The new edition of this insightful work begins with a critical reexamination of the rival Greek and British claims to the Elgin Marbles. That case study identifies the questions that continue to dominate the growing international debate about cultural property policy and which are subsequently explored in a newly-expanded array of essays:
- Why are people concerned about cultural property?
- Is cultural nationalism a sound organizing principle for dealing with cultural property questions?
- Or is it a relic of 19th century romanticism, kept alive by the power of Byron's poetry?
- How can one rationalize cultural nationalism with the idea that works of art and antiquities are ‘the cultural heritage of all mankind?’
- What are alternative ways of thinking about cultural property policy and law?
The work goes on to pay particular attention to the law and policy relating to cultural property export controls and the evolution and development of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on the Return of Stolen and Illegally Exported Cultural Property.
The second part of this highly-regarded book addresses a number of contemporary art law issues in essays on counterfeit art, the moral rights of artists, the artist's resale right (droit de suite), the litigation over the Mark Rothko estate, and problems of museum trustee negligence, conflict of interests, and misuse of inside information.
The author, John Henry Merryman, is an Emeritus and Affiliated Professor in the Department of Art at Stanford Law School. He is a widely respected authority in the fields of international cultural property and art law.
