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By Any Other Name
North Miami Beach, Florida 3-30-2000 Aaron H. Schectman
THINKING ALLOWED
Essays on issues, ideas and reflections on the times. Published now and
then. Opinions pro or con are welcome.
BY ANY OTHER NAME
By any other name opening a grave and removing its contents is robbing that
grave. This essay is prompted by the article in the papers today about the
Chinese 'objet d'art' that most probably will be returned to China instead
of being sold by Sotheby's in New York.
Since I am writing a story about the search for 'Nebuchadnezzar's Pillar'
which includes descriptions and commentaries on the trade in "antiquities",
I must be an expert on the subject and have expert opinions on such trade.
To simplify the entire process and come to a fast and "clean" ending I have
only to repeat the title of this piece: By any other name opening a grave
and removing its contents is robbing that grave.
Some history is necessary here. Since ancient days when the practice of
dressing a corpse in fine garments and jewelry and accompanying it with
artifacts it enjoyed during life, graves have been quickly opened and the
wealth buried in them removed. Grave robbing has been a 'family' occupation
in areas where vast necropolises exist. It is known that many present day
occupied areas are built over the graveyards of earlier civilizations. One
of the chief occupations of children and active researchers into the past is
to look for surface debris of earlier times. This includes yours truly who
has looked for arrowheads and other stone implements used by the Native
Americans who lived in our environs before 'Europeans come lately' arrived.
For westerners, ancient Egypt has had the most attraction. Since the
'pillars' or obelisks of the Egyptian Pharaohs have been brought to Italian
cities, London and the New World because of 'grave robbers' it has become
fashionable to own an ancient artifact. Ceramic bowls and figurines have
the greatest attraction because they act as centerpieces and conversation
starters on mantles and end tables in the homes of the cognoscenti.
My main point, despite the person opening a grave being either a 'dealer in
antiquities' or a professor looking to expand our knowledge about an earlier
time, is that both are robbing a grave. The professor requires provenance
that the dealer usually ignores. The buyer must beware because assurances
that the piece genuinely comes from an ancient grave cannot be believed
unless expert judgement tells us where and when. Usually, after the
Professor's judgement as to when and where the piece comes from, it is
relegated to a shelf in some museum's storeroom. Some object to this because
such ancient objects should be shared by all. There is some objection to
private ownership because, like the museum storeroom, the piece is shut away
from the public.
No attention has ever been paid to the warnings sometimes written clearly
above the entrance to a tomb that despoilers must beware an automatic curse.
Few have ever cared about the dignity of the deceased or the love and
respect that are interred along with his body.
Carol's Evaluation: 8.5 out of 10.
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