Antiquities: What Everyone Needs to Know®

What Everyone Needs to Know

by Maxwell L. Anderson

The destruction of ancient monuments and artworks by the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has shocked observers worldwide. Yet iconoclastic erasures of the past date back at least to the mid-1300s BCE, during the Amarna Period of ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty. Far more damage to the past has been inflicted by natural disasters, looters, and public works.Art historian Maxwell Anderson's What Everyone Needs to Know® analyzes continuing threats to our heritage, and offers a balanced account of treaties and laws governing the circulation of objects; the history of collecting antiquities; how forgeries are made and detected; how authentic works are documented, stored, dispersed, and displayed; the politics of sending antiquities back to their countries of origin; and the outlook for an expanded legal market. Anderson provides a summary of challenges ahead, including the future of underwater archaeology, the use of drones, remote sensing, and how invisible markings on antiquities will allow them to be traced.Written in question-and-answer format, the book equips readers with a nuanced understanding of the legal, practical, and moral choices that face us all when confronting antiquities in a museum gallery, shop window, or for sale on the Internet.

Genres: History, Museums, Archaeology

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 3, 2016

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is probably only for people who are going into antiquities as a profession or for people who are really, really, really into antiquities. Does everyone need to know the nuances of specific legal statues of the United States? I've got my doubts. This book was well-researched but I think laypeople will be bored to tears.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

great little book , covering art vs archaeology vs legitimate antiques.