The Mediterranean Antiquities Provenance Research Alliance (MAPRA): a collective response to the problem of undocumented antiquities in US academic collections

by Mireille M. Lee

The Mediterranean Antiquities Provenance Research Alliance (MAPRA) is a new initiative of the Foundation for Ethical Stewardship of Cultural Heritage (FESCH), a US-based charity dedicated to the ethical and legal treatment of ancient art and artifacts. MAPRA is funded by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access.

The goals of MAPRA are threefold:

  • to consolidate existing resources for provenance research on objects from the ancient Mediterranean
  • to create a teaching module to train students in provenance research using objects in academic collections
  • to build a shared, open-access, database of objects held by American colleges and universities, in order to make unprovenanced objects known to their countries of

While the problem of Mediterranean antiquities in academic collections is somewhat unique, we hope that our efforts will serve as a model for the ethical stewardship of cultural property generally.

Antiquities have long enjoyed particular prestige in academic collections, as material counterparts to the textual traditions upon which American colleges and universities were based. Academic institutions acquired antiquities through purchase from dealers and auction houses, and they accepted donations, especially from alumni. Unfortunately, despite the strictures of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, the majority of these objects were acquired without proper export documentation, and are likely to have been looted from archaeological sites. As a result, academic institutions have effectively become the holders of stolen property. Although most museums no longer purchase or accept donations of undocumented antiquities, institutions lack the expertise and/or financial resources to redress the problem.

MAPRA is a collective response by academics, museum professionals, cultural heritage experts, and data scientists to help right the wrongs of the past. We will be training students to do provenance research using objects in college and university collections, and publishing their findings in an open-access database that will be accessible to all. We believe that MAPRA will be a “win-win-win” for all involved: institutions will gain new insights on their collections, and make them useful in a new and innovative way; students will learn marketable skills and a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding provenance and collections; and the field at large will be able to access objects and collections that are often unknown outside the institution.

The project is in its early stages. Phase I will focus on compiling resources for provenance research; the creation of data standards; and the development of a provenance protocol for use in academic collections. The protocol will be designed to function in a range of contexts and collections, depending on the needs of the institution. For example, the protocol could be incorporated into a seminar taught by regular faculty, or an independent study overseen by museum staff. Objects under investigation may have been purchases or gifts, pre- or post-1970, in a formal museum, library, or special collections, or in a department collection. The latter category is crucial because many classics departments maintain study collections that were often donated informally and are virtually unknown outside – and sometimes inside – the institution.

In Phase II, we will create a database of Mediterranean antiquities in academic collections in order to make provenance data available to all, including countries of origin. Building from the data generated from the first stage of protocol testing, the database will include objects from institutions across the country, compiled by means of data-scraping as well as direct input.

While the database could generate requests for restitution, we hope to facilitate bilateral agreements that would allow unprovenanced objects to remain legally and ethically in academic collections for the purposes of study and research.

Ultimately, our aim is to create transparency around academic collections of Mediterranean antiquities, in order to manage collections responsibly. Along the way, we will be creating an infrastructure for provenance research on Mediterranean antiquities generally. Perhaps most importantly, we will create a forum for provenance researchers to share information, which currently takes place informally, often via social media. Because so many provenance researchers in the US are early career professionals in contingent positions, it is essential that we “professionalize” the field in order to support those in vital, but precarious, positions. Finally, we are eager to collaborate with our colleagues around the Mediterranean in finding legal, ethical, and fair solutions to the longstanding problem of unprovenanced antiquities.


Mireille M. Lee, PhD, is the founder and Executive Director of the Foundation for Ethical Stewardship of Cultural Heritage (FESCH), and the Project Director for the Mediterranean Antiquities Provenance Research Alliance (MAPRA). For more information, see: https://www.fescheritage.org/ and https://www.mapralliance.org/.

 


OpenEdition schlägt Ihnen vor, diesen Beitrag wie folgt zu zitieren:
RETOUR - Freier Blog fĂĽr Provenienzforschende (9. April 2025). The Mediterranean Antiquities Provenance Research Alliance (MAPRA): a collective response to the problem of undocumented antiquities in US academic collections. RETOUR đź ”. Abgerufen am 8. November 2025 von https://doi.org/10.58079/13pqq


Schreibe einen Kommentar

Deine E-Mail-Adresse wird nicht veröffentlicht. Erforderliche Felder sind mit * markiert

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.