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Works of art and ivory: what are the issues?
Author(s) -
Levy Martin P.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
curator: the museum journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.312
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 2151-6952
pISSN - 0011-3069
DOI - 10.1111/cura.12220
Subject(s) - cites , endangered species , scrutiny , threatened species , subject (documents) , environmental ethics , ivory tower , nothing , history , geography , political science , law , ethnology , ecology , biology , library science , habitat , philosophy , computer science , epistemology
There is nothing new about worldwide concern for endangered fauna and flora. Indeed since 1975 the protection of threatened species has been enshrined in the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species ( CITES ). But most recently, the fate of the African elephant has been subject to particular scrutiny. This culminated in President Obama's 2014 “Director's Order 210”. Since then the movement of ivory into the States has effectively been banned, and internal commercial transactions subject to impossible restrictions. This affects the ability of museums to add significant works of art to their collections. Is this the correct approach? Surely the protection of endangered species and the preservation and presentation of “antique” works of art made of or containing ivory are not mutually exclusive.