Museums and Restitution: New Practices, New Approaches

204 Pages·2014·2.127 MB·English

by  Louise Tythacott, Kostas Arvanitis

MuseuMs and Restitution
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Museums and Restitution
new Practices, new approaches
Edited by
Louise tythacott
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK
Kostas aRvanitis
University of Manchester, UK
© Louise tythacott, Kostas arvanitis and the contributors 2014
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Louise tythacott and Kostas arvanitis have asserted their right under the copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editors of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing Limited ashgate Publishing company
Wey court east 110 cherry street
union Road suite 3-1
Farnham Burlington, vt 05401-3818
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Museums and restitution : new practices, new approaches / [edited] by Louise tythacott
and Kostas arvanitis.
pages cm.—(information and cultural management)
includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4094-3563-1 (hardback)—ISBN 978-1-4094-3564-8 (ebook)—ISBN
978-1-4724-0026-0 (epub) 1. Museums—collection management. 2. Restitution.
3. Material culture—conservation and restoration. 4. art—Provenance. 5. art thefts.
6. cultural property—Protection. 7. Museums—acquisitions. i. tythacott, Louise. ii.
arvanitis, Kostas.
aM133.M8727 2014
069’.5—dc23
2014010738
ISBN: 9781409435631 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781409435648 (ebk – PDF)
ISBN: 9781472400260 (ebk – ePUB)
III
Printed in the united Kingdom by henry Ling Limited,
at the dorset Press, dorchester, dt1 1hd
Contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Notes on Contributors ix
Acknowledgements xiii
1 Museums and Restitution: An Introduction 1
Louise Tythacott and Kostas Arvanitis
Part I OvervIews
2 Crossing the Line: Restitution and Cultural Equity 19
Tristram Besterman
3 Authority and the Power of Place: Exploring the Legitimacy of
Authorized and Alternative Voices in the Restitution Discourse 37
Piotr Bienkowski
Part II PersPectIves frOm arOund the wOrld
4 Repatriation: Political Will and Museum Facilities 55
Eeva-Kristiina Harlin and Anne May Olli
5 The Practice of Repatriation: A Case Study from New Zealand 71
Conal McCarthy
6 ‘A Welcome and Important Part of their Role’: The Impact of
Repatriation on Museums in Scotland 85
Neil Curtis
7 In Consideration of Restitution: Understanding and Transcending
the Limits of Repatriation under the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) 105
Helen A. Robbins
vi Museums and Restitution
Part III reflectIOns On returns
8 Repatriating Agency: Animacy, Personhood and Agency in the
Repatriation of Ojibwe Artefacts 121
Maureen Matthews
9 Debating the Restitution of Human Remains from Dutch Museum
Collections: The Case of the Skulls from Urk 139
Demelza van der Maas
10 A Crate in the Basement: On the Works of Kazimir Malevich
Loaned to the Hanover Museum 151
Ines Katenhusen
11 Claiming the Parthenon Marbles Back: Whose Claim and on
Behalf of Whom? 163
Kalliopi Fouseki
Index 179
List of Figures and Tables
Figures
2.1 A photograph of a group of Kainai people taken in c.1925, in
the collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum. Pitt Rivers Museum
BB.A3.67, taken by Beatrice Blackwood, 1925. Photograph
reproduced courtesy Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford 29
2.2 ‘Pyramid Piece’ by Andy Holden, Tate Britain, 2010.
Reproduced by kind permission of the artist 33
4.1 Duodji. Muituiguin/Med minnen (with memory). Skin bag made
of reindeer skin and goat fur, textile and reindeer horn.
Artist: Anna Stina Svakko (2007). Sámi contemporary art
collection (SVD-da 0776). Photographer: Marvin Pope.
Copyright: RiddoDuottarMuseum 63
4.2 Duodji. Saltflaske (saltbottle), made of roots from birch,
reindeer horn and reindeer skin. Artist: Ellen Kitok Andersen
(2005). Sámi contemporary art collection (SVD-da 0737).
Photographer: Marvin Pope. Copyright: RiddoDuottarMuseum 64
5.1 Māori human remains from overseas, contained in caskets
draped in feather cloaks, are welcomed home in a dramatic
ceremony on the marae at Te Papa. With kind permission of
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa 74
5.2 Government and tribal representatives meet to initial a deed of
settlement at Te Papa through which the meeting house Te Hau
ki Tūranga, seen in the background, will be returned to the
Ngāti Kaipoho hapū (sub-tribe) of the Rongowhakaata people.
With kind permission of Ngāti Kaipoho and the Office of
Treaty Settlements 79
6.1 Frank Weasel Head, Randy Bottle and Karen White Quills at
the repatriation from the University of Aberdeen in 2003.
Copyright: University of Aberdeen 92
viii Museums and Restitution
7.1 Leigh Wayne Lomayestewa playing a gourd instrument that
mimics the sound of frogs. This consultation visit was supported
by a National Park Service NAGPRA grant. Photograph:
Helen Robbins, 2012 106
7.2 Artists Nathan and Stephen Jackson at work on a new pole in
Stanley Field Hall. This piece was commissioned to replace the
Cape Fox Tlingit Pole that the Field Museum repatriated in 2000.
Cedar log donated by the Cape Fox Corporation, Ketchikan,
Alaska. Photographer: John Weinstein. Copyright: The Field
Museum, GN90988_091d 109
7.3 Photo break during XRF testing of Zuni cultural items located
at the Field Museum. From left: Octavius Seowtewa, Susan
Benton Bruning, Cheryl Podsiki, and Davis Nieto. Photograph:
Helen Robbins, 2009 115
8.1 Naamiwan and his wife, 1933. Copyright: American
Philosophical Society, Hallowell Collection 123
8.2 Nelson Owen caring for Naamiwan’s water drum. Photograph:
Maureen Matthews, 2007 132
10.1 Provincial Museum. Source: Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum
Hannover 153
10.2 Alexander Dorner portrait. Source: Universitätsarchiv
Hannover, Best. BCP 153
10.3 Delivery slip. Source: Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv/
Hauptstaatsarchiv Hannover. NLA. HStAH. Hann. 152 Acc.
2006/013 Nr. 54 155
11.1 Public responses to the question: What is your opinion
regarding the Parthenon Sculptures that are currently displayed
in the British Museum? 166
11.2 Reasons for repatriation 171
Tables
6.1 Recorded Repatriation Requests to Scottish Museums
1990-2010 86
11.1 The profile of respondents in the public survey 166
Notes on Contributors
Kostas Arvanitis is a Senior Lecturer in Museology at the University of
Manchester. He has a MA and PhD in Museum Studies from the University
of Leicester and a first degree in History and Archaeology from the Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki, Greece. His research crosses the fields of museology,
archaeology and digital heritage. He has published on the theory and practice of
digital, social and mobile media in museums and the interpretation of archaeological
sites in urban environments.
Tristram Besterman works as a freelance adviser in the museums, cultural
and higher education sectors. His career in UK museums spans forty years.
The social purpose of museums as trusted places of cultural engagement is of
particular interest to him, and his work on professional ethics, engagement with
source communities, management and leadership has focused on issues of social
interaction, cultural identity, accountability and sustainability. Tristram’s interest
in innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to public engagement with issues of
local and global concern draws on his experience in both the scientific and artistic
spheres. As Director of The Manchester Museum (1994-2005) he was able to work
with communities of identity, museum colleagues and academics in testing such
ideas and putting such principles into practice.
Piotr Bienkowski runs a cultural consultancy specializing in organizational
change, community engagement and cultural planning. His practice focuses
on community participation in arts, culture and heritage, the mechanisms of
change in organizations, and the importance of intercultural dialogue and debate
in fostering understanding and social cohesion. Previously he was Head of
Antiquities at National Museums Liverpool, Deputy (and Acting) Director at
Manchester Museum, Professor of Archaeology and Museology at the University
of Manchester, and Chair of the North West Federation of Museums and Galleries.
Neil Curtis is Head of Museums and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Anthropology,
both in the University of Aberdeen. He studied Archaeology (Glasgow, 1986),
Museum Studies (Leicester, 1988) and Education (Aberdeen, 1995). His research
has included young children’s learning in museums, considerations of the social
and cultural roles of museums today, including repatriation and the treatment of
human remains, and studies of Scottish antiquarianism and museum history.