Books: Antiquities: What Everyone Needs to Know

“Our contemporary surroundings often reveal little or nothing about the past beneath our feet. But that largely invisible past defines us – it shapes the way in which we live, work, and play, the values we hold, and the ways our civilisation in time will be judged,” says Maxwell Anderson in Antiquities: What Everyone Needs to Know.

It is an accessible book on the practical and legal challenges of dealing with antiquities and the moral questions that archaeologists, curators, academics, dealers and conservators may face. Anderson offers this book as a toolkit to equip professionals “who devote their lives to the protection and enjoyment of our common past”.

Indeed, the final section of the book is of particular relevance to archaeologists as it outlines a number of approaches on caring for archaeological heritage.

The book is divided into three sections. It begins by defining what we mean by antiquities, cultural ownership and the arguments in relation to issues of context, the potential purchase of antiquities and their provenance.

Anderson, an art historian, analyses questions such as “How are replicas defined?” and “Are there degrees of authenticity?” in relation to antiquities labelled as authentic. This section frames today’s debate around the importance of context with regard to understanding antiquities and what should become of unprovenanced antiquities.

The second section deals with the challenges of legality and morality, including questions of national identity, ownership laws and the primary channels through which antiquities can be sold.

Anderson offers solutions to some potential scenarios in the final few chapters of the book, considering the realities of storage, disposal and display. Attention is given to the importance of object documentation, something that is a significant part of the work of museum professionals.

Anderson addresses the ethical elements of caring for and working with antiquities throughout. Chapter 14 is one of the key sections, as it attempts to define retention, restitution and repatriation in the context of claims made by nations for antiquities held in foreign and overseas collections.

Restitution “implies the return of an antiquity to its probable nation of modern discovery”, but repatriation is “like retention, a politically charged term with respect to antiquities, used to mean returning an object of cultural heritage to its patria, or native country”.

In his attempt to illustrate these definitions with one of the most analysed antiquities, the Parthenon marbles from Athens, Anderson struggles to determine which of these terms most appropriately applies to the sculptures. This is evidence that the moral and ethical debate concerning repatriation and restitution rages on for many antiquities across the globe.  

Anderson, a former curator in the department of Greek and Roman art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, effectively communicates the multiple contexts in which people interact with antiquities, and the associated challenges and controversies. He encourages further reading on this subject through the large bibliography.

I was drawn to this text through my interest in and experience of working with and studying antiquities during my degree in classical civilisation. In particular, this book has enabled me to consider the legal and ethical questions around antiquities in further depth and the potential challenges I may encounter  in a professional context.

It is essential reading for anyone working with or “considering antiquities in any setting – in the modern nation where they were discovered, in the international galleries and auction houses … and in the private residences and public museums where they often end up”. The book has a clear structure and accessible language that makes for a practical and supportive companion for all.