Abstract

Bhutan’s reputation as a peaceful, pristine, and culturally-unspoiled Buddhist kingdom are challenged by surprising statistics around looting, theft, murder, and the complicity of the caretakers of Bhutan’s cultural heritage. In 1999, a reported 1,132 chorten (stupas) and 136 lhakhang (monasteries) were looted or vandalized, and their monk caretakers were assaulted, murdered, or an actor in the crime itself (Kuensel, 1999). A former director of the National Museum of Bhutan estimated that 50% of Bhutan’s chortens have been vandalized and looted (Former Museum Director, personal interview, December 22, 2018). These impactful statistics are at odds with the image that Bhutan has taken much care to cultivate: that of a peaceful, non-violent, and sustainability-conscious country focused on preserving its cultural heritage (Berthold, 2005). Changing times and technologies and increased global influences have shaped Bhutan into a source country for antiquities trafficking, a once unheard of crime in Bhutan before the introduction of tourism (embraced, in earnest, in 1974), television (gifted to Bhutan in 1999 by the 4th King of Bhutan), and technology (also a gift from the King in 1999) (Whitecross, 2008). In this study, I introduce Bhutan, its cultural heritage, and give context around its antiquities trafficking trade and how arts, goverment, and museum professionals have responded in Bhutan.

Presenters

Laura Evans
Associate Professor and Coordinator of Art Museum Education Certificate, Art Education and Art History, University of North Texas, Texas, United States

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

2019 Special Focus—Museums, Heritage and Sustainable Tourism

KEYWORDS

Cultural heritage, Antiquities trafficking, Looting, Museums, Bhutan

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