Sunday,
June 18, 2006
The
ANNOTICO Report
An
internal review by the J. Paul Getty Trust has found that 350 Greek, Roman and
Etruscan artifacts in its museum's prized antiquities collection were probably
looted, and are valued at close to $100 million. Getty records show that they
include 35 of the museum's 104 masterpieces.
That
is in addition to the 52 already admitted to, and at the center of current negotiations. Many of these 52 valued at more
than $48 million, are prominently displayed at the Getty Villa in Pacific
Palisades, the nation's only museum dedicated to ancient art.
GETTY'S
LIST OF DOUBTS MULTIPLIES
A
museum review finds 350 works bought from dealers suspected of trafficking in
looted art.
Italian
authorities have not been given details.
By
Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino
Times Staff Writers
June 18, 2006
An internal review by the J. Paul Getty Trust has
found that 350 Greek, Roman and Etruscan artifacts in its museum's prized
antiquities collection were purchased from dealers identified by foreign
authorities as being suspected or convicted of dealing in looted artifacts.
The review, conducted last year to gauge the Getty's exposure to claims against
objects in its collection, shows that the trust purchased far more pieces from
suspect dealers than has been previously disclosed.
The assessment valued the 350 vases, urns, statues and other sculptures at
close to $100 million. That is in addition to 52 items in the Getty collection
that
The assessment does not address the question of whether any of the 350 objects
were purchased illegally, nor does it evaluate their artistic significance. But ! Getty records show that they include 35 of the
museum's 104 masterpieces.
The Getty has not provided Italian authorities with its review of the 350
pieces, a fact that could complicate talks set to resume Monday in
Maurizio Fiorilli, a state attorney and the lead
negotiator for the ministry, expressed surprise late last week when told of the
Getty's findings about the 350 objects.
Fiorilli said he had asked the trust to collaborate
on identifying other possibly tainted items in the collection, "and they
have not spoken about these." He added that the Getty's failure to
disclose the questionable origin of additional objects raises concerns about
the trust's sincerity in the upcoming talks.
Getty spokesman Ron Hartwig on Friday declined to
discuss the review.
"During our meeting with the Italian government in January, both sides
agreed we woul! d limit our
public comments with the media to a joint statement," he said. "We
have tried diligently to abide by that agreement, and therefore we have no
further comment. The parties have agreed the place for negotiations is at the
table, not in the press."
Getty officials have been eager to put the antiquities scandal behind them and
find a mutually agreeable solution with Italian authorities, but the magnitude
of the case continues to grow. Since negotiations over the 52 objects started
in January, Italian authorities say they have identified 15 additional items in
the Getty's collection that they believe were looted and should be returned.
Efforts to reach an agreement have also been complicated by the continuing
criminal trial of the Getty's former antiquities curator, Marion True, on
charges that she conspired to purchase looted art for the museum. Prosecutors
have presented evidence of her business dealings with a network of dealers they
allege are at the c! enter of the illicit antiquities
trade.
The Getty review does not identify specific dealers responsible for selling the
350 items. But other Getty records indicate some of the works were supplied by Giacomo Medici and Robert Hecht, True's co-defendants.
Medici was convicted last year in that case and has appealed.
Italian and Getty reviews have found evidence suggesting that the two dealers
maintained close ties with illegal excavators and trafficked in looted art. True's own defense concedes that many of the objects at
issue in her trial may have been looted. But she says she had no knowledge of
that fact when she bought them.
The Getty has conceded publicly that it purchased items from dealers who have
since been "discredited." The museum's internal review concluded,
however, that most of the 350 pieces it bought from suspect dealers are
unlikely to have to be returned to their countries of origin
The agreement has been seen as a blueprint for how to resolve the numerous
disputes between
The Getty's talks are expected to culminate in an agreement similar to the Met's.
On Friday,
"This is a question of turning the page, away from the time when we used
to close an eye, two eyes actually," to the problem of looted antiquities,
he said.
But in many ways, the stakes are far higher for the Getty than for any other
Not only have the Italians asked! that a greater number of objects be returned,
but many of the 52 initially contested artifacts, valued at more than $48
million, are prominently displayed at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, the
nation's only museum dedicated to ancient art.
One, a towering marble and limestone statue of the Greek goddess Aphrodite,
dominates the Gods and Goddesses room on the villa's first floor.
Another, a sculpture of two mythic griffins, greets visitors as they walk out
of the elevators on the villa's second floor. A third, a lekanis,
or marble basin, is delicately painted with the only known example of ancient
yellow pigment and is the centerpiece of the Trojan War room.
A fourth, a sculpture of Apollo, is the focal point of a long first-floor room
called the Basilica. Another, the bronze Victorious Youth, stands in a
specially designed room of its own, where humidity is carefully kept at 21%.
The villa reopened in January after a nine-year, $275-million renovation.
It currently exhibits 1,200 of the 2,500 antiquities it considers to be of
display quality.
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