MICROSTORY OF ART

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Dedicated to Restitution

(Picture: Philip Picart)

(Picture: Ancient Egyptians)

Nefertiti Bust

(25.8.2023) After having watched all eight installments of Geraubte Schätze, a series of very fine documentaries on restitution questions, respectively on eight cases of restitution of colonial cultural goods, cases that are hanging, blocked, on their way or in whatever state, I am tempted to make a suggestion. Why? Because I found it rather hard to bear to listen to all that stuttering of European museum officials, who, apart from having an awareness of the curatorial task, seem – very often, all-too-often – to have very little of an awareness as to the changing moral, political and therefore legal context of restitution questions. It would not be the task of the curator to be an expert on all that, but it is rather embarassing to listen to people who hardly seem to have heard of these other dimensions of restitution questions, and still seem to regard the legalistic positions of their forefathers as the maximum of historical awareness.
What suggestion would I like to make? I am suggesting that Berlin could live very well with a hologram of the Nefertiti Bust, with a museum, or a hall, that would simply display a state-of-the-art hologram of the Nefertiti Bust, which would be given back to Egypt. And such hall, or such museum could also be combined with a museum of Nefertiti Bust replica (the history of replica is as interesting as the biography of the original bust), and such museum could also serve as a model to solve other restitution questions. Below I give some comments on a few key concepts in restitution, with these comments explaining my suggestion further. These comments are also inspired by the very fine series of documentaries named Geraubte Schätze.

Comments on Identity Politics

One seems to be inclined to see ›identity politics‹ of various kind only on the side of those societies that are demanding cultural goods back from Western museums. But identity politics does also exist on the side of the museums and of museum officials declaring that they are the keeper of Weltkulturerbe (cultural heritage of the world). If it is the task of Berlin to present Weltkulturerbe, this educational task could very well be realized with a hologram of the Nefertiti Bust, and it is hard to understand why the European side is so insistent on having originals (instead of very good replica, or even perfect replica, virtual reconstructions etc.). To make this step would allow to combine the presentation of cultural heritage with a display of technical progress, as well as with a display of moral progress, a progress that would consist in developing an awareness that even the legal acquisition of an object under the dubious conditions of colonial rule is a dubious acquisition.

Comments on Aura

It is a certain irony tho see (in one installment of Geraubte Schätze) that a king and voodoo priest seems to have a more clear understanding of restitution (in terms of a sociology of restitution) than many a European museum official, since asked if the statue of a voodoo god would be restituted, this king and priest answered, no, this statue would not be restituted now (but perhaps later, respectively, in the end of the process), after having motivated the European societies with positive energies due to his presence, to give back other objects first.
Behind the politeness of this statement seemed to be the awareness that a bad conscience of those societies with a past of having been colonial powers is growing, and that the presence of objects that have a particular importance does trigger this growing conscience very effectively. The more ignorant, hence, European museum officials do act, the better for the restitution process.
And it is a certain irony to see that European museum officials seem to remain so obsessed with the aura of the original. In the perspective of voodoo an object might be loaded, due to particular rituals, with magic forces; but in the perspective of Europeans originals seem to be loaded per se with magic. Why? Is it necessary to have originals to study global cultural heritage? No, it is not. And despite the restitution of some objects, there would always be enough left, so that a study of particular objects, in terms of studying a hologram, could be combined with the study of real objects.

Comments on Replica and Virtual Reconstructions (as well as on Holograms)

If Edward Snowden, living in Russia, can be present, due to Holography or whatever technology of virtual reality, why not the Nefertiti Bust or any other object that has particular importance for a society, but is at another place due to colonial rule and acquisition under the legal conditions of colonial rule. Why not exchanging the Elgin Marbles with the replica? Why not having the replica in the British Museum (that would be replaced by holograms after a while), while the Parthenon Museum would get the originals (if to have the originals remains so important for European societies). Holography would enter a new history, a new chapter of history, in which a particular technology would become part of solving questions of restitution. To the satisfaction of most people interested. To have the object does not necessarily mean today: to have the original. To have the object (an exact replica or a virtual reconstruction of an original state, in case an object got restored, changed etc.) would get another meaning. And it is mainly the idea that the original is the one version of an object, the only version that has aura, that is in the way of solving restitution questions. But a hologram has aura, too, perhaps a limited one, but in the museum of Berlin, in a context that would highlight the history of replica, hologram and original, it would have a particular aura – of justice, progress of moral, educational purpose, technological advance and – last but not least – of history, a history in motion.

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