As readers will know, last week in Washington, there was a public session of the CPAC on a bilateral agreement between Greece and the US over the movement of illegally exported cultural cultural property. The lawyer who represented the dealers' organizations there (the International Association of Professional Numismatists and the Professional Numismatists Guild) has just posed what he sees as the "ultimate question". Given the country's current economic and political differences:
should the US help prop up the status quo in Greece?or should the collectors and dealers Tompa represents import antiquities from that country without attention to whether they are licit or not? The aim would be to further destabilise "the status quo"
and force changes upon the foreign government. That's "Internationalist" revolutionary talk there. In effect, Tompa's suggestion is for dealers and collectors to carry on stealing from the Greeks while they are still less able to respond. There is clearly an opportunity here for the collector, which they are being urged to make use owhile they can - like Lord Elgin. After all, as Tompa says (following Roger Bland's pal, Rick Witschonke), its all in support of the legal rights of the Greeks themselves. After all there is nothing in the IAPN and PNG codes of ethics about not attempting regime change in source countries.So the lawyer retained by both the IAPN and PNG is suggesting stealing from the Greeks to give the Greeks a taste of good old western values; it's called "kicking a man when he is down" Mr Tompa.
Vignette: Cultural property banditry in action: the cowboy dealer's code, kicking a man when he's down (from the magazine "Life")
In his text Tompa expresses feigned outrage that at the hearing Greece was represented (he says) by 11 officials some of which he assumes had flown from Athens to be there, while at the italian one a while back there were "only three".
ReplyDeleteWell, firstly how many officials and from what branches of the government have come to support Greece's request actually is none of the IAPN's and PNG's lawyer's business.
Secondly since (as Tompa jubilantly points out) 70% of Americans had expressed OPPOSITION to this diplomatic accord, then I'm not surprised the Greeks wanted to see first hand what sort of people they were dealing with.
Thirdly Tompa cannot be unaware that the Italian MOU is an extension of an existing - ongoing - agreement, the Greek request is a new one, which would rather affect who takes part in what kind of discussions.
To be noted is the undercurrent of the American lobbyists imagine that it is the place of their (US) government to interfere with the internal affairs of a sovereign European country. In addition, that they urge their government to do nothing to help curb illegal exports of cultural property from Greece UNTIL their demands are met.