![]() ![]() A convenient definition might be an object which a comparable foreign institution would regard as a great acquisition and would not dream of consigning to a store. And it is always possible to argue about what is meant by a major work of art. ![]() Of course, some of these – most notably the light-sensitive works on paper – should only be exhibited occasionally. In fact there are many major works of art in our museums which are not on view, and of which the British public, for whom they were acquired, know little. Hearing such muttered laments you might have supposed that there were no closed galleries in the great museums of the Western world, and no fine things in storage. ‘What a shame that the ancient painted vase illegally exported from Turkey or the bronze leopard brutally looted from Benin or the sandstone deity clandestinely excavated in Cambodia should be returned to their countries of origin, where they would be seen by a smaller and less varied public and would be less well displayed, or perhaps not be displayed at all and only possible to view by appointment.’ ![]()
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