human rights approach. pt 2. The glory that was Greece -- A brief background -- Building the Parthenon. pt 3. Elgin: Thief or saviour? -- The Acropolis before Elgin -- Lord Elgin's mission -- The so-called firman -- Elgin's motivation -- An ambassador's conflict of interest -- No Elgin, No marbles? -- pt. 4 In the keeping of the British Museum -- The select committee -- Lord Duveen and the cleaning scandal -- To Russia without love -- Elginisation. pt. 5 The case for re-unification -- Demands for the Marbles after Greek independence -- The UK refuses UNESCO mediation -- The case for the Museum, refuted. pt 6. International law to the rescue? -- Conventions -- State practice -- Case law -- Human rights law -- War law -- Conclusion. pt 7. Museums of blood -- Defining the right of return -- Benin bronzes -- The Rosetta Stone -- The bust of Nefertiti -- The Maqdala pillage -- The Gweagal Shield -- Priam's treasure -- The Koh-i-Noor diamond -- Dahomey, 1892 -- The Old Summer Palace, Beijing -- The Easter Island Moai -- The Ashanti wars -- A note on replicas. pt 8. Towards justice -- Restorative justice -- The UNESCO convention and its limits -- A Convention for the Repatriation of Important Cultural Heritage (CRICH) -- Conclusion. Conclusion -- Acknowledgements -- Notes -- Index

adult

Elgin's Loot and the case for returning plundered treasure