Another Dubious Seizure of an Artifact Long on Display

NY Prosecutors Vance and Bogdanos have seized a fragment of a relief said to be from Persepolis from a London dealer who set up at a New York City Art Fair.  The relief in question had been put on display at a Canadian museum back in the 1950’s.  The seizure raises serious legal questions about whether the Iranian statute used as the basis for the seizure really vests title of the artifact in Iran, whether at the time such artifacts were given to excavators so they may not, in fact, be “stolen,” and whether laches would apply to defeat such a stale claim.  There is also the obvious question whether Vance and Bogdanos should be using New York taxpayer’s money to take private property to award it to the Islamic Republic of Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism whose top officials at times have threatened to bulldoze pre-Islamic sites like Persepolis and the tomb of Cyrus the Great.  But the real question is whether the dealer will fight the seizure, particularly given the costs and potential criminal liability involved.  

Preservation Not Repatriation Should be the Goal

The Committee on Cultural Policy has published my commentary on repatriation and the Syrian Civil War.   Unfortunately, HR 1493, as currently drafted does not change the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act's 19 USC Section 2609's requirement that material be repatriated back to Assad.   And, let's not forget "public diplomacy" will apparently trump an artifact's safety every time.   Indeed, even after unanimous votes in the House and Senate, the Iraqi Jewish archive-- which includes documents stolen from Jews fleeing repression-- may still be returned to Iraq sometime in the not so distant future.  Hopefully, the US Senate will address this problem as it considers HR 1493.

Is the Cyrus Cylinder Being Used by Iran's President to Buttress his Legitimacy?

The history of despotic regimes is replete with a history of using artifacts from the past to buttress their legitimacy. Saddam Hussein sought to link his government to the glories of ancient Babylon. Mussolini saw himself as a new Caesar who could restore Rome's Empire in North Africa and the Balkans. Recently, Venezuela's president exhumed the body of Simon Bolivar in an apparent effort to prove that imperialists schemed against him too.

Now, Iran's president is apparently using a loan of the Cyrus Cylinder from the BM to buttress his own authority. See http://guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/15/iran-cyrus-cylinderbritish-museum According to a recent Economist report, Iran's President has been trying to sideline the clergy that has long supported him with the help of a nationalistic appeal reminding the people of Iran's great imperial past . See http://www.economist.com/node/16994616?story-id=16946168CFID=1478938688CFID=147893688CFTOKEN=18843935

Ironically, the Shah also associated his government with that of the Persian Empire. But, it all backfired for him. Indeed, the Shah's lavish celebration of the 2500 anniversary of the Persian Empire is often cited as the swan song of the Iranian Monarchy. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,500_year_celebration_of_the_Persian_Empire

And the symbol of that celebration? Why the Cyrus Cylinder, of course, which was also loaned for the event.

Will the loan also backfire for Iran's President because it will stoke the fear that he also has imperial ambitions? Will he give back the Cyrus Cylinder to the BM? Stay tuned.

Iran Cuts Ties with British Museum

The Islamic Republic of Iran has cut ties with the British Museum over the Museum's decision to delay a loan of the so-called Cyrus Cylinder. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8502654.stm

Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been particularly poor since Iran's stolen presidential election. Indeed, the Iranians have branded the UK the "Little Satan" [to distinguish it from the "Great Satan," i.e., the US] due to the UK's support for the pro-democracy demonstrators. See http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1907066,00.html

In any event, I suspect the current Iranian regime wants to display the seal at least in part because it feels it will confer some sort of legitimacy upon it, as the guardian of the great Persian civilization. If so, this a bit of an odd throwback to the time of the Shah, who also tried to identify his own government with the glories of the past.

And this desire to display an artifact associated with the glories of ancient Persia is more than a bit ironic too. After the Iranian revolution, there was serious talk of bulldozing Persepolis, and even now this world heritage site is both neglected and in danger of damage due to pollution. See http://www.cais-soas.com/News/2002/May2002/10-05.htm

Under the circumstances, I cannot fault the British for holding onto the Cyrus Cylinder. The British have every right to decide when and whether to loan the seal.

And as was noted by Chuck Jones on the SAFE Corner blog (see http://safecorner.savingantiquities.org/2010/01/another-delay-for-cyrus-cylinder.html), this is certainly not a repatriation issue as the Cylinder was found in Iraq. Hence, the arguments usually marshaled for such claims simply do not apply in this particular case.

More Art and Politics?

While archaeological bloggers seem unwilling or unable to consider the possibility that politics impacts how nations deal with cultural property issues far more than their polestar of "preservation of context," three recent news stories suggest otherwise.

• France has just announced that it will repatriate some reliefs that Zahi Hawass says were stolen. See http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091007/sc_nm/us_france_egypt_louvre Hawass had threatened to break off contacts with the Louvre on account of it. "Culture Grrl" has noted that the Louvre (which is building a museum in Abu Dhabi) values its ties to the Arabs and the Middle East. See http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/2009/10/news_flash_hawass_cuts_off_egy.html Apparently so. Unlike the Saint Louis Art Museum (which continues to contest Egypt's claims to the Ka Nefer Nefer Mask), the Louvre has quickly acceded to the Egyptian demands.

• In the meantime, Iran has threatened to cut off ties with the British Museum because the Museum has delayed a loan of the "Cyrus Cylinder." http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aZmy0YWB2aKo The British Government (along with most of the Western world) has raised serious concerns about the recent Iranian election. In return, Iranian authorities have branded Britain the "Little Satan" to associate it with its ally, "the Great Satan," i.e., the United States. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1907066,00.html I suspect the "Cyrus Cylinder" is not leaving the British Museum soon, despite Iranian threats.

• Finally, one museum in Taiwan has declined a donation of the bronze rabbit and rat fountain heads from the Qing Dynasty's Yuanmingyuan (Summer Palace) that were subject of a disputed auction earlier this year. See http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jpBbcQZ9T56kgQFFBVeOcuw1kPzQ Taiwan recently elected a government more friendly to the mainland. Could that have something to do with the decision? Despite the comments of the legislator associated with the ruling party, quite probably.

AIA Statement on Attachment of Cultural Artifacts: As High-Minded as It Seems?

The Archaeological Institute of America ("AIA") thinks that victims of state-sponsored terrorism should not be able to attach cultural artifacts to satisfy court judgments. Indeed, the AIA apparently feels so strongly about this that it plans to lobby Congress to change current law. See: http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10495

Why would the AIA side with regimes like those in Iran and Syria? Of course, if you believe the spin, the AIA has taken this position for only the most enlightened of reasons. As the AIA press release explains:

The ability of nations and institutions throughout the world to loan objects is crucial to achieving international cultural exchange and increasing understanding of different places, different times, and different people. Such archaeological artifacts should not be sold to satisfy claims that are unrelated to the objects themselves. While the earlier litigation related to Iran had already indicated some threat to cultural interchanges, the Metropolitan’s inability to borrow objects from Syria for an exhibition indicates the danger this legislation and litigation pose to cultural exchange. American citizens have been deprived of the opportunity of appreciating and learning from archaeological artifacts and works of art from one of the world’s oldest civilizations. The actions in question therefore pose a serious threat to cultural exchange and cultural diplomacy, which are extremely important in building understanding among peoples.

But, is cultural exchange really more important than compensating victims of terror? Certainly, at least one member of the AIA's "sister organization" Saving Antiquities for Everyone ("SAFE") has argued in the past that such interests do not trump compensating heirs of victims when it comes to "Holocaust art." Why should antiquities be any different?

The AIA website does not mention it, but is it possible that American archaeologists just want to please their Iranian and Syrian hosts? See https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/ Presumably fighting for such an exemption can only ingratiate American archaeologists with the Iranian and Syrian regimes and thus help ensure their continued access to archaeological sites in these countries. If Congress takes up this issue, the archaeological community's motives for supporting a change in the law need to be explored in depth before any amendment of existing law is adopted.