Sharing the past

It cannot be the preserve of a few great museums. Cambodia's claim on its stolen statues underlines this

It cannot be the preserve of a few great museums. Cambodia8217;s claim on its stolen statues underlines this

This could have been a sequel to Wilkie Collinss novel The Moonstone. Tenth-century Khmer statues were stolen from temple ruins in a Cambodian jungle,when the country was plunged in civil war. Earlier this month,the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York decided to return two of these statues to Cambodia,convinced by evidence that they had been plundered. Now,Cambodian officials have appealed to other American museums and collectors to return artefacts that were stolen after 1970.

The worlds museums are crowded with ill-gotten gains,such as the Elgin Marbles,carted off by the British in the 19th century,Nefertitis bust,discovered by a German archaeologist in 1912,Priams Treasure,looted by the Germans in the 1830s and then looted again by the Russians during World War II and,of course,the Koh-i-Noor,claimed by the British,Indians and even the Taliban. In the last 50 years,the question of repatriation has gained currency,with many former colonies seeking to reclaim their cultural heritage through these artefacts. A UN convention established in 1970 seeks to curb the export of stolen antiquities and allows countries to file restitution claims. But in a majority of cases,the provenance of artefacts cannot be traced. Besides,restitution claims often present fraught questions of historical ownership.

In the Munich declaration of 2002,18 leading museums argued that todays ethical standards could not be imposed on the past,but that they had a duty to display the worlds heritage. This led to more cooperation among museums on curating,lending and joint exhibitions. But the past cannot be the preserve of big museums in metropolitan cities. It must be seen and experienced by all those who would claim it for their own. The worlds great museums must do more to diffuse the knowledge stored in their glass cabinets and make it accessible everywhere.