In my June 4 post announcing the new antiquities acquisition rules promulgated by the Association of Art Museum Directors, I noted that it would be interesting to see whether the Metropolitan Museum changed its policies to
conform with the new guidelines. Its director, Philippe de Montebello, had been an outspoken advocate of AAMD’s previous “10-year rolling rule,” which said that museums should be free to acquire objects that had clear and acceptable provenance going back 10 years. Now, in most circumstances, the provenance must date back at least to Nov. 17, 1970, the date of the UNESCO Convention.
Harold Holzer, the Met’s senior vice president for external affairs, has now informed me that the Met will indeed adhere to AAMD’s new, stricter standard.
Meanwhile, I just checked the AAMD website to see if any objects have now been listed in the organization’s new online registry for antiquities lacking complete post-1970 provenance.
The answer: Not yet.