The November 2011 Issue of Smithsonian Magazine's feature article is Journey of a Goddess, A Case Study. This article discusses the decade long attempt by the Italians to get back "one of the world’s most contested pieces of ancient art: a 2,400-year-old statue of a woman believed to be Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love". The sculpture details the legal and archaeological process that was required to bring the sculpture back to Italy.
The article goes beyond this artwork and discusses illegal acquisitions by museums and individual collectors in the USA and around the world. When one thinks of art theft, their first thought probably goes to taking a painting off a wall or a sculpture out of a room. This article changes the readers' perspective. For years art theft has included people being archaeologists and digging up ruins without permits. The found objects are restored by the rogue archaeologists and sold. The objects join private collections or collections in museums around the world.
We do not want to see our museum walls bare like the picture here. We wish to be able to share in cultural heritage of all people through legal means.
Those that study Art History can take a career path in Museum Work, Teaching/Scholarship, Investigating Art Crimes, Restoration and more. Whatever you chose to do, make sure you maintain a high ethical standard!
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