Update On China’s Request For Embargo on Antiquities

In 2004, China requested a U.S. embargo on all Chinese cultural property prior to 1911. China has not made a similar request to any other country. A summary of the issues involved was presented in the first AT newsletter.

Here we will provide a brief update and ask for your help. The information presented is based on communications provided by James J. Lally, an internationally renowned dealer in Chinese antiques based in NYC.

Before explaining the current status of the request, let us take a quick look at the history of the handling of cultural property in China.

For the first 40 years of the PRC (since 1949), the Chinese government's policy was to either destroy antiques as relics of the past or quietly sell them for hard cash. Until the early 1990's, it was against the law for private citizens in China to collect or trade in antiques.

In 1997, the Chinese government introduced a new law giving legal standing to the trade of art and antiques. Since then, auction sales for art and antiques in China have grown at a phenomenal rate. For example, in 2004, auction sales in China were reported to be US $680,000,000 which is triple the worldwide sales for Chinese art by Sotheby's and Christie’s combined in the same year. In other words, the internal Chinese market now represents the largest in the world.

Mr. Lally asks, "Under these circumstances, can anyone really believe that cutting off the US market will have any significant impact on activity inside the PRC?".

The current situation does not look good. The US Dept. of State has, in Mr. Lally's words, "Shrouded its entire proceedings in deep secrecy.." so that little is actually known for sure about what has happened. Nonetheless, Mr. Lally says that he believes that the State Dept.'s Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) has voted on the request and has sent its recommendation to the desk of Dina Powell who is the newly appointed Deputy Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy.

That recommendation is believed to grant nearly everything the Chinese government requested except for later antiquities that do not qualify for exclusion under the UNESCO treaty. In other words, an embargo of all Chinese works of art older than some chosen date may be enacted.

The CPAC is in favor of the Chinese request, again according to Mr. Lally, because the committee is heavily weighted towards the archeological perspective which is to never disturb or sell any antiquities. Since the public hearing on February 17^th, all subsequent meetings have been held in secret. Requests have been filed under the Freedom of Information Act to review the original Chinese version of the embargo request, but no information has been forthcoming.

PLEASE HELP

If you have any interest in seeing museums continue to be able to collect important Chinese works of art, if you are a collector yourself or if you just want to see a very bad situation rectified, please write or fax Ms. Powell. Tell her that the Chinese request is unmerited. Tell her that the proposal for a Chinese art embargo singles out US citizens and museums, while the market for the same material is thriving without restrictions inside China and in other areas of the world.

Ms. Powell's contact information follows. If you write, please send us (or e-mail) a copy of your letter. We will send it on to Mr. Lally in NYC to help him coordinate efforts to oppose this unfair request.

THANK YOU!

Ms. Dina Powell
Deputy Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy US Department of State
301 Fourth St. SW
Room 800
Washington, DC 20547
Fax: (202) 203-5515.