Nearly every Asian State has had an experience with the looting of cultural artifacts. In 2024, two landmark events in the repatriation of cultural heritage occurred in Asia. On 20 June 2024, China hosted the International Conference on the Protection and Return of Cultural Objects, resulting in the Qingdao Recommendations for the Protection and Return of Cultural Objects Removed from Colonial Contexts or Acquired by Other Unjustifiable or Unethical Means ("Qingdao Recommendations") with the signature of 19 states. Meanwhile, Cambodia welcomed the return of 14 Khmer antiquities from the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 3 July 2024, including a 10th-century female goddess sculpture which had been taken from the ancient royal capital of Koh Ker. The Qingdao Recommendations (Chinese and English) shed light on new efforts to repatriate looted Asian cultural property, while Cambodia's restitution victories revealed the struggles in achieving restitution from overseas private collections. This webinar will explore the current status of cultural heritage repatriation in Asia with a focus on the potential impact of the Qingdao Resolution as a new approach for the repatriation of cultural heritage in Asia.
Panelists:
- Zhu Ye, Deputy Director, National Cultural Heritage Administration of China, Exchange and Cooperation Department
- Melina Antoniadis, Founder, NOSTOS Strategies
- Patty Gerstenblith, Distinguished Research Professor of Law; Faculty Director, Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law, DePaul University
- Gyooho Lee, School of Law, Chung-Ang University, Seoul
Moderators:
- David J. Devlaeminck, Co-Chair, Asia-Pacific Interest Group
- Shea Esterling, Chair, Cultural Heritage and the Arts Interest Group