P-NG Artifacts

Plans To Control Drain Overseas Of P-NG Artifacts

Papua-New Guinea’s Admini tration and the trustees of the *-NG Museum and Art Gallery

re examining proposals for

jgislation which would give the

duseum power to acquire

aluable artifacts intended for

xport.

[PRESENT legislation gives Admin- L istration authority to bar the xport of any artifact but does not rovide for its acquisition by the luseum.

President of the Museum’s trus ts, Chief Justice Sir Alan Mann, ays all the Museum can do now is egotiate for the purchase of any iece on which the export ban has ieen placed.

“Sometimes the intending exporter efuses to sell and valuable pieces are eft to rot in crates,” he said recently.

Sir Alan said he hoped the pro losed legislation would provide for >ne examining authority.

“It would not be the intention of he Museum to ban the export of any )iece to a Museum of standing,” he aid. “Rather, we wish to encourage nterest in the art work of our people.

Wrong Hands

“But it would be desirable that ;enuine artifacts made as part of a raditional culture do not fall into he wrong hands.”

Sir Alan said collectors purporting ;o represent noted overseas museums lad often visited the Territory and *one away with collections of valuable pieces many of which had lever reached the museums to which ;he collector had said they would go.

It was desirable that loopholes in ;he present legislation which allowed this practice and other forms of trickery be closed, he said.

Sir Alan said the Museum had been concerned with the outflow of valuable pieces for some time.

“Basically, the intention is to see that the needs of museums of stand ing are satisfied before those of private collectors,” he said.

“Any future legislation should cover all those artifacts not specifi cally made with a view to their sale —those artifacts made within a cul ture for traditional and cultural pur poses.”

The Chief Justice said a meeting had been called in Port Moresby in January to discuss the encouragement of native carvers and artists.

Scheme for Manufacture The Department of Education and the Department of Trade and In dustry had been present and ex pressed a willingness to co-operate in a scheme which would encourage the manufacture of quality artifacts for sale.

“These pieces would be important to collectors,” said Sir Alan, “because they would represent a current trend in the culture of their makers”.

He said some of the pieces now being made were in fact better re flections of traditional culture than artifacts actually made for cultural purposes.

Local Government Councils in the Sepik, encouraged already by Native Affairs officers, were doing a good trade in artifacts.

Sir Alan said it was hoped Terri tory paint manufacturers would pro duce a paint from earth pigments to simulate the dyes traditionally used.

“This would mean native artists would not have to use the glossy trade store paints many use at present,” he said.