Ownership of Ancient Egyptian Artifacts

I was working on my reading response and I thought that the first article I chose from section A's reading response this week. It was a very fascinating because after reading it I was torn between both sides. I think that the theme of this weeks reading response was contestation. Both of the articles I chose had mini battles or disagreements within each reading which made me realize that most archaeologists must have a lot of differing opinions when dealing with artifacts and remains that cannot speak for themselves. 

Some information I found out in “Ancient Egyptian Artifacts: Preservation and Ownership” by Anon was that this article discussed the controversy that surrounds the ownership of Ancient Egyptian artifacts. This paper looks at who has the best protective measures to keep this artifacts safe. Egypt had lost most of its ancient artifacts due to European imperialism and appeasement measures but is now asking for the return of these items. Some people believe that the Egypt should not get them back because the museums create a safe protective environment where their is a culture created on ancient civilizations. Egypt has claimed to start modernizing their conservation methods and create museums that can present and share the artifacts with the public, just like other museums do. However, their museums still do not compare and to ones abroad in Europe like the Louvre. By letting Egypt reclaim the artifacts they will lose the profit of having them and they will most likely not be taken care of properly and lose value and worth. In order to make sure that these artifacts are protected, the author states that they should stay in foreign museums until Egypt has the right tools to properly take care. 

Brooklyn Museum Ancient Egyptian Art 

(millefiorifavoriti.blogspot.ca)

A part of me thinks that the artifacts should remain in museums abroad due to the care and safety of them there. Most of these museums have immense security measures and copious amounts of care that go into preserving and respecting the artifacts. I also think that it is really interesting that tourists and locals can come into these museums and see artifacts from Egypt without having to travel across the globe. It seems quite reasonable to be able to pay and have the public see these magnificent artifacts displayed. However, I think that Egypt should also be allowed to have their artifacts returned back because they were taken from Egypt in the first place. Colonization is a cover story for foreign countries to use in order to believe that these artifacts "actually" belong to them. Since they stole the artifacts from Egypt then Egypt should have the right to take them back without questions. However, I think that if they are going to have them back they should attempt to preserve them in the best way possible even if that means creating museums and other expensive architecture to ensure that these pieces can be enjoyed and studied in the future. 

This can relate to today's class of Western looters in Egyptian tombs because people have been going into tombs and burial sites of Egyptian graves for thousands of years. They have taken valuables, large artifacts, and vandalized mummies. Several people broke into King Tut's Tomb and stole various amounts of grave goods and artifacts which is wrong on various different levels. 

In conclusion, even though it is not ok for Western people to come into Egypt and take the grave goods and artifacts to put them on display, we can not deny the preservation and enjoyment of seeing them in a museam. I think that these artifacts should be returned to Egypt now because they deserve to be there.

References 

 Anon. (n.d.) Ancient Egyptian Artifacts: Preservation and Ownership. 

http://millefiorifavoriti.blogspot.ca/2011/04/ancient-egyptian-art-at-brooklyn-museum.html