Ethiek en het verzamelbeleid van anthropologische musea

Samenvatting

The question of ethics is involved in both the presentation and acquisition of objects (anthropological) in museums. Concern here is with the latter. The consequences of buying objects can have differing effects on the culture involved: the purchase can disrupt the culture in that the object is necessary to the society, or it can lead to change in that a more modern object is bought with the money from the sale. In other cases the object acquired is easily replaced, or the purchase may allow the seller the continued use of the object. Often objects bought were made for a specific occasion and serve no other function, or they may be outdated. A final possibility is that the object was made to be sold to outsiders. A series of examples of purchases or potential purchases is presented. It is hoped that in the future anthropological museums will acquire less through dealers. The question of ethics in collection policies must relate not only to purchasing, but also to the issue of what is being done for the culture in return. P. Tiersma.