A New Non-Contact Fingerprinting Method for the Identification and Protection of Objects of Art and Cultural Heritage Against Theft and Illegal Trafficking

When a head of state or minister signs a cultural exchange agreement with a colleague from another nation, a collective shudder goes up the spines of the conservators and curators of museums, and collections of art and cultural heritage in those respective countries. It is not that they are against cultural exchange. Far from it, the opportunity to share collections and experience with other audiences, and to work with colleagues abroad is welcomed by all. Since the Treaty of Maastricht (1992), is has been, in fact, official European Community policy to encourage cultural exchange in all fields and at all levels to promote more cohesiveness and understanding within the community, as well as with third nations. This has resulted in, among others, several successful programmes aimed at supporting cultural heritage, including the Raphaël programme, and more recently and still current, the Culture 2000 programme. A common denominator of these programmes, and European cultural heritage policy in general, is the exchange and dissemination of cultural heritage, as can be seen in several key lines from the follow-up Treaty of Amsterdam (1997), Article 151 (ex. Article 128):