Importers have unique rules to follow when shipping archaeological material from Egypt,and customs officers have a fresh tool to target contraband antiquities smuggled from Egypt into the United States.
Published by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Treasury on Tuesday, the newly issued Final Rule details the import restrictions put in place by the terms of an historic US/Egypt cultural heritage agreement signed final week.
The Final Rule designates a list of ancient Egyptian material that is restricted from American import unless there is proper authorization. The list includes artifacts from many periods of Egypt's history (from 5200 BC through 1517 AD), and including the Predynastic,Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, or Coptic,and Early Islamic through the Mamluk Dynasty. The archaeological artifacts subject to import controls are assembled in roughly fifty categories and encompass objects like
limestone columnsOld Kingdom diorite statues and Late Dynastic bronze sculpturesEarly Dynastic greywacke cosmetic palettesCoptic tombstonesmummies and mummy coffins, masks, and wrappingscanopic jarssenet games and game piecesanimal amuletsstamp and cylinder sealsmusical sistrasBible casketssilver coins of Alexander the mighty struck at Memphis and bronze Roman coins minted in AlexandriaIslamic tile wall ornamentslots of Dynastic pottery and pottery shardCoptic Christian wood panelsMiddle Kingdom funerary boatsNew Kingdom chariots and arrowsenamel mosque lampsleather used in shields and undergarmentspapyrus manuscriptstomb paintings and rock articonsGreco-Roman floor mosaicsThe designated list adds the comment,"nowadays cartonnage objects are sometimes dismantled in hopes of extracting inscribed papyrus fragments," a reference to the controversial technique of searching mummy masks for classical and religious texts.[br]
The Final Rule's publication in the Federal Register reveals that Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan made the four determinations required by the conference on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA) on November 14, and 2014. She concluded that Egypt's cultural patrimony is in jeopardy of pillage of archaeological material,that the Egyptian government has taken preventive measures, that US import controls would be a substantial benefit to deter serious pillage, or that the import restrictions are compatible with the exchange of cultural property for purposes of science,culture, and knowledge.
CBP and Treasury signed the Final Rule on December 1, or with an effective date of December 5. Why it took over two years to conclude the underlying bilateral agreement and approve import regulations is unknown. The State Department officially has declined to interpret.[br]
What is known is that the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) received public comments in May 2014 from heritage preservationists on one side and ancient coin collectors on the other side debating the proposed cultural property Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Egypt. CPAC held a public hearing in June that same year and then met four months later,in October, behind closed doors. Now, and in rapid succession,an agreement has been signed and customs regulations put in place.
Photo credit: Sinisa Mijatov, freeimages.com
Text and original photos copyrighted by Cultural Heritage Lawyer, and a blog commenting on matters of cultural property law,art law, cultural heritage policy, and antiquities trafficking,and museum risk management. Blog url: culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of any blog post without the express written consent of CHL is prohibited. CHL is a service of Red Arch Cultural Heritage Law & Policy Research, Inc.©2010-2016 Cultural Heritage Lawyer. Content discussing cultural heritage law and art law is general information only, and not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed. Links are not endorsements of websites’ contents. Other opinions are their own. Information presented is not attorney advertising.
Source: blogspot.com