AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) is a globally recognized cultural institution, with an encyclopedic collection of over 2 million artworks and artifacts spanning 5,000 years of human history. In 2021 the museum launched a new venture, taking advantage of the renovations of Michael C. Rockefeller Wing to organize an international tour of artworks from The Met’s Oceanic a collection. Artwork and artifacts from Oceania are almost exclusively organics, and many of the raw materials used these works contain parts or derivatives of species which are listed on the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), the Lacey Act, and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973.

In preparation for the tour, a dedicated conservator spent approximately 9 months systematically working through the tour pieces in partnership with registrars, curators, onsite scientists and outside experts to correctly identify and document all CITES materials. During this process it became clear that The Met was in need of better training, more resources, and development of an institution wide approach to CITES materials going forward. The challenges facing cultural heritage institutions in identifying material to a species-specific level in compliance with these regulations are different from those faced by natural history collections. Art objects generally incorporate processed derivatives of species, often without associated literature on material sources, making this endeavor particularly challenging and conservators, while trained extensively in material identification, may not be equipped with the expertise needed to correctly identify and name species in all instances. In addition, registrars, curators, and legal counsel all need to understand the process of permit applications fully, as well as developing a knowledge of certain intrinsic limitations, as well various permitting paths and requirements.

Through a deep understanding of the laws, conservators and other stakeholders can ensure that they are meeting international legal standard and requirements in support of these important regulations, while also being able to share cultural materials with the public. To address this knowledge gap at The Met and set a standard for the institution, we have created a working guide for dealing with applicable art objects, in addition the development of a reference library and applicable training. This project was born due to a lack of clear information and protocols relating to the required research and permitting for objects that fall under these laws, forcing many staff, both at The Met and at similar cultural institutions to struggle to produce correct, consistent work, and remain current with evolving rules and regulations. Our quick guide and step by step guide will provide a solution to allow museum professionals to confidently and effectively report their art objects that fall under these laws.