Museums are the focal point of a tourist's journey, a researcher's thesis and a child's education. As non-profit institutions established specifically to conserve and communicate the world's cultural heritage,' museums are given the highest esteem and deference regarding their scholarly exhibitions. This reverence has, in large part, allowed these institutions to avert indepth investigations into their collections, raising significant issues concerning the acquisition and exhibition of cultural property.
While the international trade in cultural property has been recognized as a potential source of illegal activity since the late 1940s, in the 1970s the cultural trade grew exponentially, and with it came the growth of the illegal trafficking in stolen antiquities. Today, "[t]he illicit trade in cultural objects is sustained by the demand from the arts market, the opening of borders, the improvement in transport systems and the political instability of certain countries." The recent increase in reported stolen property claims following the growth of the antiquities "black market" triggered international interest, which has started to break down communication barriers between the public, states and museum collections. Maxwell Anderson, the former director of the Association of Art Museum Directors, said that "[t]he ground is shifting radically under newly documented claims....
While there may not be a single clear solution for every claim, institutions will need to be forthright in explaining future acquisitions." While international and domestic law-makers have created a broad framework to govern this cultural industry, it has been a slow process with museums worldwide left to defend their practices and acquisitions.
