UNIVERSAL MUSEUMS: THEIR HISTORY, CHALLENGES AND NEED FOR A RENEWED ―UNIVERSAL‖ PERSPECTIVE By DUSHANTHI INOKA JAYAWARDENA A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2010 1 © 2010 Dushanthi Inoka Jayawardena 2 To my parents 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank my thesis chair, Dr. Glenn Willumson, for his guidance, invaluable advice, and patience throughout the development of my thesis research. His mentorship and knowledge of the study of museums have helped me far beyond the scope of this thesis. I would also like to thank my other thesis committee members, Dean Kathleen Price and Dr. Steven Brandt, for their generosity in providing me with valuable knowledge and keen insight. I would like to thank my friends Tracy Pfaff, Shawna Pies, Sarah Smith, Lanka Thabrew and Elizabeth Bemis, for their motivation and friendship which truly helped me move forward. I would also like to thank my boyfriend, Janitha Jayasinghe, for his positive words of advice, encouragement, and unwavering support. Finally, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my family for their unconditional love and support. I would like to thank my parents for having the confidence and patience in letting me choose a career path that was unfamiliar to them, and for understanding my love of archaeology, museums and cultural heritage. To my siblings, Tilanthi and Rajiv, thank you for your wise judgment and unbelievably valuable advice in every important decision that I make. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. 7 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 10 2 UNIVERSAL MUSEUMS: AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ...................................... 24 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 24 The European Enlightenment ................................................................................. 26 The First Public Art Museums ................................................................................. 29 Colonization and Anti-imperialist Thought............................................................... 34 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 37 3 UNIVERSAL MUSEUMS AND SOURCE COUNTRIES: THE CURRENT CULTURAL PROPERTY DEBATE ......................................................................... 40 The Dispersal of Cultural Property .......................................................................... 40 The Cultural Property Debate ................................................................................. 43 Cultural Internationalism versus Cultural Nationalism ...................................... 45 Universal Museums and Cultural Internationalism ........................................... 47 Universal Museums and Cultural Nationalism .................................................. 54 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 57 4 CASE STUDY OF THE BENIN BRONZES: THE BATTLE FOR THE RETURN OF CULTURAL TREASURES TO AFRICA ............................................................ 60 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 60 Case Study of the Benin Bronzes ........................................................................... 61 Obstacles Faced by Nigeria in Repatriating Cultural Property ................................ 63 Conclusion: A Moralist Approach ............................................................................ 71 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ........................................................................ 75 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 75 A Moralist Approach: Building Branches of Universal Museums ............................ 77 Limitations ........................................................................................................ 81 Other Universal Solutions ................................................................................. 82 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 84 5 APPENDIX: DECLARATION ON THE IMPORTANCE AND VALUE OF UNIVERSAL MUSEUMS ........................................................................................ 86 LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 88 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ............................................................................................ 93 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ICOM International Council of Museums NAGPRA Native Americans Grave Protections and Repatriation Act UN United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNIDROIT International Institute for the Unification of Private Law 7 Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSAL MUSEUMS: THEIR HISTORY, CHALLENGES AND NEED FOR A RENEWED ―UNIVERSAL‖ PERSPECTIVE By Dushanthi Inoka Jayawardena August 2010 Chair: Glenn Willumson Major: Museology The term ―universal museums‖ is a recently coined definition that refers to museums such as the British Museum and the Louvre in France that grew out of the European Enlightenment in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although there are many universal museums that represent a broad range of history and culture from all over the world, this thesis pertains to the nineteen universal museums that signed the Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums in 2002. The Declaration states that colonial methods of collecting, however immoral, need to be viewed under the light of an earlier era when collecting values were largely different, and that subsequently, today these museums ―serve not just the citizens of one nation but the people of every nation.‖ However, this document is largely viewed as a defense against repatriation claims from source countries since it neglects to include possible ways of improving dialogue with the communities or countries affected by repatriation of their objects. Today, in a post-colonial world, where cultural and political boundaries have changed dramatically, museums have a changed mission. Far removed from their colonial roots when their sole mission was to collect, preserve, and exhibit objects for 8 the benefit of the elite; museums now strongly aspire to disseminate knowledge to a wider public, and to maintain a high standard of professionalism with respect to cultural property. However, universal museums have been reluctant to embrace this change as reflected by their largely adverse responses to the growing number of requests by source countries, including formerly colonized nations, for the return of cultural treasures. In this thesis, I address the challenges that universal museums face in contemporary society with respect to their current identity and purpose, and the issues of repatriation they face. To better understand universal museums, I first provide a historical overview of how they rose out of royal collections as the first ever public museums used to ―enlighten‖ society. I summarize the repatriation debate using current cultural property laws and international museum policy perspectives which together significantly hinder the possibility of having positive outcomes for both parties. Lastly, using the Benin Bronzes and Nigeria as a geographic focus, I portray a non-Western standpoint of universal museums and how repatriation issues are being tackled. This is a vital perspective as the views of non-Western museum and cultural heritage professionals are largely absent in the battle for disputed art. In conclusion, I propose collaborative solutions that encourage the development of long-standing relationships between universal museums and formerly colonized nations. These ties would serve the purpose of educating communities about their own cultural heritage while also allowing museums to continue the exchange of art and to enhance the growth of knowledge for their public. 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Universal museums are museums with encyclopedic collections that represent different cultures of the world.1 They were originally established during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in continental Europe at the height of significant cultural and political movements such as the European Enlightenment, colonization, and the French Revolution of 1789-1799. The term ―universal museum‖ was officially introduced in a statement titled the Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums (hereafter titled the Declaration) that was published in December 2002 and signed by nineteen directors of universal museums in Europe and the United States.2 Most universal museums are art museums that