Derek Fincham

Golf, Donald Trump and the Stone Age

Aberdeen’s own Press & Journal details a potential headache for Donald Trump. The billionaire has been planning a new golf resort here in the North-East of Scotland, between Balmedie and Newburgh. The plans include 2 courses, a village, and a 5-star resort. It may all cost up to £5 billion. Unfortunately, these hills may contain Stone Age relics. An environmental assessment is currently underway. There is no definitive proof that the dunes contain relics, however Ian Shepherd, an archaeologist with the Aberdeenshire Council speculates that, “the coast would have been rich in food sources and a perfect place for hunter gatherers. They could have found whales washed ashore, seals for hunting and wildfowl further inland. Our evidence is that these areas were really at a premium.”

If I had to guess, I’d say that the chances of this kind of development were to be held up by some archaeological concerns are quite slim. Perhaps a compromise could be worked out wherein parts of the development are excavated. There always exists a tension between archaeology, environmental concerns, and development. My personal view is that the impacts of the courses and hotel would likely be far less intrusive than that of the oil industry in the wider area. Though I should confess I’m an avid golfer, and one could not imagine a more perfect setting for golf.

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

Italy takes aim at Japenese museums

Italy’s aggressive repatriation campaign is continuing, this time in Japan. Italian authorities have compiled a list of 100 objects it claims must be returned. Many of the works are currently housed at the Miho Museum in Koka. Italy plans to make a request for the return of the objects under the 1970 UNESCO Convention. The way in which Japanese authorities respond to these claims will likely be dictated by the quality of the evidence which Italian authorities are able to produce. Most reports claim that these objects are stolen, and that term is likely inaccurate. Probably none of the objects are stolen as we normally think of the crime. Most likely, they were illeglly excavated and/or illegally exported. Italy has claimed an ownership interest in its antiquities, and also put strong restrictions on their export.

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

Marion True on Trial in Greece as Well

The New York Times devotes an article to bail being set in another trial of former Getty curator Marion True in Greece yesterday. The trial involves this greek funerary wreath, allegedly removed from the country 15 years ago. The Getty agreed on Dec. 11 of last year to return the wreath to Greece. I discussed that decision earlier here. The NYT reports that in total, five people have been charged in the case, “Ms. True… two Greeks accused of digging up the wreath in northern Greece, Georgios Tsatalis and Georgios Kagias; L. J. Kovacevic, a Serbian national accused of putting them in touch with a middleman; and Christoph Leon, a Swiss-based antiquities dealer who sold the wreath to the Getty in 1993 for $1.1 million.”

True faces a potential 10 year prison term. I found the comments of the investigating magistrate Apostolos Zavitsanos quite interesting, “The wreath’s value of over a million dollars determined the nature of charges brought against Ms. True.” Why do prosecutors use the monetary value of an object to ascertain the seriousness of a crime in this context? It seems to run contrary to the underlying rationales for nationalization of antiquities and restrictions on their export. These restrictions are based on the idea that the important loss which occurs is to the archaeological context, and not the loss of the actual object. If Greece were simply concerned with the loss of beautiful objects, why not just dig up the whole peninsula? Sentencing should also incorporate how much knowledge was lost as a result of the looting in my view.

True has been understandably upset in recent weeks. Back in December, Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino of the LA Times managed to uncover a bitter letter written by True to the Getty Trust. True argued that her supervisors were aware of her acquisitions, and were fully appraised of the itinerant risks. The LAT quotes her letter, “Once again you have chosen to announce the return of objects that are directly related to criminal charges filed against me by a foreign government…without a word of support for me, without any explanation of my role in the institution, and without reference to my innocence.” Though the increasing number of criminal charges leveled at her seem to render her cries of innocence increasingly desperate, I can see her point.

It seems as if True was not doing anything much different from other curators and purchasers during this period. The one difference may have been that the vast funds at the Getty’s disposal dictated that she would buy more objects . The trials will show whether she violated Italian and Greek law; however it makes me uncomfortable when a few members of a group are targeted as examples, while others go unpunished. The flaw occurs across many areas of the law, but seems more acute when we think about cultural property. Successful prosecutions are few and far between.

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

A Gauguin will stay at the TMA

A Federal District Court in Ohio has denied the ownership claims of 15 people seeking an interest in this work. “Street Scene in Tahiti” by Paul Gauguin was purchased by the Toledo Museum of Art in 1939. It’s current value is estimated at between $10 and $15 million. A copy of the opinion memorandum is available here, courtesy of Harvard Law Professor Harry Martin III. The work belonged to a German Jew, Martha Nathan. In 1937, she left Germany to escape Nazi persecution. The next year, in 1938, Nathan sold this work to a group of art dealers she had known for some years, who were Jews as well. The three purchased the work for 30,000 Swiss Francs, ($6,900 USD). As Judge Zouhary notes, “this sale occurred outside Germany by and between private individuals who were familiar with each other. The Painting was not confiscated or looted by the Nazis; the sale was not at the direction of, nor did the proceeds benefit the Nazi regime.”

The work has hung in the TMA since its purchase in 1939, and Nathan brought other Restitution claims for Nazi persecution, but did not file a claim for the painting. In this case, Judge Zouhary applied Ohio’s 4-year statute of limitation. The trick with limitations periods hinges on when the limitations period has started to run. Under Ohio law, the discovery rule dictates that a claim accrues when a claimant discovers, or should have discovered the injury. This is precisely the kind of claim a statute of limitation is intended to cover. It also highlights that often in these cases, the issue of whether a limitations period has expired will often prove outcome-determinative.

The case is a bit peculiar. Often, it is the claimants who bring suit. However, in this case the Toledo Museum of Art preemptively brought an action last year in a quiet title action. Whether the claimants will seek an appeal remains to be seen, but it seems likely given the value of the work. However, they do not have a great set of facts to work with here. Their ultimate success seems quite unlikely.

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

Sonic Fingerprints

From Wired News, apparently Italian geophysicist Pietro Cosentino has been using sonic tomogopraphy to fingerprint wooden, ceramic, and stone objects. The non-invasive process records sonic vibrations after an object is struck with a small rubber hammer. The technology could have some interesting possible uses for identifying objects. There are a few potential hurdles though. First, the technology is extremely expensive. The sonic fingerprinting system costs between 15,000-20,000 Euros. Also, the sonic fingerprints change over time, so the process must be conducted regularly to be effective. There is also a risk of some less-than trustworthy individuals using the technology for false identification.

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

Thefts in Auckland New Zealand

Thieves have stolen a Charles Goldie portrait and an Oxford Lectern bible from Auckland University’s library over the holidays. Like most Universities, it seems Auckland shut its doors over the holidays, and the theft was not discovered until employees came back from their holiday break. It’s unclear how the thieves will attempt to sell the two objects, as they would be easily recognizable by any dealer. However, those claims are made every time there is a high-value robbery such as this.

Perhaps police are trying to discourage the thieves from attempting to sell the objects, or perhaps the theft was made to order. Regardless of how difficult these objects are to sell though, they keep getting stolen. The portrait, “Planning Revenge” was recently returned from Canada. I cannot find an image of that work, but this is a work called “A Noble Relic of a Noble Race”, which might be similar. Sadly, the work was recently returned to New Zealand, after spending the last 70 years in Canada

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

More on Civic Cultural Heritage, the Ozarks, and Eakins

Daniel Brook of the Boston Globe has a can’t miss article on the “Gross Clinic” fund raising efforts in today’s edition, available here. He neatly summarizes all of the salient issues in the dispute, and rightly points out the hypocrisy in an American city, which owes much of its artistic resources to the power of its Gilded Age benefactors, crying foul when an important work is purchased by wealthy outsiders. Were Philadelphians perhaps upset at the idea of Bentonville Arkansas, home to Wal-Mart, upstaging its own perceived cultural importance? I think so. The article echoes a lot of the arguments I’ve been making here, namely that the civic export restrictions are quite similar to the policies implemented by source nations to protect their own archaeological heritage.

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

Art Beat Constables

Lucian Harris of the Art Newspaper has an article on efforts of the London Metropolitan Police to recruit volunteers. Shockingly, the center of the second-largest art and antiquities market in the world, London, has only four full-time officers in its Art and Antiquities Unit. Furthermore, the Art squad has been told that it could become disbanded if it does not become 50% self-financing by 2008. What precisely “self-financing” would be does not appear clear to me. In response, the squad has been recruiting volunteers from museums, universities, and insurance companies to serve as Special Constables who will spend one day every two weeks patrolling markets or doing undercover work. The volunteers will receive training in police procedure and specialist art squad techniques.

The goal of the effort is to build bridges between the police and the art world. Perhaps the program will garner results, but I’m highly skeptical. What self-respecting art dealer would risk damage to his reputation by putting on a police uniform and patrolling the streets of London, looking for stolen masterpieces (such as Camden Passage, pictured here)? The measure seems a bit bizarre, and if authorities in London are actually serious about limiting the trade in illicit cultural property, there are much better, more practical ways to proceed. Authorities could start by amending the extremely weak Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003.

This measure seems to me a public relations jaunt, and one that carries a substantial risk of backfiring. Could you imagine the Italian Carabinieri adopting such a scheme? I think not.

(Image Courtesy of Channel 4)

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

Thomas Jefferson’s Quran

Cultural property may often be used for present-day political purposes. NPR’s All Things Considered has a nice piece on Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. He announced last month that he wanted to be sworn in with a Quran. A slew of criticism ensued, and Ellison responded by announcing he plans to use a copy of the Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson. It was a very smart political move, especially considering Jefferson helped to create America’s religious toleration. He considered his writing of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom one of his three most important life accomplishments.

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

How Do Dealers Acquire Antiquities?

Bo Emerson of the Atlanta Journal Constitution has a nice article in yesterday’s edition tracking the efforts of Jasper Gaunt, curator for Emory’s Michael C. Carlos Museum, in his successful attempt to acquire this Hellenistic marble head of a goddess, dating from the 2nd or 1st century BC. The work sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for $486,400.

It’s a very interesting article, and highlights the way the insular antiquities-buying community works. One thing struck me about the article. Though dealers may, with the best of intentions, strive to acquire objects with a detailed provenance, thereby insuring the objects were not illicitly exported or excavated, you pay a premium for them. That is, if an upstart cultural institution is trying to expand its collection, and has only limited funds, it may be difficult to pay a higher sum for works which are provenanced. It would seem to pose a difficult moral dilemma. Should a curator risk buying an unprovenanced object if it means they might add to the prestige of their institution? I think that’s a very real temptation. Of course, working against that temptation is the increasing scrutiny leveled at cultural institutions who are accused of holding illicitly excavated, looted, or illicitly exported objects.

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