Simon asked hypothetically:

> The ICOM code of ethics states that it is highly unethical for
> museums to obtain or use illicit materials in a collection. But what
> should be done if the only examples of a valuable artefact needed for
> a certain collection are of dubious origins?
>
I have waited to for someone else to answer, and am disappointed that no one
really responded thoughtfully.

Isn't the answer to this hypothetical situation that if the valuable
artifact has "dubious origins" it is the museum's duty and responsibility to
pass on it?  What valuable artifact could be so needed for a collection that
a museum in 1999 would stoop to unethical and possibly illegal means to get
it?  Isn't the reason that the code of ethics has this clause in the first
place the fact that some museums didn't always observe either law or ethics
in their acquisitions?

Maybe an example would be helpful.

Claudia Nicholson
Curator
Museum Collections Department
Minnesota Historical Society
345 Kellogg Blvd. W.
St. Paul, MN  55102-1906
  e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
  Phone:  651-297-7442
  FAX:  651-297-2967