Italy – Page 6 – Illicit Cultural Property

More Collapsing Structures in Pompeii

Sylvia Poggioli/NPR

The Berlusconi government is coming under fire for failing to protect buildings at Pompeii and elsewhere from the elements. A piece of Rome’s colosseum fell, part of the home of Emperor Nero crumbled, and now buildings at Pompeii are being damaged by the elements.

All this while Economics Minister Giulio Tremonti said “you can’t eat culture” as he cut funds for the culture ministry. I think anyone who has experienced the delights of Porchetta might seriously disagree with that assertion. That dish was mentioned by Roman writers as early as 400 BCE.

Sylvia Poggioli reports that:

Budget cuts led to a drastic drop in the number of guards, so it’s easy to sneak into the houses and get a glimpse of ancient frescoed walls that are exposed to the elements. Made with humble local stone, these homes were not built to last 2,000 years — all the more need for routine maintenance.

These objects are part of Italy’s cultural heritage, but they are part of our heritage as well. I’m frustrated that the best the Berlusconi government seems able to do is to use Disney as a model for the care and protections of these sites, as Luigi Necco puts it “Why this Disneyland here in the center of Pompeii . . . the center of a human tragedy of 2,000 years ago?”

Sylvia Poggioli, A Collapse In Pompeii Highlights Neglect In Italy NPR, http://www.npr.org/2010/12/02/131581852/a-collapse-in-pompeii-highlights-neglect-in-italy (last visited Dec 2, 2010).

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

Marion True Interview

The Chimera d’arezzo, on loan at the Getty from the Museo archeologico di Firenze

Hugh Eakin has an interview with Marion True in the online version of the New Yorker. She seems relieved her trial is over, but also a little angry that she was the sacrificial curator:

There is the remarkable fact that without ever reaching a verdict, the trial had an enormous effect on American museums.

My greatest sadness is that the Italians were able to intimidate the entire American art world, and especially museums, without having to produce any evidence at all. Why didn’t museums band together and say, “How are we going to deal with this?” They ran off instead to make their own deals—deals which may not exactly be very good in the long run. Why did we hand over all this stuff without asking for more documents? The trial was a gigantic threat that everyone reacted to. The message was, “You could be next.”

Another irony is that precisely some of the changes in museum standards you were calling for in the nineteen-nineties have now come to pass. There is much more talk now of using major loans from archaeological countries in lieu of purchases—something that you had been advocating for many years.

That’s right. But I haven’t seen a genuine opening about loans. There are plenty of things that could be done in loans, possibilities for collaborations. Italy has lent the Chiamera of Arezzo to the Getty, a kind of trophy piece. In truth, there are hundreds of objects sitting in the basements of Italian museums, at Pompeii, everywhere, that need to be conserved. Why not lend them to American museums for conservation work, and so they can be seen?

Has the Getty made any effort to reconcile with you?

No. And I have nothing but the greatest contempt for them in the world. They acted like I ran the place. Above me I had a chief curator who was deputy director, a director, an in-house counsel, a president, a board of trustees to whom the president reported, and a chairman of the board. What about the lawyers who drafted the acquisition policy, who were supposed to be vetting all documents? They were perfectly happy to assure all that [the alleged acquisition of illegal art] was my work. Never once have [former Getty director] John Walsh or [his successor] Deborah Gribbon stepped forward to say one word about their responsibility.

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

Five-year Trial of Marion True Ends

The Italian case against former Getty Museum antiquities curator Marion True, seen at the Los Angeles museum in 1998, has abruptly ended.

Marion True, while still at the Getty

Jason Felch reports today that the trial of ex-Getty Museum curator Marion True concluded with a “whimper” today. That seems exactly right. No verdict was reached, no dramatic finish, only the mundane operation of an Italian legal technicality which ended the trial because too much time had elapsed.

Italy’s renewed focus in recent years on the flow of antiquities into American Museums has resulted in a number of embarrassing returns by American institutions, and no one exemplified that shaming more than Marion True, who would be photographed every time she entered the court. This trial has been proceeding along in fits and starts for the last five years. When she was charged, it was the first time an American Museum official was charged by a foreign government, but it has not been the last. The trial was a lightening rod of sorts, channeling opinions about the antiquities trade and the American Museum community, all to one very high profile, but also very slow legal proceeding. As Felch points out, during the 5 year legal proceeding we have seen the return of more than 100 looted or stolen antiquities from American museums to Italy.

Jason Felch, Charges dismissed against ex-Getty curator Marion True by Italian judge [updated] LA Times Culture Monster, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/10/charges-dismissed-against-getty-curator-marion-true-by-italian-judge.html (last visited Oct 13, 2010).
Nadja Brandt, Italy Drops Conspiracy Charges Against Ex-Curator Marion True, Getty Says, Bloomberg, October 13, 2010, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-13/italy-drops-charges-against-ex-curator-marion-true-getty-says.html (last visited Oct 13, 2010).
Elisabetta Povoledo, Case Involving Former Curator Marion True Ends, Arts Beat, New York Times, http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/case-involving-former-curator-marion-true-ends/ (last visited Oct 13, 2010).

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

Forgery Ring Discovered in Italy

The BBC and ANSA are reporting that a forged art ring has been discovered by authorities after an 18 month investigation. The investigation was conducted by monitoring payment transfers and consulting art historians. Works recovered include forgeries of works by Matisse and Magritte. There are more than 500 counterfeit works, which may have cost buyers close to 9 million euros.

Italy seizes counterfeit artwork, BBC, August 25, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11088475 (last visited Aug 25, 2010).

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

"The Bulldog" Makes a Case for the Return of the "Getty Bronze"

The “Getty Bronze”

Last weekend at the 2010 ARCA conference, Italian state attorney Maurizio Fiorilli offered his thoughts on the ongoing dispute between Italy and the Getty over the disposition of this ancient Greek bronze, often called the “Bronze Statue of a Victorious Youth”. Fiorilli has been nicknamed “Il Bulldog” by the Italian press for his quiet persistence in securing the return of illegally exported and illegally excavated cultural objects from a number of American museums, including a number of objects acquired in recent decades from the Getty.

One object which the Italians did not secure was this bronze, which is the subject of a seizure proceeding in Italy. I’ve posted below four videos which find Fiorilli making a reasoned legal case for the return of the bronze. An Italian court in February ordered the return of this object, however difficulty will arise when Italy attempts to convince a U.S. court to enforce the order. The Getty has appealed the Italian decision, but the legal proceedings are important not only for the direct result, but for the shift in public perception which the Getty will have to navigate. Surely the Getty does not relish the idea of a long protracted public debate over the disposition of this bronze. The story of this bronze presents an interesting case. Though it was certainly illegally exported from Italy, it cannot be considered a “looted” object in my view.

The bronze was found by Italian fishermen somewhere in the Adriatic in the 1960’s. I wrote a long summary of the story of the bronze back in 2007. To summarize, the statue was found by fisherman in the Adriatic in 1964, smuggled out of Italy, and eventually purchased by the Getty in 1977. The bronze was discussed a great deal in the very public battle between Italy and the Getty over other looted objects in recent years. Yet there was a lack of direct evidence linking the Getty to any wrongdoing in the acquisition. Criminal proceedings were brought against some of the fishermen and handlers of the statue in Italy in 1968. Left with little concrete evidence to secure a conviction, the fishermen were acquitted. Yet as Fiorilli argued, these proceedings were made difficult because the actual statue had been smuggled abroad, and Italian prosecutors were unable to meet their burden.

I’ll let Fiorilli make his case in the videos below, and apologies for the low sound levels. Fiorilli spoke beautiful English, but chose to make his case in Italian, with the help of a translator.

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

Italian Carabinieri Announce Operation "Andromeda"

Italian authorities today from the Carabinieri Art and Antiquities squad held a press conference at the Colosseum in Rome to announce the return of 337 antiquities, worth an estimated 15 million euros. They had been seized from a Japanese antiquities dealer in Switzerland in 2008. In 2008 Italy and Switzerland entered into a bilateral agreement which allowed for cooperation on antiquities investigations, perhaps this seizure is a product of that arrangement David Gill points to images and a press release by the Carabinieri. He notes “It appears that this is part of a major investigation into the assets of London-based dealer Robin Symes”. Among the objects returned are pieces of Greek pottery, frescoes, bronzes statues, and marble sculptures. General Giovanni Nistri noted today, “We could make 10 museums abroad with what we’ve brought back”.

Andrew Davis, Italy Repatriates EU15 Million of Antiquities From Switzerland – Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-16/italy-repatriates-eu15-million-of-looted-antiquities-found-in-switzerland.html (last visited Jul 16, 2010).

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

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.

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

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?

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

Why Can’t the Public see the Medici Polaroids

The Euphronios Krater, which passed through Medici

I’ll offer my best guess, and invite any comments below. First, a little background. In 1995 authorities seized a number of looted antiquities and photographs from the freeport warehouse of Giacomo Medici. The investigtion was chronicled in Peter Watson’s The Medici Conspiracy: The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities–From Italy’s Tomb Raiders to the World’s Greatest Museums. These photographs continue to play a role when antiquities are auctioned, particularly when auctioned objects correspond to these photographs. They are released intermittently. Francesco Rutelli discussed a few of them at the ARCA Conference in July of 2009.

David Gill calls these antiquities “toxic” and cautions dealers and auction houses to perform “ultra-rigorous due diligence searches” when these objects correspond to the Medici polaroids. Mark Durney has confirmed with the Art Loss Register that the Medici archive is registered on its database, but “it only has half of the total number of photographs that were said to have been seized from Medici’s warehouse”. Mark then asks how many pictures (and more importantly how many discrete objects were photographed): “Were there in fact 4,000 photographs recovered from Medici’s warehouse?” So we have a rough estimate of some 14,000 images, only some of which may have been included in the Art Loss Register. Mark asks:

Why have the estimated 14,000 photographs seized from various Swiss warehouses not yet been made available to the public? Clearly, one of Interpol’s intentions when it opened its database to the public in August 2009 was to increase the public’s awareness of a fast-growing problem. Full and open disclosure of significant photographic evidence related to looting and the illicit antiquities trade, such as the Medici archive, would be in the interests of preserving cultural heritage. Only then will we be able to publicly examine the realities and challenges inherent in that goal.

So many of these photographs have not been publicly released. Some may not even have been given to the ALR. Why not? I’ll offer my best guess. Because if there is a publicly available, search-able database of these Medici images, then there is a limited effect to the images. They can only be used to limit the sale of objects which were actually looted and photographed. By reserving and holding on to the images, the authorities now have a kind of “penumbra” to impact the market for the antiquities which have been photographed, but also any object which might plausibly have passed through Medici’s warehouse.

But this causes its own problems. There are not really any negative consequences when an auction house puts an object up for sale and then is asked to withdraw it. There may be some negative publicity, but surely this must be factored into the cost of auctioning these objects. What a mess of a market.

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

Italian Seizures, the Bronze Athelete, and the Getty

The Getty has decided to appeal the February decision in which an Italian court ordered the seizure of this statue, Bronze Statue of a Victorious Youth. An Italian appeals court judged ordered the work returned to Italy. This was a new legal approach as nations as far as I’m aware have not attempted to bring forfeiture proceedings domestically, with an expectation that a foreign government or court would uphold the order. Perhaps the Italian courts could seize other assets the Getty has in Italy in lieu of recovery, but my initial conclusions are shared by Patty Gerstenblith in Martha Lufkin’s excellent summary of the current disposition of the dispute. Gerstenblith notes two problems. First, illegal export does not give Italy a tenable claim in U.S. courts. It may in conjunction with a law like the Cultural Property Implementation Act and bilateral agreements, but those were all enacted after the bronze was brought to California. Second, an awful lot of time has elapsed, and it is likely that an American court will take a dim view of the length of time Italy has taken before this action. Indeed, charges were brought in Italy against the fisherman who brought the bronze up in their nets in the 1960’s, but the defendants were acquitted.

There is an extralegal dimension to the appeal as well, in that Italy continues to put pressure on the Getty, and its means of acquisition of the statue.

We may question the Getty’s acquisition of the bronze, question where it currently belongs, and even debate the merits of restitution of these objects. However, there is no evidence that this bronze was “looted” in the same way the Euphronios Krater was for example. All reports I’m aware of indicate the fishermen fortuitously brought this up in the Adriatic, in international waters, in 1964. They may have later passed it on to others who smuggled it out of the country, but this is not a looted object.

For noteworthy previous posts on the bronze, see here.

Martha Lufkin, Greek bronze will stay in the Getty Villa, The Art Newspaper, April 14, 2010.

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