Cultural property, also known as cultural patrimony, comprises the physical items that are part of the cultural heritage of a group or society,[1] as opposed to less tangible cultural expressions.[2] They include such items as cultural landscapes, historic buildings, works of art, archaeological sites, as well as collections of libraries, archives, and museums.
Cultural property is legally protected by a number of international agreements and national laws. There is intensive cooperation between the United Nations, UNESCO and Blue Shield International on the protection of cultural goods.[3][4][5]
The phrase was used in various contexts in the 19th century. In 1891, The Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission described various countries' relationships to their fishing-related cultural properties including Germany, England, France, Italy, and Holland.[6] In 1899, it was also used in the context of oyster fishing in Holland.[7]
There is no universally agreed-upon definition of cultural property.[8] One widely used definition is provided by Article 1 of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954:[9]
Cultural heritage has been described as the 'most distinguishing form of a culture's expression' and includes both tangible and intangible elements such as 'traditional dances, customs and ceremonies'.[10] Cultural property is the essential elements of a culture that allow it to determined and identified.[10]
Article 16 of the Convention describes the internationally recognized mark for cultural property as follows:
The theme of the 1998 and 1999 International Museum Day was "The Fight against Illicit Traffic of Cultural Property."[11]