03-03-2016, 10:59 AM
(02-27-2016, 01:01 AM)colinroberts Wrote: Except it's got some pretty good provenance, and it's actually not illegal under the UNESCO 1970 convention. As for whether it is ethical, I'd say it's better to take it off the private market and try to give it some history/let professors research it if they need to; it's already been robbed of its historical context so why not do with it what you still can. I let the University of Pennsylvania museum have access to my items.
This is the kind of thinking that helps perpetuate illegal trade. As long as people keep buying these artefacts, for whatever reason, they're encouraging people to go out there and rob sites. It's also common among some academics: "Ah well, it may have been stolen, but now at least we can wring some scientific knowledge from it anyway, right?" Just no: there is no excuse. If I had my way, any objects that were acquired illegally would be destroyed.
