Chapter 22. Museums As Sites Of Reconciliation

This chapter describes some recent developments at the J. Paul Getty Museum, which has been a lightning rod for controversies that have polarized professions as much as nations. The Francavilla project has produced a number of tangible and intangible benefits. Two publications have appeared: a comprehensive study of Greek, colonial and native pottery, and a monograph on the metal artifacts. Acquisition policies for antiquities constitute a thorny topic that is discussed here, as institutions and museum professional associations revise guidelines and codes of practice that govern how objects are evaluated for purchase or donation. Projects like Francavilla and similar collaborations between researchers in the field, the laboratory, and museums demonstrate how much there is to be gained from working together. Timpone and other sites at the crossroads of cultures represent the essence of cosmopolitanism on the ground, not as a vague ideal, but as an historical actuality.Keywords: acquisition policies; antiquities; cosmopolitanism; Francavilla project; museums; Timpone