Ornate Links Tethering Cultures in Flux.

Big anthropological surveys are feats of cultural diplomacy, requiring years of negotiation and persuasion. And when regular diplomacy breaks down because of hostility or instability, museums feel the impact. We were reminded of this last spring, when Asia Society's exhibition of Buddhist art from Pakistan was delayed for six months. And now again as the Metropolitan Museum of Art's ''Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition'' opens without some important loans from Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]