Collecting Consequences: A Study on Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection Issues

Abstract

<p>The purpose of this Thesis by Publication is to examine the maltreatment of cultural heritage protection policy, legislation and procedures - with a focus on stolen and fraudulent artworks and ineffective management practices. It was precipitated by the 2012 revelation that the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) had acquired allegedly looted Indian antiquities in 2008, including an ancient bronze sculpture of a Hindu deity called the <i>Dancing Shiva</i> (Boland and Maher 2014). </p> <p>Applying a qualitative case study method and analysis of open-source data, a range of case studies are explored in the published papers to provide a holistic view of cultural heritage protection issues. Of particular significance are two Australian case studies: the National Gallery of Australia’s 2008 acquisition of an allegedly looted Indian antiquity, the <i>Dancing Shiva</i>, and Rio Tinto’s disastrous blast of sacred sites in Western Australia’s Juukan Gorge in 2020. This study proposes that both cases can be considered landmark events, redefining ‘best practice’ for cultural heritage protection for collecting institutions and corporations. </p> <p>The study reveals that the key contributing factors to the maltreatment of cultural heritage protection was a lack of transparency and collaboration between source countries and collecting institutions, and between Traditional Owners and corporations. The study also reveals that, paradoxically, the <i>strengthening</i> of transparency and collaboration provided (and continues to provide) a way forward for these entities to exercise best practice in managing cultural heritage.</p>