This article presents the perspective of a long-time dealer in ancient art and antiquities on the many attacks on the antiquities trade. After a brief historical review of collecting and the different national approaches to control of export of archaeological materials, the author presents an analysis of why the more draconian of the legal systems defeat their intended purposes and are themselves unethical in that they promote the destruction of archaeological sites and the black market in antiquities.

The author questions the concepts underlying ethnological collections of art and artifacts in the context of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Alternatives to traditional Western anthropological and art historical methods of collection and display of sacred Native American material are found in traditional Native American philosophy and practice. The contemporary fashion among curators for contextualization of displayed objects from Indigenous cultures is critiqued in the light of broader ethical concerns regarding the appropriateness of collecting sacred objects from living Indigenous Peoples.

The Supreme Court issued its decision in Spring 1998 in California and State Lands Commission v Deep Sea Research, Inc. making the noteworthy holding that treasure salvors that have 'actual possession' of shipwrecks located on a state's submerged lands will not be ousted from federal court jurisdiction on Eleventh Amendment immunity grounds. Calling into question the Supreme Court's previous opinion involving shipwreck litigation in Florida Dept. of State v. Treasure Salvors, Inc., decided in 1982, the Court has made clear that claims for title to such submerged artifacts can now be fully adjudicated in federal court. In making this significant ruling, and in redefining what constitutes a 'colorable claim' to title in shipwrecks under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act, the Court resuscitated legal precedent that predates the 1865 sinking of shipwrecked Brother Jonathan.

The International Council of Museums, with a broad-based membership of nearly one thousand museums throughout the world, adopted its Code of Professional Ethics in 1986. The Code addresses both institutional and professional ethics and sets standards for the development of internal policies dealing with acquisitions, cooperation, loans and exhibitions, authentication, valuation, documentation, and the special problems raised by human remains. Although described as a conservative document that could garner widespread support from museums located in both market and 'victim' nations, the Code nonetheless prohibits acquisition of material that was illegally exported from its country of origin or derives from unscientific excavation or destruction or damage to sites and monuments.

The 'Group of Seven' has a significant, though not totally uncontroversial, place in Canadian art. Robert McMichael's 'obsession' with the group led to the establishment of the McMichael Collection and then to an agreement between Mr. McMichael and his wife and the government of Ontario concerning the collection. The subsequent litigation as to whether the government had failed to comply with provisions in the agreement on the administration of the collection and on the policy to be followed in adding works to it did not entirely resolve these issues but highlighted a matter of importance to donors of works of art and the bodies to which donations are made: how far may donors ensure compliance with the terms on which they make donations?

The treatment of movable and immovable heritage is markedly different. While movable objects are highly valued and carefully protected, their immovable equivalents are often under a serious cloud of threat. This peril is the result of global mismanagement, failure of governments to provide adequate funds for their maintenance, and lack of recognition by the public that these disappearing resources are assets of major value. Conservators of immovables face special ethical and practical concerns in their efforts to preserve cultural heritage within its context - depicted in this article as case histories from the World Monuments Watch list of endangered sites. The legal and procedural mechanisms that support this task are ineffectual in the face of rapid change. The field needs new methodologies that harness public appreciation of a site's 'sense of place' to guarantee its future.

In 1971, the Newark Museum purchased a Roman mosaic, which, it later learned, had been stolen from the Syrian site of Apamea. Upon formal request for return of the mosaic, the museum arranged for its return with the assistance of the U.S. State Department. The museum received compensation from the dealer from whom the mosaic was purchased. This restitution was undertaken in the hope that future cooperation, including long-term loans of duplicate material, would be fostered, but the author concludes that this hope was never realized.

The author recounts the process of acquiring a work of art, focusing on one object but encapsulating the thoughts and experience of many years. In so doing, she reflects on the value added to the appreciation of artistic works and her joy in sharing this with others through public display of her collection.