STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO RECENT MEDIA ATTACKS ON THE INTEGRITY OF THE SCHØYEN COLLECTION

Recent media articles about the Schøyen Collection, based in part on dubious research by activist academics, have made unwarranted and poorly evidenced allegations about the Collection and its founder Dr Martin Schøyen. Dr Schøyen has vigorously challenged and refuted the bogus insinuations that have appeared in some media outlets, largely in Norway. He said:

“Scholarly research untainted by bias and the preservation of items important to global history and culture have both been undermined by small sections of the media giving a platform to conspiracy theories masquerading as academic research. This is the very definition of ‘fake news’.

“Ideologically driven activism with an often unstated campaigning motive can do serious damage to public education and scholarly freedom which must always stand outside potentially destructive political and ideological ‘utopian’ agenda. Most recently, un-evidenced and erroneous material online related to different items has been ‘cherry-picked’ to make false accusations without context against Dr Schøyen and the Schøyen Collection as a whole. The importance of the collection is itself taken as negative, revealing their inherent bias.”

This statement responds to unfounded assertions that have been fuelled by a longstanding ideologically motivated campaign against responsible private collections in general, and the Schøyen Collection in particular:

• Some ‘researchers’, uncritically citing ‘public domain material’, have propagated biased and unfounded allegations without evidence. We are in the position of a circular argument where earlier un-evidenced claims by activists are falsely taken as ‘truth’ without verifying the original claims. Repeating false statements over and over again is in fact to systematically whitewash lies into an obfuscating veneer of 'truth'. This is a distinctly sloppy approach to research and to fact-based journalism.
• By their own admission some researchers have made no reference to extensive publicly available statements on these issue provided on the Schøyen Collection website – including research, awards and citations, donations, and manuscript rescue. These statements would, to an unprejudiced observer, have decisively dealt with false allegations. This represents either laziness or malice or an attempt to use the Collection as leverage in a much wider assault on the principle of private ownership of legitimately acquired historical artefacts and documents.
• The language used in such articles is often imbalanced and fundamentally unscholarly. For example alluding to our provenance, without evidence and out of context, as a ‘systematic history of fairy tales’ is the aggressive language of activism and campaigning and not the language of balanced scholarly debate.
• Some researchers have slyly referred to ‘earnings’ as if collecting were invariably a business enterprise for profit which does not apply to private collections like the Schøyen Collection whose stated aim is to facilitate academic study, research and preservation of our global shared heritage and which has a demonstrable record of achieving these aims [Note: this is a link to downloadable pdf file].
• Despite outrageous claims, all the items in the Schøyen Collection have been legally acquired. The suggestion that Martin Schøyen’s ownership needs to be ‘legitimised’ reveals an ideological bias against private collectors and private collections and is a false rewriting of the legal situation, seeking to anticipate legislative and regulatory changes in which some activists are engaged in promoting. The Schøyen Collection is wholly legitimate. End of story.
• This ideological bias against legitimate private ownership is further demonstrated by the use of the loaded term ‘collusion’ to describe the relationship between academic researchers and collectors. This insults the integrity of highly reputable scholars working in partnership with private collectors to bring historical, archaeological and documentary material into the public domain. Worse, it is an attempt to undermine their work and create an atmosphere of fear and anxiety in their community in order to promote cultural, legislative and regulatory change.

Dr Schøyen added: “Ideologically driven articles and documentaries give no credit to the demonstrable role of private collections in preserving our precious and shared human heritage in an uncertain world.

“Our critics have a right to their radical view of the relationship between historical artefacts and private and public ownership. We have a right to challenge their utopian views which can result in situations where our shared cultural heritage is placed in danger during times of war or is subject to restricted access because of government austerities.”

“Responsible private ownership (we unreservedly condemn irresponsible private ownership) under the rule of law is a safeguard for a great deal of material of vital cultural importance. Private capital and curation that gives full access to the responsible scholarly community (as the Schøyen Collection does) adds exceptional value to the maintenance of global culture.”

The Schøyen Collection continues to welcome and support the work of accredited researchers who share its founder’s values of accredited scholarly study and artefact preservation for future generations.

February 2020