The Ethics of Collecting

ShayanMirza · 26th January 2007, 06:58 PM

The more sales of ethnographic arms and armor I see, the more I am confronted with a question: is it ethical to take the arms and armor of a people, much of which was obtained during imperial occupation, and sell them for profit to private collectors?

I am conflicted on this. On the one hand it is wonderful that many people outside of the culture of origin get to experience this work. Some collectors exhibit their pieces in museums. Most, if not all, try to learn as much about their acquisition as they can, and the culture that produced it.

On the other hand, if that culture is deprived of its artifacts and material heritage to satisfy the market demand of a relatively small number of collectors, is the world the better for it? Does it truly promote education? Personally, I lean more towards this side of the spectrum on this issue. I have a historically relevant and martial family, from which many unique weapons are derived. To be honest, it annoys me to see the tools by which my ancestors conquered or died sold on eBay or weapons sites to American or European buyers, who may only view it as a typical piece of the such-and-such period, or have an interest in weaponry but no understanding of the significance the weapon truly had to the contemporaries or their ancestors.

There are cogent points to be made on both ends of the spectrum. Where do we draw the line between collecting the historic, and imperialistically plundering a foreign culture? Should native countries buy back their weapons? Should for imperial powers give back their nationally owned ethnographic weapons?

I know I feel I shouldn't have to pay some dealer $5000 or something for my own ancestors' weaponry!

What are your thoughts on this?

26th January 2007, 06:58 PM	#1
ShayanMirza Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Charlottesville Posts: 25	The Ethics of Collecting The more sales of ethnographic arms and armor I see, the more I am confronted with a question: is it ethical to take the arms and armor of a people, much of which was obtained during imperial occupation, and sell them for profit to private collectors? I am conflicted on this. On the one hand it is wonderful that many people outside of the culture of origin get to experience this work. Some collectors exhibit their pieces in museums. Most, if not all, try to learn as much about their acquisition as they can, and the culture that produced it. On the other hand, if that culture is deprived of its artifacts and material heritage to satisfy the market demand of a relatively small number of collectors, is the world the better for it? Does it truly promote education? Personally, I lean more towards this side of the spectrum on this issue. I have a historically relevant and martial family, from which many unique weapons are derived. To be honest, it annoys me to see the tools by which my ancestors conquered or died sold on eBay or weapons sites to American or European buyers, who may only view it as a typical piece of the such-and-such period, or have an interest in weaponry but no understanding of the significance the weapon truly had to the contemporaries or their ancestors. There are cogent points to be made on both ends of the spectrum. Where do we draw the line between collecting the historic, and imperialistically plundering a foreign culture? Should native countries buy back their weapons? Should for imperial powers give back their nationally owned ethnographic weapons? I know I feel I shouldn't have to pay some dealer $5000 or something for my own ancestors' weaponry! What are your thoughts on this? Last edited by ShayanMirza; 26th January 2007 at 07:23 PM.