Art And Cultural Heritage: Law, Policy And Practice
Back Cover Quotes From The Book
Edited by Barbara T. Hoffman
“The International Council of Museums was created in 1946, almost sixty years ago, and over this period some remarkable improvements have taken place in the field of cultural heritage protection. Nevertheless, the battle is far from won. Art and Cultural Heritage: Law, Policy and Practice provides valuable insight into current practices and policies. This book will give the reader a comprehensive view of the present international legislative environment, which will, to a considerable extent, determine the future priorities and role of our organization.”
– Alissandra Cummins, President, International Council of Museums and Director, Barbados Museum and Historical Society
– John Zvereff, Secretary General, International Council of Museums
“Certain chapters may represent personal opinions, perhaps even controversial ones, but we believe that the expression of conflicting opinions is a positive contribution to the global debate.”
– James Reap, President of ICLAFI and Michael Petzet, President of ICOMOS
“Barbara Hoffman’s excellent new book on legal and policy aspects of cultural heritage issues will be directly relevant to a broad range of companies that have an international presence and to governments and international organizations which are trying to think through their national policies on those issues. “Art and Cultural Heritage” is a very thoughtful examination of these complex and critically important topics.”
– James Silkenat, Past Chair American Bar Association section on International Law; Chair, New York City Bar, Council on International Affairs
“My tenure as President of the Italian Interministerial Commission for the Recovery of Works of Art started in 1995 attending the UNIDROIT Conference in Rome and ended in 2003 at the time of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
In those crucial years, I could witness the development, in both legal and cultural terms, of a better awareness, both by Governments and the general public, of the importance of the whole of mankind of each work of art as part of our common cultural heritage.
The progress made and the state of the art of the connected complicated problems are brilliantly put into focus in the remarkable collection of essays assembled by Barbara Hoffman in Art and Cultural Heritage – Law, Policy and Practice, I feel encouraged reading the texts. A deep conviction of mine is gaining momentum: each work of art, minor as it could be, has a ‘personality’ of its own and must always be treated with respect on its own merit.
Respect for a work of art means respect for its context, its history, its author. Its ‘personality’ is more important than the rights of its owner.
Each human being, whenever located, is improved culturally, ethically and politically whenever he acquires a better understanding of the significance of an object passed over to us by previous generations.
It is our duty to increase such an understanding and pass it over to the next generations: We have art on loan, not as property.”
-Mario Bondioli Osio, Ambasciatore Italia a r.
