In the latter half of the nineteenth century, many writers, such as the economist Stanley Jevons, viewed museums as agents of social reform, but today many scholars have focused on reforming museums and their collecting practices. Specifically, museums’ acquisitions of ancient objects have sparked contentious disputes about these institutions’ responsibilities. These debates are presented in Robin F. Rhodes’s The Acquisition and Exhibition of Classical Antiquities, an edited book of essays from a symposium held at the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame on 24 February 2007. This work addresses the collection and display of licit and illicit antiquities in museums, and also the role of academics in documenting the looting of archaeological sites and the trade in antiquities. The book consists of six papers that focus on the perspectives of art museum directors, archaeologists, and law professors, and two case studies, one of which details a museum theft, while the other discusses educational outreach efforts by archaeologists. Apart from the preface, introduction, and conclusion, all of which are written by Rhodes, the essays are followed with shorter response papers by curators, art historians, an architect, and an art museum director. The essay and response format allows the authors to engage in informative discourse on museums’ collections and exhibitions practices, but the authors cover more than the title suggests by considering tax exemption for museums and tax deductions for donations, deaccessioning, the research and teaching potential of ancient material culture, and the acquisitions of non-classical artifacts. The book concludes with an appendix, which includes Articles 1–13 of the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 1970, and a descriptive list of the participants.

Many, but not all, of the essays focus on the trade in illicit antiquities, rather than the exhibition practices of museums or the educational work of archaeologists. Most of the chapters are written by luminaries in cultural heritage research, such as Patty Gerstenblith, who offers an overview of U.S. law regarding the acquisition and display of antiquities by U.S. museums (chapter 3). James Cuno critiques foreign cultural patrimony laws for their nationalistic agendas and criticizes some archaeologists for supporting these laws (chapter 1). In contrast, Malcolm Bell III argues that the collection of illicit materials from looted archaeological sites has severe ramifications for the educational practices of U.S. museums (chapter 2). Gerstenblith, Bell, and Cuno have addressed these topics at greater length in other forums and publications, but their chapters here serve as informative introductions to their other writings. A number of the other papers focus specifically on international concerns including: Mary Ellen O’Connell’s essay with Maria Alevras-Chen that details the international legal principles of repatriation during times of armed conflict and recommends increased protection of objects in wartime (chapter 6); Stefano Vassallo’s discussion of looting of archaeological sites in Italy and the effects of such thefts on scholarly research and on local communities (chapter 5); and Nancy Bookidis’s fascinating report on the theft at the Corinth Archaeological Museum in 1990 and the subsequent response of the Greek government and the museum’s staff (chapter 7).

Some of the most noteworthy chapters analyze educational practices and university museums’ acquisitions and displays. A case study by C. Brian Rose describes lectures for U.S. soldiers on Middle Eastern and Central Asian history that are designed to curtail the theft of ancient objects in Iraq and Afghanistan (chapter 8). In chapter 4, Kimerly Rorschach examines the distinct organizational features of university museums and more specifically analyzes how a donation of Greek antiquities spurred changes to the collections policies at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Rhodes’s thought-provoking response to Rorschach’s essay describes the use of modern reconstructions rather than ancient objects in the Snite Museum of Art’s 2006 exhibition about a seventh-century BCE temple in Corinth. Rhodes’s paper delves into the issue of authenticity within museums, discusses the earlier use of cast collections, and proposes that various types of objects and models of exhibition design can assist in an understanding of ancient cultures. His response inspires readers to consider the role of interactivity in museums, the educational potential of technology as exemplified by the recent Google Art Project, and technology’s influence on museums’ collecting activities.

The short response papers that follow the main essays may work well in a conference setting, but they were of varied use in book format, and in many instances served less as engaged rejoinders and more as distinct chapters that occasionally elucidated earlier essays. Some of the response papers, such as Joanne M. Mack’s commentary on Bookidis’s discussion of the theft at the Corinth Museum and Charles Rosenberg’s response to Cuno’s essay on foreign cultural patrimony laws and the political nature of archaeological practice, are thoughtful clarifications of the earlier essays, summarize these papers’ crucial arguments, support or critique the earlier arguments, and offer new suggestions. Other responses digress from the key points of the main chapters, but nonetheless discuss compelling issues. For example, in her response to Rose’s chapter on history lectures to U.S. soldiers, Marcia Rickard focuses on the use of the internet in the spread and monitoring of the antiquities trade; in his response to Vassallo’s chapter on protecting archaeological sites from looting, Michael Lykoudis describes the cross-cultural exchange of ideas through the movement of ancient architectural sculpture.

The hallmark of The Acquisition and Exhibition of Classical Antiquities is that the authors offer multiple proposals and possible solutions to curb the looting of archaeological sites and the illicit antiquities trade. Some of these suggestions include fostering greater cooperation and communication between archaeologists and museum staff (Cuno, Mack, Rose), increasing financial support to smaller museums (Mack), inventorying objects in collections and encouraging greater publication of museum objects (Bookidis, Mack), improving internal museum policies as well as professional standards regarding acquisitions (Gerstenblith, Rorschach, Bell, Mack), seeking legislative reform or clarification (Cuno, Bell, Mack), and encouraging exchanges or long-term loans to museums (Bell, Gerstenblith, Charles K. Williams).

There are a few areas in the book that require further explanation and clarification. The discussions about long-term loans as possible solutions to curbing museums’ acquisitions of illicit antiquities could be supplemented by greater understanding of the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Program, which assists museums with insurance for loans, and state and federal immunity from seizure laws, which protect certain objects on loan to U.S. museums from judicial seizure. In addition, the reader is left to question how provenance concerns and looting of archaeological sites are addressed within museum displays, how funding pressures and donors influence U.S. museums’ acquisitions, and how fiduciary responsibilities of museums’ trustees shape collecting policies. Moreover, many of the essays discuss non-classical antiquities, primarily Middle Eastern artifacts, and this leads one to ask why the book prioritized classical antiquities in its title and how this emphasis on classical materials affects public perceptions about the collection of non-classical artifacts and claims to these objects. Furthermore, many of the essays, apart from O’Connell and Alevras-Chen’s chapter on restitution during armed conflicts and Rhodes’s introduction, do not delve into the historical factors that have shaped an understanding of cultural heritage debates. A greater awareness of historical data, such as the changing collecting policies of some U.S. museums during the 1970s or earlier failed attempts at preventing the looting of archaeological sites by the League of Nations prior to World War II, can provide greater contextual information for understanding and analyzing current events. Although the essays are written by a diverse group of professionals, the opinions of other stakeholders, such as dealers, conservators and registrars, journalists, in-house counsel, students, monetary and in-kind donors to museums, and U.S. governmental officials, are not represented in this dialogue. The inclusion of a list of questions by the audience who were present at the symposium and the participants’ answers could have demonstrated how various members of the public engaged with the many debated topics.

A minor point is that several of the authors discuss the Convention on the Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA), which Charles R. Loving’s paper incorrectly identifies as the “UNESCO Convention on the Cultural Property Implementation Act” (75), but the legislation is not included in the appendix. The full text of CPIA is a key resource for understanding U.S. law and its restrictions on the movement of illicit antiquities. Furthermore, the authors use various citation methods, with some referencing their sources within the main text and in footnotes, while others provide a long bibliography but do not offer many in-text citations. Although the latter method is understandable because these essays were presented as papers in a public symposium, the lack of in-text citations in some of the chapters makes future research more challenging.

Conferences and books that include a diversity of perspectives on the acquisition and exhibition of ancient objects by museums may not always bridge the heated divide between adversaries, but they do encourage further engagement and dialogue in the constantly evolving scholarship on cultural heritage. Although more useful as an introduction and overview to the debates surrounding museums’ acquisitions of antiquities rather than an in-depth analytical tool for those museum professionals and researchers already familiar with the subject matter, The Acquisition and Exhibition of Classical Antiquities serves to clarify distinct positions and reminds readers that understanding multiple viewpoints is vital in fostering more public involvement in museums’ practices.