Guest Speech｜Deborah Lehr, Chairman and Founder, Antiquities Coalition
Date：2022-05-25
Speech by Deborah Lehr, Chairman and Founder, Antiquities Coalition
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It is a pleasure to join this important dialogue on the Protection of Our Cultural Heritage—and an honor to stand alongside such globally recognized leaders in business, culture, and government.
My name is Deborah Lehr. I am Chairman and Founder of the Antiquities Coalition.
As an organization dedicated to fighting the illicit trade in ancient art and artifacts, while promoting cultural exchange, we commend the China-Europe-America Museums Cooperation Initiative for making this issue part of its important agenda.
We come together for this conference to honor the past by saving it for the future.
It is a time of great uncertainty in the world. Geopolitical alliances are shifting, inflation is complicating growth in the post-Covid world, and Covid still remains a threat in many parts of the world.
There is change everywhere.
But one of the consistencies that we face in this changing world are the symbols of our past that serve as a reminder of hope for the future.
The great efforts of our ancestors – from the builders of the Pyramids and the Chinese Great Wall to the creation of Manchu Pichu, Palmyra and Ankor Wat. They have survived world wars, great depressions, colonialism, and so much more.
Our predecessors protected them to remind us of our history – and to learn from it.
In these modern times, however, with the constant search for headlines, with the creation of the Internet, express mail, WhatsApp, Facebook, social media, our increasingly integrated world has also spotlighted the value – and the symbolism – of heritage on a whole new scale.
ISIS was on the front page of global newspapers when it dynamited Palmyria and looted the Mosul Museum.
Looters use WhatsApp and Facebook as their global showrooms for purveying antiquities.
And express mail can guarantee shipments in record times.
The world has shrunk for those engaged in illicit trades.
While looting is a problem as old as the Pyramids and the Great Wall, the pandemic has exacerbated it.
Looters have targeted closed museums, unprotected sites, and launched illegal new digs during these times of global lockdowns.
And, while lockdowns shuttered above board dealers, galleries, and auction houses, the international black market has stayed wide open for business, with archaeological watchdogs warning that online illicit sales are skyrocketing.
There is a real possibility that the pandemic will lead to a boom in both the supply and the demand of illicit antiquities and artifacts.
Whether or not this becomes a reality will hinge on how governments, law enforcement, and—perhaps most of all— the responsible players in the art market and museum community rise to meet these new challenges.
In the days, months, and even years ahead, it will be critical that all these parties cooperate. It is in our joint interest to protect our shared world heritage and the legitimate art institutions from criminals who seek to capitalize on this global crisis.
Today, we mark International Museum Day.
And it’s fitting that leading experts from around the globe will address how to combat cultural racketeering, how to collect antiquites responsibly, how to increase cultural exchanges to build awareness, and to discuss the role that the private sector can play in preventing the illicit trade.
The China-Europe-American Global Initiative is in an unparalleled position to further this dialogue.
Taken together, these three regions represent almost 80% of the global art market, as well as the overwhelming majority of the world’s museums. Joint action from this group will send a strong message against the illicit trade.
The Antiquities Coalition is a think tank but also a do tank. We like action.
Therefore, before I conclude my remarks, I would like to share five recommendations about how action by this group would make a difference in stopping the illicit trade.
First, we need a far better understanding of the problem.
We need additional research on the size and patterns of the illicit trade, as well as how to cooperate with the art market and museum community to support their own commitment to documentation, digitization, and information sharing.
Knowing the size of the problem and the roots of the problem will help us to better diagnose an effective solution.
Second, raising awareness about the problem is essential. This initiative, and the institutions that have been part of it, have an unmatched platform to help policymakers, the private sector, and the general public better understand the threats from cultural racketeering, the importance of responsible collecting, and how we can work together to stop the illicit trade.
Third, strengthening best practices. No reputable individuals or institutions want to support the illicit trade in cultural property. And that’s the overwhelming majority of them.
The 1970 UNESCO Convention provides an important baseline for a legitimate market, but it did not envision today’s modern world of express mail, online auction houses, or instantaneous money transfers to help high-tech criminals, non-state actors, and opportunists move cultural property around the world and to pay for it.
It is time to upgrade our strategies, just as the criminals have updated their own, to protect our cultural heritage and the legitimate art market.
Fourth, we need capacity building. For museums, training in provenance research and authentication, as well as having dedicated museum staff to research acquisitions and object history, can make a significant difference.
Just look at what the Museum of Fine Arts and Smithsonian have accomplished, who both stand out as the gold standard, and we are fortunate to have them joining us in this conference today.
And of course, helping archaeologists, global antiquities dealers, and the purchasing public, build capacity in understanding the “watch outs” of the illicit trade can make a difference.
Fifth, commit to continuing action. Today’s gathering sends a strong signal that the international community is developing the political will necessary to safeguard our shared heritage from criminals.
With the support of many you, major global organizations like the G20 have taken up the issue of combating cultural racketeering. We need all the help we can get.
We should build on today’s discussion to create a global network of multiple parties to fight cultural racketeering and stop the destruction of our shared heritage.
We can’t let criminals and extremists redefine our past through destroying it.
Today’s participations are a global “Monument’s Army”, to paraphrase the movie about US soldiers during WWII to recovered and protected Nazi looted art.
What they have shown is that together, we can do amazing things.
The Antiquities Coalition—and the diverse group of experts that it brings together—are at your service as you continue this important work. Thank you for your leadership, and we are honored to be participating here today.
