Month: June 2010

Indianapolis Museum of Art to Receive Loan of Roman Antiquities

An image of a Vigna Codini Columbarium

Some good news for Museums and nations of origin.  The Indianapolis Museum of Art has issued a press release to announce a loan of ancient sculptures from the Museo Nazionale Romano beginning in January 2011.  The loans are for a renewable two-year period and include three life-size portrait busts and a marble funerary urn from the Vigna Codini Columbarium, which the release describes as an important Roman tomb discovered in 1847.

Max Anderson of the IMA really nails the importance of these agreements when he states in the release that “American museums have few examples of ancient art which can be displayed with their complete context understood . . .  The Vigna Codini Tomb contents from the Julio-Claudian and Flavian periods open a window to understanding that only long-term loans can provide, since the inadequate ownership history is no longer acceptable.” This is what a licit antiquities trade could be.  We know where the objects originated, how they came to the museum; visitors will see the context; all in a “universal” museum. 

The release notes that these are the types of loans the Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and the United States was meant to promote.  Those interested in the MOU and the practical impact it has or has not had should look to the recent edited volume, Criminology and Archaeology (Simon Mackenzie and Penny Green, 2009). I review the volume in the Spring issue of the Journal of Art Crime. Of particular interest is Gordon Lobay’s contribution, which looks empirically at how the U.S.-Italy MOU has made an impact on the antiquities market—at least the observable licit market.

  1. Italy to Loan Roman Sculptures to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, IMA (2010), http://www.imamuseum.org/sites/default/files/VignaCodiniFinal.pdf.
Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

Senator Dodd Weighs in on Yale and Peru

Sen. Chris Dodd has weighed in on the dispute between Yale and Peru over objects removed by Hiram Bingham from Peru during the early part of the 20th century. Bingham brought widespread attention to Machu Picchu during a serious of expeditions, and he returned home with many objects, which have been in the possession of Yale, despite what Peru claims was an agreement to return those objects.  Yale has offered to provide material and financial support for research in Peru in exchange for a traveling exhibition and continued lease of the objects, however that agreement fell through and Peru has sought relief in federal Court.

Yet now Sen. Dodd has offered to intervene.  Though he says Peru are the rightful owners of these objects, he may mean these are items of cultural heritage which should be returned to Peru.  “The Machu Picchu artifacts do not belong to any government, to any institution, or to any university,” Dodd said in a statement. “They belong to the people of Peru. I plan to work with both parties to resolve this dispute quickly, amicably, and return the artifacts to their rightful owners.”

From the AP story:  “Machu Picchu has special significance for Peru and the entire world,” Yale said in a statement. “We look forward to a plan that preserves the artifacts and ensures their availability to the public and scholars to promote further appreciation and study of the rich cultural legacy of Machu Picchu.”

For background on this dispute, see these posts. 

  1. John Christoffersen, Senator Christopher Dodd Says Artifacts Held by Yale Belong to Peru, http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=38572 (last visited Jun 15, 2010).
  2. In Peru, Dodd Works to Mediate Dispute Over Machu Picchu Artifacts | U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd, (2010), http://dodd.senate.gov/?q=node/5658 (last visited Jun 15, 2010).
  3. Cultural Property Observer, Connecticut Senator Sides with Peru Against Yale Cultural Property Observer (2010), http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2010/06/connecticut-senator-sides-with-peru.html (last visited Jun 15, 2010).
Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

Joseph Fishman on Intranational Cultural Disputes

Joseph Fishman, Clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has posted Locating the International Interest in Intranational Cultural Property Disputes Yale Journal of International Law, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2010.

This Article considers the extent to which there may be an international interest in how intranational disputes over cultural property are settled. Drawing on the norms underlying recent global scrutiny of states’ destruction of cultural objects located within their own territory, I identify two factors that may justify internationalizing otherwise domestic conflicts over cultural property: discriminatory intent and harm to cultural diversity. I argue that where neither of these concerns is implicated, the international community should pursue a policy of non-intervention, both because local authorities are likely to be more competent adjudicators and because eliciting a global referendum on cultural identity risks sapping that identity of its fluidity. At the same time, maintaining neutrality is inappropriate when one claimant’s asserted right would actually undermine this legal regime’s multiculturalist goals. The claim of group ownership over a cultural object acquired through persecution of minority communities abuses a property right whose ostensible rationale is promotion of cultural diversity. This frustration of purpose ought to give the international community a significantly higher interest in ensuring that a claim does not untether the property right from the theory that justifies it. The Article concludes by calling for recognition of cultural property rights as a purposive legal scheme that is susceptible to exploitation, in domestic and international arenas alike.

It is a very interesting piece, Fishman uses as an example, the St. Ninian’s Isle Treasure in the United Kingdom.  Highly Recommended.

Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

Footnotes

  • Another reminder of the importance of context:  Archaeologists found what might be the world’s only well-preserved Roman gladiator cemetery near York.
  • A warehouse in Queens, NY is home to many artifacts seized in New York by federal agents.
  • An Armenian Church is suing the Getty over pages from a Bible.
  • The police of Quebec City are asking the the public’s assistance in recovering four stolen lithographs by Jean-Paul Riopelle.
  • Paolo Ferri, an Italian Prosecutor who has been active in seeking the return of antiquities, has made statements asking Christie’s to pull 3 works from their upcoming auction believed to have appeared in the Medici archive.
  • A case currently in litigation in Canada is a clear example of the bad practices in the Art world.
  • Click here to read about whether museum rentals of art collections will rise.
  • Is Shelby White’s expansion of the Leon Levy Foundation a good thing?
  • Italy and Greece plan to sign a bilateral cultural agreement soon.
  • ICE has returned looted artifacts captured in Miami to the government of Peru.
Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

Spring Issue of the Journal of Art Crime

The Spring issue of the Journal of Art Crime has been published, I’ve posted the table of contents below.  This is the third volume of the journal, which has some terrific contributions from fellow bloggers David Gill, Donn Zaretsky, and others in the field like Ton Cremers and Giovanni Pastore.

This issue has pieces on forgery, the Getty Kouros, vandalism, the antiquities trade, underwater heritage, and other topics.  Noah Charney edits the journal, which is a very fine source of writing on art and antiquities crime, with serious academic pieces, regular columns and other interviews and extra features. Highly recommended.

Subscriptions are reasonable, with the funds supporting ARCA and its publishing and educational mission.  A subscription includes two 150-page issues every year with some terrific contributions.  You can subscribe here. 

Table of Contents:  Journal of Art Crime, Volume 3, Issue 1 


ACADEMIC ARTICLES
Collecting Histories and the Market for Classical Antiquities 3
David W.J. Gill
Responding to Art Vandalism in British Museums and Galleries: A Survey of the Situation 11
Helen E. Scott
The Getty Kouros Mystery 23
Miranda Vitello
Copy versus Forgery: The Difficulty in Determining Motive with Regards to Modern 31
Iconography and Icon Collections
Riikka Köngäs
 
Faking History: How Provenance Forgery is Conning the Art World 41
Olivia Sladen
The Looting of the Iraq Museums: 53
An Examination of Efforts to Protect Universal Cultural Property
Simmy Swinder
REGULAR COLUMNS
An Empty Frame: Thinking About Art Crime 75
“Thoughts on the Leonardo Trial”
Derek Fincham
Security & Safety Reflections 79
“Oxygen Reduction in Museum, Libraries, and Archives”
Ton Cremers
Context Matters 81
“Italy and the US: Reviewing Cultural Property Agreements”
David Gill

Cultural Heritage 87
“The Defense of Underwater Archaeological Heritage”
Colonel Giovanni Pastore

Lessons from the History of Art Crime 93
“Did the Nazis Steal the Mona Lisa?”
Noah Charney
Art Law and Policy 95

Donn Zaretsky

EDITORIAL ESSAYS

What’s in a Number? 99
John Kleberg
University Treasures 101
John Kleberg
After 40 Years, Revelations about the Lost Caravaggio 103
Judith Harris
The Returns to Italy from North America: An Overview 105
David W.J. Gill

REVIEWS

Nazi Plunder: Great Treasure Stories of World War II 111
America and the Return of Nazi Contraband: The Recovery of Europe’s Cultural Treasures 111
Douglas L. Yearwood reviews
Criminology and Archaeology: Studies in Looted Antiquities 113
The Restitution of Cultural Assets 113
Derek Fincham Reviews
Confessions d’un voleur d’art (Confessions of an Art Thief) 115
Diane Joy Charney reviews
Le Front de l’Art, Defense des Collections Francaises 1939-1945 117
Rose Valland Resistante Pour l’Art 117
Rose Valland Capitaine Beaux-Arts 117
Rose Valland, l’espionne du musee du Jeu de Paume 117
Diane Joy Charney reviews
“Caravaggio at The Quirinale” Exhibition 119

EXTRAS

The Art We Must Protect: Top Ten Must-See Artworks in the USA 121 Noah Charney
ARCA profile of Ton Cremers 125
Mark Durney
Q&A with ICE’s Cultural Property, 127
Art and Antiquities Program Head of the Northeast, Special Agent Bonnie Goldblatt
Mark Durney
2010 ARCA Award Winners 129
Contributor Biographies 131

Acknowledgements 133

Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

Vernon Rapley Leaves the Metropolitan Police for the V&A

According to a report by the Art Newspaper, the V&A museum has hired Detective Sergeant Vernon Rapley away from Scotland Yard’s art and antiques.  The V&A is a massive museum, which has been difficult to safely secure in the past.  Here’s to hoping he can continue to improve the V&A’s security.  From the Art Newspaper:

He joins the museum on 21 June, to take charge of security and visitor services. Before turning to art, Rapley investigated murder, paedophilia and child abuse at the Metropolitan Police. He really got to know the V&A in 2004, when there was a spate of thefts at major London museums. The V&A was hit three times, and 38 rooms had to be shut, many for years, while security was upgraded. Supported by the V&A, the Yard set up the London Museum Security Group. Rapley even took a turn as guest curator earlier this year, when he organised a Scotland Yard-curated display at the museum on fakes and forgeries, which spotlighted the case of the Greenhalgh family from Bolton, who created objects ranging from Egyptian antiquities to modern paintings.

  1. V&A gets its own personal detective | The Art Newspaper, (2010), http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/V&A-gets-its-own-personal-detective/21044 (last visited Jun 9, 2010).
Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

More Reactions to the "Medici Dossier"

Kimberley Alderman starts a discussion on whether Italy should release all the images in the “Medici Dossier”. 

Christie’s is being criticized for leaving on the auction block three items which have been alleged by archaeologists and an Italian prosecutor to have originated from the famous and illicit antiquities trader, Giacomo Medici.  Italy, however, has not submitted a formal request for repatriation of the objects to the U.S. government or even a title claim to Christie’s.

She offers some strong comments from attorney William G. Pearlstein:

What the Italians are doing is outrageous. They are deliberately withholding the Medici files from the public, allowing hot pieces to remain in circulation and then playing up every seizure for maximum publicity value. They continue to play the role of victim when actually they have became cynical predators on American institutions that want nothing more than to do the right thing.

David Gill responds with his typical pointed questions about diligence for buyers, Christies, and collecting histories. I think many good points are made here, and we need to have an open conversation about what role the market and auction houses can or should play in this trade.  Damage is done, demand remains high, and the current rules aren’t preventing destruction or producing an honest market.  I’ve argued that auction houses need to be held to a higher standerd, because they act as heritage market makers, and the fact that an object comes up for auction means something, and is an important event in the history of an objects such that increased liability should attach when these objects are found to be lost or stolen.

  1. David Gill, Christie’s, the Medici Dossier and William G. Pearlstein Looting matters (2010), http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2010/06/christies-medici-dossier-and-william-g.html (last visited Jun 7, 2010).
  2. Kimberley Alderman, Is Italy “Asking For It” By Refusing to Release the Medici Photographs? Three items at Christie’s raise questions « The Cultural Property and Archaeology Law Blog, http://culturalpropertylaw.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/is-italy-asking-for-it-by-refusing-to-release-the-medici-photographs-three-items-at-christies-raise-questions/ (last visited Jun 7, 2010).
Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

Footnotes 6.3.2010

  • The Modern Art Museum in Paris is set to open its doors for the first time since the May 20th heist.
  • Charles Hill, A former Scotland Yard expert warns against the potential danger to London’s museums and galleries during the 2010 Olympic games.
  • Commercial galleries in Australia are preparing for whatever may come as a result of a new royalty law which takes effect June 9th.
  • Haverford College in PA is set to return a noted Descartes original letter to its rightful owner in Paris.
  • Two British families have returned antiquities to Libya, some of which date as far back as the 5th century BCE.
  • Click here to read about psychologist’s take on the motivations behind art theft.
  • Stately homes in England have been targeted by art theft gangs after valuable porcelain.
  • Click here to read the Wall Street Journal’s take on why we should give some masterpieces a rest.
  • Not everything you’ve heard about art theft is the truth.
Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

Princeton Curator the Focus of Criminal Investigation

In 2007 Princeton University Art Museum agreed to return four antiquities to Italy, and hold four others on loan for four years.  This came during a wave of negotiated returns from American museums like the MFA Boston, the Met, the Getty, and others. 

Now the N.Y. Times is reporting that Italian prosecutors are focusing on Michael Padgett, an antiquities curator at Princeton University along with Edoardo Almagià, an antiquities dealer. 

It should come as no surprise that Italian authorities are investigating Almagià, as ICE agents seized “archaeological material” from his apartment in 2006.  More surprising perhaps are the charges brought against Padgett, the curator at Princeton.  Charges were brought against Marion True, a curator at the Getty, whose trial has been slowly progressing for the last five years.  There were indications or perhaps only assumptions that she would be the lone curator charged. 

This should be an interesting investigation to watch develop.  The True investigation has certainly had a dramatic impact on the antiquities trade. 

From a practical matter, I wonder what was contained in the settlement agreements with Italy and these museums.  Was there no discussion of immunity for curators who may have acquired some of these objects which are being returned?   

  1. Hugh Eakin, Italy Focuses on a Princeton Curator in an Antiquities Investigation, The New York Times, June 2, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/arts/design/03curator.html?pagewanted=all (last visited Jun 3, 2010).
Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com