from The Globe & Mail (Canada)
Chinese Buy Back Treasures Looted In 1800s
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It is often forgotten that for cultural artefacts to be displayed or stored in a museum, it involves a willful act of transfer - especially when that museum is located outside of the natural geographical boundaries of that culture from which the objects come from. Often, such a transfer might involve agreement for all parties involved or it might resort to trickery, plunder or other less-than-honest methods. The recorded looting of the Summer Palace in Beijing belongs to the latter. The return of these looted materials become an issue of patriotic pride. And in the case of the Summer Place, it is has also become a matter of entrepreneurial acumen.