A Fan of 'Loot,' with thanks

My very sincere thanks to the author, columnist and resident British wit Christopher Hitchens for offering an endorsement of my upcoming book. Here's what he has to say:

"Sharon Waxman's Loot is the most instructive as well as the most intelligent (and the most entertaining) guide through the labyrinth of antiquity and the ways in which the claims of the departed intersect with the rights of the living."

-- Christopher Hitchens, author of "God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," and "The Elgin Marbles: Should They Be Returned to Greece?"

Reality Bites: Hypocrisy in Greece

The debate over restitution of treasures from antiquity is only rarely troubled by facts, but recently some have emerged to embarrass the Greek government, and spark a response. Tourists and travel companies have been complaining that too many ancient sites, including Delphi, where the famed oracle sat upon Mount Parnassus, or Delos, the island where Apollo had his mythical home (pictured), are poorly maintained or too often closed to the public. Until complaints changed the policy this month, Delphi was only open until 1 pm; the museum of Delos was closed until last week for lack of staff, according to this account in the Guardian newspaper. "The situation at museums and sites around the country is bad," the culture minister, Michalis Liapis, conceded in parliament last week. "It has to be corrected." The government has quickly voted funds for extra staff for museums and sites that have been otherwise closed. But this is an ongoing problem in all the countries that have been clamoring for the return of their treasures from Western museums like the Metropolitan, the Getty, the Louvre, the British Museum. The problem is one of hypocrisy. Countries like Greece cannot justifiably demand the return of objects taken in recent decades by looters, or a century ago by imperial-minded "collectors," if they cannot adequately care for the objects and sites they already have. But reality is a harsh taskmaster. Caring for antiquities costs money. The answer lies not in pointing fingers, as is suggested by the article in the Guardian. The answer - the only possible answer - lies in recognition that the responsibility for preservation lies with us all. That concern, the concern over preservation, must take precedence over the issue of possession.

New Policies on Antiquities

The Association of Art Museum Directors, the group that represents most major museums in the United States, is finally coming around to adopt the accepted international guidelines for acquiring antiquities. As my former colleague Randy Kennedy reports in today's Times, the group will announce today its new policy recommending that museums not acquire objects that have no known provenance after 1970, or without proof that the object was outside its country of origin before that date. (And yes, it is often difficult to pinpoint a country of origin.) That year, 1970, is the date of a UNESCO convention governing acquisitions, its attempt -- now dating back some 40 years -- to stem the tide of illegal antiquities smuggling. In the absence of clear international laws on the issue, the UNESCO convention has served as the benchmark for institutions and collectors internationally. But many American museums have been slow to sign on. The Getty recently adopted this policy, but other major museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of New York, still have not. The fact that the old school AAMD has come around to this is a sign of the times, and an indication of the reigning fear among museum directors that they will continue to be targetted by foreign lawsuits and pressure campaigns.