For the past century and a half, extensive looting and illicit trafficking of Southeast Asia's cultural heritage have scattered art objects from the region to museums and private collections around the world. Today, however, power relations are shifting, a new awareness is growing, and new questions are emerging about the representation and ownership of Southeast Asian cultural material located in the West. This book offers a timely consideration of object restitution and related issues across Southeast Asia, bringing together a range of viewpoints, including those of museum professionals and scholars in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, as well as Europe, North America, and Australia. The contributors address legal, cultural, political and diplomatic issues involved in the restitution process, and they also look at the ways object restitution is integral to evolving narratives of national identity. Ultimately, the book's editors conclude, restitution processes can transform narratives of loss into opportunities for gain, building knowledge and reconstructing relationships across national borders.

About the Author
Louise Tythacott is the Woon Tai Jee Professor of Asian Art at Northumbria University and was previously the Pratapaditya Pal Professor in Curating and Museology of Asian Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Her books include Surrealism and the Exotic, The Lives of Chinese Objects: Buddhism, Imperialism and Display, Museums and Restitution: New Practices, New Approaches, and Collecting and Displaying China's 'Summer Palace' in the West: The Yuanmingyuan in Britain and France.

Panggah Ardiyansyah is an educator at Borobudur Conservation Office, Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia.

Reviews
A CHOICE Recommended Title: "Offering critical discussion of repatriation focused on a region heretofore not thoroughly examined, this volume will be of interest to researchers in museum studies, cultural heritage, sociology and anthropology, legal and ethical issues, decolonization, and Southeast Asian studies."



Book Information
ISBN 9789813251243
Author Louise Tythacott
Format Hardback
Page Count 304
Imprint NUS Press
Publisher NUS Press
Weight(grams) 1021g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 184mm * 28mm