That disturbing question is raised in an op-ed essay in the Wall Street
Journal by art dealer Andre Emmerich. It's clear he is not alone in his
view that the proper remedy for this problem is to let the free market
take care of it.
Let the Market Preserve Art
What were all those antiquities doing in Iraq anyway?
http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110003399
______________________________________
A different, and no less controversial stance is that of Dutch art dealer
Michel van Rijn, who among other matters is stirring things up about a
group of Iznik tiles in the April 29 auction of Islamic art & manuscripts
at Christie's in London (sale no. 6713, lot no. 160), allegedly the same
as Iznik tiles stripped by thieves from the walls of the Emperor's Lodge
(Hunkar Kosku) of the Yeni Cami in Istanbul at the end of December 2002.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2950835.stm
http://www.michelvanrijn.com/artnews/artnws.htm
______________________________________
On the latest regarding the American Council for Cultural Policy,
see this excerpt from a useful summary of Iraq-related news, posted
on the website of the London-based Art Newspaper:
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=10985
[...] The rumour that the US is planning to "liberalise" Iraq's
tough laws on the export of antiquities, widely reported in
the international press, derived from a meeting in Washington
on 24 January between the American Council for Cultural Policy
(a privately funded association of collectors and lawyers) and
Pentagon and State Department officials.
The council's treasurer, William Pearlstein, was later quoted in
the US magazine Science as describing Iraq's laws as "retentionist",
and he wanted to see some objects certified for export.
American Council for Cultural Policy president Ashton Hawkins
told The Art Newspaper that what Mr Pearlstein had done was
to voice his personal opinion after the meeting, and that
this did not represent council policy. He insisted that "there
had been no discussion of Iraqi law" at the Washington meeting.
Changes to the present law of 1936 (amended in 1974-75) would
in any case be impossible before the establishment of a new
democratically elected government.
Under international law, an occupying power can only alter laws
on humanitarian or public order grounds. Nevertheless, the fact
that Metropolitan Museum director Mr de Montebello is now
suggesting that international museums should participate in
new archaeological excavations and receive export licences
suggest that Mr Pearlstein's views would enjoy some support.
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