Exploring the “Cozy Cabal of Academics, Dealers and Collectors” through the Schøyen Collection

Abstract

In the wake of the trade in ancient materials, several ethical and political issues arise that merit concern: the decimation of the cultural heritage of war-torn countries, proliferation of corruption, ideological connotations of orientalism, financial support of terrorism, and participation in networks involved in money laundering, weapon sales, human trafficking and drugs. Moreover, trafficking and trading also have a harmful effect on the fabric of academia itself. This study uses open sources to track the history of the private Schøyen Collection, and the researchers and public institutions that have worked with and supported the collector. Focussing on the public debates that evolved around the Buddhist manuscripts and other looted or illicitly obtained material from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, this article unravels strategies to whitewash Schøyen’s and his research groups’ activities. Numerous elements are familiar from the field of antiquities trafficking research and as such adds to the growing body of knowledge about illicit trade and collecting. A noteworthy element in the Schøyen case is Martin Schøyen and his partners’ appeal to digital dissemination to divorce collections from their problematic provenance and history and thus circumvent contemporary ethical standards. Like paper publications, digital presentations contribute to the marketing and price formation of illicit objects. The Norwegian state’s potential purchase of the entire Schøyen collection was promoted with the aid of digital dissemination of the collection hosted by public institutions. In the wake of the Schøyen case, it is evident that in spite of formal regulations to thwart antiquities trafficking, the continuation of the trade rests on the attitudes and practice of scholars and institutions.

A Framework for a Hazard Taxonomy to Support Risk Assessment of Tangible Outdoor Heritage

“…In this second evaluation process, 14 papers from RQ2 and 4 from RQ3 were excluded. The SLR made it possible to define indicators and indices to be implemented in the proposed framework [113][114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127]. The corruption risk was distinguished into various se ings, all of which were directly correlated to political instability and to ideological differences that create religious and political tensions, generating a high degree of instability.…”

Conflict antiquities’ rescue or ransom: The cost of buying back stolen cultural property in contexts of political violence

“…86 Meanwhile, even though his onward sales of material have been enabled by his possession of Norwegian export permits, he has neither confirmed nor denied that "the material was exported [from Afghanistan] with the Taliban's cooperation [Er materialet eksportert med Talibans medvirkning]." 87 Likewise, he has neither confirmed nor denied that Zahid Pervez Butt (or Zahid Parvez Butt), who was a "notorious narco and arms dealer [beryktede narko-og våpenhandleren]," 88 who was "suspected of selling weapons to the Taliban," 89 was one of those "from whom [he had] directly or via intermediaries [received] manuscripts [av dem Schøyen direkte eller via mellomledd har handlet manuskripter fra]," let alone who all of his other sources were. 90 Nonetheless, as uncovered through an investigation by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) and confirmed by the subsequent return of the artifacts by Schøyen, it is known that some of the manuscripts had been stolen from the National Museum in Kabul.…”

“…93 And he incidentally revealed that those manuscripts had been "looted and smuggled" out of Afghanistan and Pakistan before the Taliban took control, while he continued to make purchases afterwards, even though the Taliban profited from protection racketeering. 94 Later, due to investigations by the NRK, Schøyen "admitted" that he knew three smugglers who supplied his intermediary in the United Kingdom, and smuggler-turned-informant Michel van Rijn released leaked documents that demonstrated that Schøyen was supplied with looted antiquities directly by smugglers from victimized countries. 95 Protected sources asserted that one of Schøyen's suppliers was Zahid Pervez Butt, the aforementioned alleged smuggler of arms and drugs as well as of antiquities.…”

“…94 Later, due to investigations by the NRK, Schøyen "admitted" that he knew three smugglers who supplied his intermediary in the United Kingdom, and smuggler-turned-informant Michel van Rijn released leaked documents that demonstrated that Schøyen was supplied with looted antiquities directly by smugglers from victimized countries. 95 Protected sources asserted that one of Schøyen's suppliers was Zahid Pervez Butt, the aforementioned alleged smuggler of arms and drugs as well as of antiquities. 96 Indeed, the NRK alleged that the Taliban "used [Butt's] network to sell artefacts from Kabul Museum in order to buy weapons [brukte hans nettverk til å selge gjenstander fra Kabul museum for å kjøpe våpen]."…”

“…M/26, 3 August 1972.54 See, e.g.,Chippindale and Gill 2000;Nørskov 2002; Prescott and Rasmussen 2020.55 See, e.g.,Gill and Chippindale 1993;Muscarella 2001; Prescott and Rasmussen 2020. 56 See, e.g.,Brodie 2005;Müller-Karpe 2010;Bauer 2015;Hardy 2015a;Thompson 2015;Kersel 2016;Prescott and Rasmussen 2020.…”