Oriental Heritage Inc., has announced a 7 day Antiques Buying Event in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Area. A prominent advertisement in the Washington Post exclaims, “The Chinese economy is booming. As a result, the market for Chinese antiques is red hot. Prices for many Chinese antiques have grown dramatically.” The advertisement also informs us that the Oriental Heritage Inc. is “backed up by major investment groups in China” and “has access to tens of millions of dollars of funds instantly.” Although not explicitly stated in the advertisement itself, the implication is that any art purchased in the United States will be repatriated to China.
Comment: While I support Oriental Heritage’s rights to purchase antiques in the United States and send them to China, its actions again underscore the utter foolishness of the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Cultural Heritage Center’s effort to secure US import restrictions on Chinese cultural goods. Those restrictions have been pitched by State Department cultural bureaucrats and supportive archaeologists as necessary to protect Chinese archaeological sites. Yet, they appear to have in fact done little more than help redirect the trade in Chinese art back to China itself.
For more about Oriental Heritage, see http://orientalheritageinc.com/
San Diego based I see.
ReplyDeleteWould "Cultural Property Observer" (defending the rights of US collectors) not consider that it would be a good thing if the USA had an export licencing system so that material which is leaving the States for countries which offer a better price for such collectables is in some way regulated? Otherwise at this rate the US market will be pretty quickly depleted of such items. Why does the US not protect its own collectors by an export licencing system?
The last thing we need is more bureaucracy. In any event, why should foreign buyers be discriminated against because of the foolish actions of the US State Department?
ReplyDeletePardon?
ReplyDeleteI was talking about ensuring not too much cultural property leaves the US market. This would surely protect the interests of US citizens from foreign competition, would it not?
It would, but supporting it would also make me some sort of retentavist or cultural nationalist, and I'm not.
ReplyDeleteI also note that while I have published your comments, my comments on your blog have yet to be published-- though you apparently answered them. Perhaps, a mistake of some sort.
This is also informs us that the Oriental Heritage Inc. is “backed up by major investment groups in China. they appear to have in fact done little more than help redirect the trade in Chinese art back to chinese antiques itself.
ReplyDelete