Ethics

Hundreds of national museum workers on zero-hours contracts

Questions raised about the ethics of employment terms usually associated with discount stores and fast-food chains

Lawsuitsarchive

Collector Steven Brooks says Sotheby’s sold him Nazi art

Uncertainty over whether the work—once owned by Goering—was looted has apparently left it unsaleable

Benin mask withdrawn from Sotheby's auction

Cancellation follows accusations that the object was looted, although no formal claim has been made

Directors say OK to collectors’ shows

In response to The New Museum's current exhibition

Museums lending to commercial galleries: The debate

Director of the Rose Art Museum examines both sides of the argument

British Museum, V&A, British Library and more face restitution claims as Ethiopia moves for Maqdala treasures

Treasures lost in the punitive sacking of Maqdala are subject to restitution claims

Denver Art Museum art-share deal under investigation for breaching deaccessioning guidelines

Billionaire collector was given a half share in a Charles Deas painting in exchange for funding a Thomas Eakins acquisition

A look at the ethical and economic problems underlying museum acquisitions

Museums should beware of being used as marketing tools by collectors

UCL damned over handling of looted Aramaic antiquities

A report which concluded that ancient bowls on loan from a Norwegian collector “must have been illegally excavated in Iraq” has not been made public

Eclectic collector’s show raises questions at Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Visitors are confused and staff suggest that museum is neglecting its artistic mission

June 2005archive

'The art trade is the last major unregulated market'

Is it time for reform? Murky dealings came to light in 2005 as more collectors began to enter the scene—and brought their cases to court

Studying unprovenanced antiquities: The question of Schøyen's incantation bowls

University College London has set up an inquiry to examine the origin of “looted” bowls on loan from a Norwegian collector

Recent developments in restitution claims in Russia prove that some art theft is 'legitimate'; when it is committed by a government that is recognised by nations around the world

Unlike the heirs of Nazi victims, the descendants of collectors whose art was appropriated by the Bolsheviks are unlikely to have it returned

Ethicsarchive

Oslo: Buddhism’s “Dead Sea Scrolls” for sale to Norway

Saved from Afghanistan by top collector, the manuscripts pose an ethical problem

How The Met and the Louvre are complicit in the illegal art and antiques trade: Interview with Manus Brinkman

Museums must set the standard for collectors and dealers, says Manus Brinkman Secretary General of the International Council of Museums

Don’t just berate the thieves: look at the museums and excavators too

In the last of our series which publishes talks given in London this summer, Professor Sir John Boardman, Lincoln Professor Emeritus of classical archaeology and art at Oxford, singles out three areas for concern.

Forgeriesarchive

French association of Bronze-founders establish code of ethics

An attempt to combat the damage being caused by forgeries and unauthorised castings

Ethicsarchive

The place of scholars in the commercial art market: how to avoid shameful infections and a diminution of the truth?

It is pointless to pretend that the commercial art world and the worlds of research do not interpenetrate each other. Here we look at the relationship, present and past, and ask ourselves, in what respect is the art historian any different from the lawyer who sells his opinion?