Nigeria featured
prominently in the past week with reported successes in repatriation of Benin
bronzes from museums in the United States and continued dialogues with museums
worldwide for returns. Simultaneously, the Senate Committee on Culture and
Tourism announced the need to attract investment in and maintain existing
museums in Nigeria while pursuing lasting solutions to trafficking in
antiquities. India also reported a range of issues. The deported alleged
smuggler, Subhash Kapoor, reportedly sold objects to prominent museums
worldwide, and now the museums may be compelled to identify complete provenance
for the objects in question. Simultaneously, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed
announced a request for art institutions worldwide to verify the provenance of
Hindu art and return illicitly acquired objects to the temples of origin. Also,
reportedly, fakes of modern India art are apparently not uncommon, if not
rampant, in the market. On the positive side, Kerala Lalithakala Akademi has
created a portal for aspiring artists to show their work on-line. Sadly,
reports of looting in Pakistan are on the rise, Syria continues to suffer
thefts of antiquities from cultural sites and museums, the Muslim Brotherhood
apparently seeks to cover "inappropriate" public statues, and the
Greek art market has reportedly collapsed. To end on a positive note, Chile
announced progress towards signing the 1970 UNESCO Convention.
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