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SUMMARY:Still in the Aftermath of Waterloo - Margaret Miles\, American Sch
 ool of Classical Studies\, Athens\; UC Irvine
DTSTART:20081211T174500Z
DTEND:20081211T184500Z
UID:TALK15432@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:anna malinowska
DESCRIPTION:What happens to art in time of war? Who should own art? Under 
 what circumstances should victors in war allow the defeated to keep their 
 art and other cultural property?  Should the age-old idea of ‘to the vic
 tors go the spoils’ still be the common expectation in warfare?  These a
 re old questions that go back to debates in antiquity.  The first legal ca
 se that dealt with these issues was Cicero’s prosecution of Gaius Verres
  for extortion in 70 BCE\; because Verres was a rapacious collector of art
 \, Cicero used the theme of art collection as a buttressing point in his c
 ase. In the modern era\, critics of Napoleon’s looting of Italy used the
  Verrines for fuel and denounced Napoleon as a new Verres. Lord Elgin was 
 accused by Lord Byron of being another Verres in his despoliation of the P
 arthenon\, and raised public ire against the acquisition of the Elgin Marb
 les.  But in the Verrines\, Cicero had held up as models for behavior the 
 conquering Roman generals who did not loot art\, and especially Scipio Aem
 ilianus\, conqueror of Carthage\, who repatriated art that had been taken 
 from Sicily by Carthaginians.  This ancient model of repatriation and abst
 ention from plunder was discussed again in London newspapers in 1815\, in 
 the aftermath of Waterloo. \n\nThanks to the decisions made by the Duke of
  Wellington\, a modern precedent was set for repatriating plundered art to
  Italy and other countries that had been invaded by Napoleon.  That episod
 e in turn helped to inspire the Lieber Code during the Civil War in the U.
 S.\, the legal basis for international agreements that exist today to prot
 ect cultural property in time of war. In turn\, concerns about nationalism
  as a basis for cultural identity and for making claims about cultural pro
 perty are being debated as foreign governments are asking for the return o
 f their cultural artifacts now in American museums.  This lecture reviews 
 the debate about the repatriations after Waterloo among the British involv
 ed in the decision. A fresh examination of their reasoning provides new li
 ght on current debates.
LOCATION:Fitzwilliam Museum\, Seminar Room\, Trumpington Street
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