Palmyra Exhibit Poses Important Questions

The Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery is putting a magnificent portrait bust removed from a tomb in Palmyra on display to help raise awareness about danger to the site posed by ISIS.  While the Smithsonian (a major proponent of HR 1493 and its creation of a new bureaucracy in the State Department), may hope the exhibit will jump start the bill which appears to have lost some momentum in the Senate, CPO wonders if it will all backfire.  After all, won't it all just help underscore the fact that cultural diffusion helps preserve artifacts while concentration through repatriation only puts them further at risk, at least where a  civil war is going on?