Kathryn,

Thankyou for the reply to my points which you posted to the list. I
would agree with you that claiming that rich countries can afford to
look after things so they should keep them is a poor argument - yes
obviously it should be used to pay for providing training &
opportunities & raising standards internationally.

I'm really only just starting out on this debate, which I think has
been lagging in the UK, for whatever reason, so it's interesting to
hear from others with more experience of the issues. Many of the
comments I made, I made in an attempt to take on board the complexity
of the issues, which others on the list seemed to see in a more cut &
dried simplistic manner, so I was mentioning arguments I have heard.
Clearly many of the issues take on a very different hue, depending on
your own background and experience.

I too have been disappointed by the lack of discussion within the BM
galleries showing the Parthenon marbles, & as my coursemates will
verify I was furious about the way some of the Benin bronzes were
displayed in the main building when I went to see them recently.
Unfortuantly there is absolutuely no correlation between the quality
of the collection & the quality of discussion in the galleries.

I don't think I have any answers as yet, but it is gratifying to see
these issues being discussed, hopefully a better understanding of the
situation can be reached (?).