The guidelines have been designed to help museums avoid the acquisition of illicitly traded material, and stress the need for acceptable documentary evidence to back up acquisitions. For overseas acquisitions, an export licence or 'publication in a reputable source prior to 1970' is recommended.
The museum sector has largely welcomed the guidelines, but dealers have been more cautious. Anthony Browne, the chairman of the British Art Market Federation, pointed out that export licences were generally handed in at the port, and so would not accompany material unless a copy happened to have been made before export.
'Documentation is not the infallible guide its supporters claim it to be,' he said. 'It is easier to fake a document than an object.'
James Ede, the director of London dealership Charles Ede Antiquities, said the guidelines were the culmination of a sea-change in the way acquisitions have been made over the years. 'We have always been careful. But 15 years ago, if you saw something beautiful you simply bought it, now you ask the questions.'
The central message of the guidelines is that museums should exercise caution, and 'if there is any suspicion whatsoever about the item, then you should not proceed with the acquisition'.
The guidelines acknowledge that smaller museums may not have the resources to check the provenance of some objects, and several larger institutions are listed - including the British Museum, National Museums Wales and the National Museums of Scotland - which can provide expert advice.
Paul Roberts, a curator at the British Museum, said: 'We are not saying that we have got all the answers, but we have a large group of specialists here, so there is a good chance that we will have someone who can help.'
Malcolm Chapman, the Manchester Museum's head of collections management and part of the working group that produced the guidelines, said he had been integrating the museum's policy with the development of the guidelines over the past two years.
Chapman is particularly cautious because in 2000 the museum bought some specimen dinosaur eggs at a US trade fair that were later discovered to have been illegally exported from Argentina. 'We returned them, but if we had had the guidelines, then we would not have acquired them in the first place,' he said.
In addition to the guidelines, the DCMS and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council are funding a website designed to address cultural property issues including illicit trade.
The site, which should be live by next summer, will be a central resource pooling information published by the DCMS and overseas organisations; overseas cultural legislation will be included on the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation website.
For details, visit: www.museumsassociation.org/illicit
Patrick Steel
The museum sector has largely welcomed the guidelines, but dealers have been more cautious. Anthony Browne, the chairman of the British Art Market Federation, pointed out that export licences were generally handed in at the port, and so would not accompany material unless a copy happened to have been made before export.
'Documentation is not the infallible guide its supporters claim it to be,' he said. 'It is easier to fake a document than an object.'
James Ede, the director of London dealership Charles Ede Antiquities, said the guidelines were the culmination of a sea-change in the way acquisitions have been made over the years. 'We have always been careful. But 15 years ago, if you saw something beautiful you simply bought it, now you ask the questions.'
The central message of the guidelines is that museums should exercise caution, and 'if there is any suspicion whatsoever about the item, then you should not proceed with the acquisition'.
The guidelines acknowledge that smaller museums may not have the resources to check the provenance of some objects, and several larger institutions are listed - including the British Museum, National Museums Wales and the National Museums of Scotland - which can provide expert advice.
Paul Roberts, a curator at the British Museum, said: 'We are not saying that we have got all the answers, but we have a large group of specialists here, so there is a good chance that we will have someone who can help.'
Malcolm Chapman, the Manchester Museum's head of collections management and part of the working group that produced the guidelines, said he had been integrating the museum's policy with the development of the guidelines over the past two years.
Chapman is particularly cautious because in 2000 the museum bought some specimen dinosaur eggs at a US trade fair that were later discovered to have been illegally exported from Argentina. 'We returned them, but if we had had the guidelines, then we would not have acquired them in the first place,' he said.
In addition to the guidelines, the DCMS and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council are funding a website designed to address cultural property issues including illicit trade.
The site, which should be live by next summer, will be a central resource pooling information published by the DCMS and overseas organisations; overseas cultural legislation will be included on the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation website.
For details, visit: www.museumsassociation.org/illicit
Patrick Steel
