American Council for Cultural Policy
Encyclopedia
American Council for Cultural Policy (ACCP) was formed by a group of politically influential antiquities dealers, collectors and lawyers in the United States
, with its headquarters in New York
and representatives in Washington D.C.
The original goal of this organization was to allow legally excavated archaeological artifacts to be circulated freely and legitimately. ACCP's treasurer William Pearlstein has famously described Middle Eastern cultural heritage laws (especially those of Iraq) as "retentionist" and expressed a desire for the possibility of the free circulation of antiquities .
Some Archaeologists, academics, and cultural heritage lawyers have found such declarations worrisome, since the members of ACCP are politically influential figures. Archaeological Institute of America
's code of ethics maintain that its members "refuse to participate in the trade in undocumented antiquities and refrain from activities that enhance the commercial value of such objects. Undocumented antiquities are those that are not documented as belonging to a public or private collection before December 30, 1970 when the AIA Council endorsed the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Property, or that have not been excavated and exported from the country of origin in accordance with the laws of that country." (Source: AIA official webpage) It is widely believed by many academics that the trade and collectorship of antiquities fuel the looting and destruction of archaeological sites around the world .
. The group had its inaugural meeting with a 45-people Board of Advisers on 9 October 2002. According to an Art Newspaper article (see below), among them were the antiquities collector Shelby White (see Leon Levy
), the former Getty curator Arthur Houghton (a vice-president), the former Kimbell Art Museum
director Edmund Pillsbury, and the legal scholar Prof John Merryman. Several lawyers from major museums were also there. William Pearlstein is the treasurer of the group and has also represented the National Association of Dealers in Ancient, Oriental and Primitive Art.
Ashton Hawkins, former lawyer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
and current president of ACCP is reported in the Art Newspaper article as stating the following: "We believe that legitimate dispersal of cultural material through the market is one of the best ways to protect it. We're interested in the protection of culture as much as the protection of legitimate collecting." .
The ACCP's board of directors included President Ashton Hawkins, Vice President Arthur Houghton, Treasurer William Pearlstein, Educational coordinator Kate Fitz Gibbon and Secretary Arielle Kozloff.
. A 2003 article in Science
discusses Ashton and Pearlstein's advocacy for "liberalization" in the issuance of foreign-dig permits in Iraq and reconsideration of Iraqi cultural heritage laws to allow “some objects [to be] certified for export." On ACCP's activities concerning Iraqi cultural heritage
, Zainab Bahrani’s article "Looting and Conquest" takes a critical counter-position. Bahrani wrote that “William Pearlstein, of the American Council for Cultural Policy (ACCP), an organization that met with the White House
and the Pentagon
right before the [Iraq] war and right after the looting [of the National Museum of Iraq
], is appealing for the cultural theft to continue by other means, calling Iraq's antiquities-preservation laws "retentionist," and saying he "hoped that Iraq would grant more excavation permits and consider export permits for redundant objects." She adds that such “opportunism opens the door to more cultural and historical plunder, a base scramble much like the parceling off of sites and antiquities that occurred in the nineteenth century.”
Cultural property is internationally protected by the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict
and the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with its headquarters in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and representatives in Washington D.C.
The original goal of this organization was to allow legally excavated archaeological artifacts to be circulated freely and legitimately. ACCP's treasurer William Pearlstein has famously described Middle Eastern cultural heritage laws (especially those of Iraq) as "retentionist" and expressed a desire for the possibility of the free circulation of antiquities .
Some Archaeologists, academics, and cultural heritage lawyers have found such declarations worrisome, since the members of ACCP are politically influential figures. Archaeological Institute of America
Archaeological Institute of America
The Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It has offices on the campus of Boston University and in New York City.The institute was founded in 1879,...
's code of ethics maintain that its members "refuse to participate in the trade in undocumented antiquities and refrain from activities that enhance the commercial value of such objects. Undocumented antiquities are those that are not documented as belonging to a public or private collection before December 30, 1970 when the AIA Council endorsed the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Property, or that have not been excavated and exported from the country of origin in accordance with the laws of that country." (Source: AIA official webpage) It is widely believed by many academics that the trade and collectorship of antiquities fuel the looting and destruction of archaeological sites around the world .
History and the structure of the group
According to published news reports and its own website, the ACCP is directed by Ashton Hawkins, former executive vice-president and Counsel to the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
. The group had its inaugural meeting with a 45-people Board of Advisers on 9 October 2002. According to an Art Newspaper article (see below), among them were the antiquities collector Shelby White (see Leon Levy
Leon Levy
Leon Levy was, according to Forbes magazine, a "Wall Street investment genius and prolific philanthropist," who helped create both mutual funds and hedge funds. He co-founded the mutual fund manager Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. in 1959. There he started dozens of mutual funds that, at his death, had...
), the former Getty curator Arthur Houghton (a vice-president), the former Kimbell Art Museum
Kimbell Art Museum
The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts a small but excellent art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, who also provided funds for a new...
director Edmund Pillsbury, and the legal scholar Prof John Merryman. Several lawyers from major museums were also there. William Pearlstein is the treasurer of the group and has also represented the National Association of Dealers in Ancient, Oriental and Primitive Art.
Ashton Hawkins, former lawyer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
and current president of ACCP is reported in the Art Newspaper article as stating the following: "We believe that legitimate dispersal of cultural material through the market is one of the best ways to protect it. We're interested in the protection of culture as much as the protection of legitimate collecting." .
The ACCP's board of directors included President Ashton Hawkins, Vice President Arthur Houghton, Treasurer William Pearlstein, Educational coordinator Kate Fitz Gibbon and Secretary Arielle Kozloff.
American invasion of Iraq and activities of ACCP
The council appeared in the forefront of cultural heritage protection debates during the American 2003 invasion of Iraq2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. A 2003 article in Science
Science (journal)
Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
discusses Ashton and Pearlstein's advocacy for "liberalization" in the issuance of foreign-dig permits in Iraq and reconsideration of Iraqi cultural heritage laws to allow “some objects [to be] certified for export." On ACCP's activities concerning Iraqi cultural heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
, Zainab Bahrani’s article "Looting and Conquest" takes a critical counter-position. Bahrani wrote that “William Pearlstein, of the American Council for Cultural Policy (ACCP), an organization that met with the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
right before the [Iraq] war and right after the looting [of the National Museum of Iraq
National Museum of Iraq
The National Museum of Iraq is a museum located in Baghdad, Iraq. It contains precious relics from Mesopotamian civilization.-Foundation:...
], is appealing for the cultural theft to continue by other means, calling Iraq's antiquities-preservation laws "retentionist," and saying he "hoped that Iraq would grant more excavation permits and consider export permits for redundant objects." She adds that such “opportunism opens the door to more cultural and historical plunder, a base scramble much like the parceling off of sites and antiquities that occurred in the nineteenth century.”
Publications
ACCP Advisory Board member Kate Fitz Gibbon, who served on the Cultural Property Advisory Committee to the US President from 2000—2003, has recently edited a book entitled Who owns the past: Cultural Policy, Cultural Property, and the Law (Rutgers University Press 2005), which mostly features contributors affiliated with ACCP (e.g. William Pearlstein, Shelby White, Kate Fitz Gibbon etc), and intends to propagate the legitimacy of "the ability of museums and private collectors [in the US] to own art from other countries" in the public opinion. Jean M. Borgatti (Clark University) published a favorable account of this book on H-Net reviews. According to Borgatti, the book in the overall sense critiques what they call "retentive cultural nationalisms" of "source-nations" who insist that archaeological artifacts should remain in the country of origin. The authors of the book present themselves as "cultural internationalists" who consider ancient artifacts as works of art that need to be circulated (in the antiquities market, Western museums, among Western collectors) to promote a "cultural understanding".Cultural property is internationally protected by the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict
Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict
The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict is an international treaty that requires its signatories to protect cultural property in war. It was signed at The Hague, Netherlands, on May 14, 1954, and entered into force August 7, 1956...
and the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
External links
- Andrew Lawler, "Impending War Stokes Battle Over Fate of Iraqi Antiquities" (Science 31 January 2003: Vol. 299. no. 5607, p. 643).
- David D'Arcy, "Legal group to fight "retentionist" policies.". Art Newspaper October 24, 2002.
- Zainab Bahrani, "Looting and Conquest" (The Nation, May 26, 2003)
- UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property
- Archaeological Institute of America's Code of Ethics
- ACCP website