(image source: Wikimedia Commons)
Conference
organised by Dr Diana M. Natermann (Leiden University) &
Dr Inge
van Hulle
(Tilburg University)
Date:
28.-29.
January 2021
Location:
Leiden University, The Netherlands
Abstract
deadline: 31. August 2020
Keynote Speaker: Prof.
Dr. Jürgen Zimmerer
(Chair for Global History at Hamburg
University & Head of the Research Centre ”Hamburg’s (Post)Colonial Legacy”)
This
interdisciplinary conference aspires to bring together (post-)colonial
historians, legal historians, curators, international lawyers, and others
engaged with the field to establish research collaborations by critically
investigating stories of colonial looting, the framing of colonial history
within museums, the origins of the legal framework concerning European laws of
war and restitution, as well as a way forward for restitution claims.
The notion
that cultural treasures are not legitimate spoils of war, contradicts norms that
were accepted according to the law of nations for centuries. However, after the
public outrage occasioned by the plunder of Belgium and Italy by Napoleon’s
forces, the nineteenth century saw a gradual rise of several initiatives such
as the Lieber Code (1863), the Brussels Declaration (1874), the Oxford Manual
(1880) and the Hague Convention II (1899) that sought to limit or outlaw the
seizure and confiscation of cultural and private property. Within this
nineteenth-century development the spoliation of non-Western countries by
imperial powers was largely ignored or even explicitly condoned. Arguments that
bolstered the expropriation within imperial contexts were framed in an
explicitly racist and dehumanising discourse, which placed non-Western states
wholly or partially outside of the application of European laws of war. The
result was the destruction of indigenous heritage and the steady flow of
cultural artefacts and valuable manuscripts from the Middle East, Africa, Asia,
and Australasia to Western archives, museums, and public spaces.
Since decolonisation, several former
colonies of the Global South have led the way in mounting public pressure on
Western governments and museums to address the legacy of colonial looting and
have started legal procedures for reclaiming cultural property. However, since
the beginning of the twentieth century the international legal framework for
reclaiming cultural property has expanded considerably, many of these
instruments remain ill-adapted to the legal relationship that existed between
coloniser and colonised. Also, legal proceedings that have restitution as their
objective are further complicated by the confluence of public international
law, private law, and constitutional law of various jurisdictions which
provides for a legal Gordian knot. Procedurally, the burden of proof lies with
the requesting state, which might have insufficient financial or legal means at
its disposal to pursue lengthy legal procedures.
Meanwhile,
many Western museums fear the depletion of their collections and voice their
scepticism of political endeavours to return said artefacts – especially since
French President Macron’s statement in 2017 during a visit through Burkina Faso
in 2017. In a report commissioned by President Macron and written by Felwine
Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy it is stated that artefacts taken without consent from
Africa during French colonialism shall be repatriated. And yet, in spite of political,
financial, and legal difficulties, restitution claims are mounting in
frequency. Also, over the past decade, Western governments have shown
increasing openness towards collaboration with the Global South to trace looted
artefacts and to return these to their countries of origin. This is especially
the case in relation to the issue of giving back human remains.
In light of these
developments we welcome contributions that focus on (but are not necessarily
limited to) following topics:
-
Histories of specific
cases of misappropriation, of colonial violence, of how objects travelled and
ended up in Western museums and archives (provenance)
-
Histories of the laws of war in colonial
contexts in legal practice and in legal theory
-
Histories of domestic constitutional and
private law concerning restitution
-
Histories of the
actors involved: imperials agents, indigenous resistance to spoliation, NGO’s,
etc.
-
Museology: how are
colonial objects framed, styled and/or contextualised
-
Historiography: histories
of the critical debate concerning law, colonial museums and restitution
-
De lege ferenda: how can/should
legal restitution move forward?
-
(Post)colonial
debates on the restitution of heritage objects
-
Interconnectedness of
identity and historical artefacts
-
Experience with
restitutions concerning art looted by Nazis and its (possible) impact on
restituting looted colonial art.
If you would like to propose a paper for a 20-minute
presentation, please send a brief abstract of about 250-300 words to d.m.s.m.natermann@hum.leidenuniv.nl. When sending your abstract, please also provide a
one-page CV or short bio with details of your academic experience, affiliation,
and publications. The deadline for submitting proposals is Monday, 31
August 2020. The selection committee will make their final decision on
submitted abstracts by mid-September 2020. Further information about the
programme, registration, travel and accommodation will be announced after that
date. Based on the discussion during the conference the organisers will invite
conference delegates to prepare a chapter for an edited volume or special issue
of papers presented at this event.
This event is generously supported by the MA International Relations
Programme at Leiden University, the History Department of Leiden University,
and the African Studies Centre Leiden.
Please note: depending
on how the current Covid-19 situation unfolds come winter, this conference may
ultimately take place online or be postponed to a later date in 2021.
Our twitter handle is #imperialartefactsconference
