Small museums, big problems: failure to comply with the American alliance of museums’ policies on archaeological materials and ancient art
Despite being issued by one of the two main professional associations for museums in the United States, the efficacy and limitations of the American Alliance of Museums’ (AAM) “Standards Regarding Archaeological Material and Ancient Art” remain largely unstudied. Issued in 2008, the AAM’s guidelines...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2021
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| In: |
Crime and art
Year: 2021, Pages: 191-206 |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Summary: | Despite being issued by one of the two main professional associations for museums in the United States, the efficacy and limitations of the American Alliance of Museums’ (AAM) “Standards Regarding Archaeological Material and Ancient Art” remain largely unstudied. Issued in 2008, the AAM’s guidelines establish mechanisms for public accountability: (1) museums should maintain a publicly available collection policy; (2) if a museum acquires an object that does not comply with the guidelines, it should be transparent about why the museum has deemed it appropriate to do so; and (3) museums should make all ownership information for archaeological and ancient material accessible to the public. Over the course of a year, we contacted 67 AAM member museums to survey whether they complied with each mechanism and to what extent. The responses showed that compliance with the AAM’s guidelines is significantly lacking, and transparency is—alarmingly, though unsurprisingly—not a priority in small museums. Using the David Owsley Museum of Art as a case study, this chapter will discuss our findings and the dangers unregulated acquisitions in small museums can pose to cultural heritage preservation and art market integrity. |
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| Item Description: | Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 205-206 |
| ISBN: | 9783030848569 |
