CAC Members Promote Heritage Preservation

Heritage Advocacy in 2006

CAC members play a part in advocating for heritage; recently members of CAC have been very vocal responding to political discussions on heritage needs.

• Quebec conservators participated in discussions on churches and religious patrimony and presented an oral presentation to the Quebec government’s Commission de la culture. A transcript of the presentation and thirty minute question period can be found at http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fra/37legislature1/DEBATS/journal/cc/060124.htm
• Nova Scotia conservators submitted ideas to the provincial Heritage Strategy Task Force

CAC members have been involved in promoting heritage for a long time:

• 1999 - Alain Lacoursiere gave a talk about art fraud in Canada at the Winnipeg CAC conference
• During the 2006 Annual CAC Conference two papers discussed the problems of international trafficking of cultural heritage. Both abstracts by Janet K. Hawley and Sharon Little are included below.

The International Trafficking of Cultural Heritage
Janet K. Hawley
Konservierungsabteilung

Historisches Museum Basel
Steinenberg 4
CH-4051 Basel
Tel. direkt: ++41 (0)61 205 86 90
Tel. Zentrale: ++41 (0)61 205 86 00
Tel. Fax: ++41 (0)61 205 86 01
mailto:Janet.Hawley@bs.ch
http//:www.hmb.ch

International trafficking in cultural property is big business. Each year, billions of dollars worth of stolen or illegally exported archaeological finds, ethnographic objects and sacred works of art make their way into private and public collections worldwide. Unfortunately, tainted objects sometimes surface within museums in North America and Europe.

Illicit trade of cultural property has a devastating impact on the source countries, robbing them of their material heritage and cultural identity. It also deprives humanity as a whole of knowledge. Cultural objects without context lose their capacity to help us understand and appreciate our collective past and the diversity of living cultures. The source countries which have been most severely exploited lie within the Mediterranean basin and are rich in archaeological sites. Intact objects pillaged from ancient Roman, Greek, Etruscan and Egyptian burial sites have always been prized items but, due to high market demand, even damaged or heavily restored objects can fetch staggering prices. In recent years, countries which are too war-torn or impoverished to defend their cultural heritage have become easy prey to looting; Afghanistan, Iraq, Mali, Nigeria, Cambodia and Indonesia, as well as several Latin American nations are being systematically stripped. Ironically, market countries that have profited from the illicit trade of cultural property are becoming frequent targets of theft.

Pillaging is commonly carried out by local thieves who sell the pilfered objects to “runners,” who in turn funnel the goods to dealers in centres such as New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Geneva, Toronto and Tokyo. The objects may pass through the hands of several dealers as a means of obscuring the objects’ clandestine origins and establishing a respectable provenance. The dealers then sell the goods to private and public collectors, and in the process earn very healthy commissions.

Despite the existence of protective international agreements (e.g., the Hague, UNESCO and UNIDROIT Conventions), bilateral accords between various nations, legislation within individual countries and professional codes of ethics (e.g., ICOM Professional Code of Ethics, International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property), trafficking in cultural heritage is growing at an alarming rate. It has developed into a major source of criminal revenue, second only to illegal dealings in drugs and weapons. Illicit trade in cultural objects will continue as long as a market exists and profit offsets risk. It can be curtailed, but greater awareness, more effective measures and closer collaboration at the local, national and international levels are urgently needed.
Conservators and conservation scientists, working privately or in public institutions, have a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience, which should be utilised more fully in the fight against trafficking of cultural heritage. The aim of this presentation is to increase awareness of the problem within the CAC membership and to encourage conservation professionals to become more active in safeguarding our material past from the devastation wrought by illicit trade.

Gaming with the Politicians and Bureaucrats: Creating Heritage Laws

Sharon Little
Coordinator, Legal Issues in Conservation (LIC),
ICOM-CC (UNESCO)
Restauratrice
Responsable - Atelier des textiles

Ministère de la Culture et des Communications
Centre de conservation du Québec
1825, rue Semple
Québec (Québec) G1N 4B7

Téléphone: (418) 643-7001 poste 230
Télécopieur: (418) 646-5419
sharon.little@mcc.gouv.qc.ca
http://www.mcc.gouv.qc.ca

Legislated laws in Canadian daily life provide a mechanical reference base for the adequate functioning of the general population. Without such laws there would be general chaos. It therefore would stand to reason that the adequate protection of our cultural heritage, on a daily basis, would also imply the legislation of appropriate laws. Taken one step further, the legislated status of the profession of the conservator would also afford appropriate protection to the general public regarding the conservation/restoration of their cultural heritage.

Due to the fact that, as professional conservator-restorers, we are perhaps the most intimately involved with the micro- and macroscopic day-to-day problems of conserving our cultural heritage, it therefore becomes our professional duty to draw to the attention of the appropriate individuals any legal inadequacies. This way, the broad legal vision may be adapted, on a continuous basis, to reflect more realistically the requirements of the time. From the risk management perspective, this would maximize the effectiveness of our professional interventions and reduce unnecessary costs.

• Legal issues in conservation be included in the curriculum content of all conservation programs.
• The fundamentals of writing briefs and lobbying be included in the curriculum content of all conservation programs.
• CAPC lobby in association with other professional groups, such as the CMA, ICOM-Canada and provincial and territorial associations, for the creation of adequate Canadian cultural heritage laws, which would also include the legalized status of the conservator-restorer.

New laws are very expensive to create and elected Ministers prefer to spend their ministerial budgets on more immediate and glamorous endeavours. It is now time that we collaboratively convince the politicians and bureaucrats that an investment in cultural heritage law will reap many positive results over the long term. Laws are created in the political arena and, like it or not, we must become adept in playing the political game, thus insuring our clean professional conscience.