Antique helmet court case
Press release from 12/09/2010
The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation hereby clarifies the following with regard to the proceedings being dealt with today at the Berlin Administrative Court for the return of an antique helmet:
The foundation is keeping the antique helmet in its depot purely as an administrative aid for the public prosecutor's office. This ensures that the valuable object is stored properly for the public prosecutor's office. The Foundation has no connection to the object beyond its mere safekeeping. As the custodian, it is listed as a co-defendant for purely formal reasons. The Foundation does not pursue its own interests with this administrative assistance.
The collection and acquisition of antique artefacts is generally the subject of public debate. With the "Berlin Declaration" of 1988, the Antikensammlung Berlin called for a strict voluntary commitment on the part of museums when purchasing archaeological finds. It had already been imposing this obligation on itself for years. In 2003, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation organised the international conference "Illegal Archaeology" in order to publicise the fatal consequences of the increasing number of looted excavations and the trade in such finds, which should be outlawed. The conference resulted in the adoption of the "Berlin Resolution", which reaffirms the 1988 declaration.