Subjects:

Art Law

Contents:

List of illustrations

Preface

Introduction by Magnus Magnusson

1. The Icelandic manuscripts

2. The Elgin Marbles debate

3. British and other European approaches

4. Some British cases

5. American and Canadian approaches

6. International and regional regulation

7. Art theft and the art market

8. Russia and the former Soviet Union

9. The Hebrew manuscripts

10. The return of cultural treasures: some conclusions

Acknowledgments

List of abbreviations

Notes

Select bibliography

List of appendices in microfiche in the first edition

Index.

The return of cultural treasures to their homelands has become the subject of heated public debate in recent years, highlighted by the controversial case of the so-called Elgin Marbles. In this important and pioneering work, Jeanette Greenfield analyses and discusses the historical, legal and political issues surrounding a wide cross-section of similar cases.

This concise, revised edition brings the story up to date, with new material on art treasures and museums in Russia after the break-up of the Soviet Union, the claims to the Vatican of the Hebrew Manuscripts, and the saga of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is an extremely readable account with more than one hundred striking illustrations. The interdisciplinary approach makes it accessible to a wide range of readers interested in cultural heritage, archaeology and anthropology, museums, art history and international law.