Last evening I went to the Asian Art fair, here in NYC. it’s an annual event that brings together the most formidable collectors and galleries of Asian Art. TO my dismay, I noticed that all the pieces of antiquity were being shown by westerners and no representation from the South asian contingent had among them any pieces of note. The wonderful busts of Gandharan buddhist and Hindu art were all being shown off by these western galleries. It makes me think of two things.
Colonialism not only raped our economic and civil dignity, but also our cultural.
Why don’t we as South Asians have the nerve to request this art back where it belongs.In India or Pakistan.
some of the western art galleries are better equipped/funded to take care of these pieces of art;
not all the pieces are 'stolen' some of them may have been borrowed or perhaps sold to these galleries (when I was in Taxila in Pakistan a few years ago, my guide told me that many pieces were stolen, but others were sold);
this is a generalization - but I'm going to throw it out anyways - we haven't cultivated a culture that values these artistic expressions, at least not to the extent that western culture has (I know thats weak). The fact that westerners can display our art, is a sad expression of our own cultures negation of these artistic expressions.
I don't necessarily agree with these points, but I think this is part of the other arguement. I think that if items have been stolen from wherever, during colonial rule or after, they should be returned. And that return should be demanded, along with compensation which can be used to restore and maintain the pieces.