Geoffrey Scarre
How to Be a ‘Good’ Collector: Some Ethical Reflections on the Private Collecting of Cultural Heritage
Scarre, Geoffrey
Authors
Abstract
This paper discusses some of the major ethical issues that arise in connection with the widespread holding of cultural heritage by private collectors. If, as many people believe, and UNESCO has affirmed, cultural heritage is, in some morally significant sense, everyone’s heritage, then the private acquisition of cultural heritage, although widely permitted in law, raises some significant ethical questions. I discuss the nature of the tension between public heritage and private ownership of heritage items and the possibility that more might be done by law to regulate the activities of private collectors before arguing the merits of a shift in the mindset of collectors from thinking of themselves as the unfettered owners of the heritage they acquire towards conceiving themselves primarily as stewards who protect and preserve that heritage on behalf of the wider community. There follows a detailed examination of practical ways in which collectors can discharge their stewardship role to the best effect, emphasizing, in particular, the fresh opportunities for doing so afforded to collectors by the new digital environment.
Citation
Scarre, G. (2023). How to Be a ‘Good’ Collector: Some Ethical Reflections on the Private Collecting of Cultural Heritage. International Journal of Cultural Property, 30(4), 379-395. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0940739124000079
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Apr 12, 2024 |
Online Publication Date | May 13, 2024 |
Publication Date | 2023-11 |
Deposit Date | Jul 1, 2024 |
Publicly Available Date | Jul 1, 2024 |
Journal | International Journal of Cultural Property |
Print ISSN | 0940-7391 |
Electronic ISSN | 1465-7317 |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 30 |
Issue | 4 |
Pages | 379-395 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1017/s0940739124000079 |
Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2513528 |
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Copyright Statement
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
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Publisher Licence URL
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