Friday,
September 29, 2006
Italy Retrieves More Looted Antiquities
from US Museums: This time, 13 from Boston Museum
The
ANNOTICO Report
The
Boston Museum of Fine Arts is the third major American institution in the last
year to commit to a large-scale return of antiquities.
In
February, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
The
Getty pledged in June to surrender a number of "significant"
artifacts, over 52 allegedly looted items, but has yet to identify specific
items in talks with Italian officials, who say the two sides remain far
apart. The
By
Ralph Frammolino and Jason Felch
Times Staff Writers
September 29, 2006
ROME The Boston Museum of Fine Arts
on Thursday formally returned 13 Greek and Roman antiquities to Italy as part
of an agreement negotiated over the last five months with Italian officials
seeking to recover allegedly looted artifacts from American museums.
The museum's return of the items, including a life-sized 2nd century white
marble statue of Vibia Sabina, one of the hallmarks
of its collection, comes days before the J. Paul Getty Museum is scheduled to
resume negotiations here over 52 allegedly looted items the Italians want back.
Italian Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli resisted
comparisons between the museums, but made it clear that he hoped the
"I think this agreement can accele!
rate those that are proceeding more slowly," Rutelli said at a signing ceremony.
The Boston Museum of Fine Arts is the third major American institution in the
last year to commit to a large-scale return of antiquities. In February, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in
The
The Getty's situation is more serious than those faced by the
"Neither
In further contrast to the Getty, which faces the loss of tens of millions of
dollars it has spent on ancient art, the Boston museum paid $834,000 for the 13
objects, which it purchased between the early 1970s and the late 1990s, records
show.
Rutelli said the Getty's case was "perhaps a
little bit more complicated and a little bit more complex. It's huge, huge.
But, of course, we are very determined to close such a negotiation."
A Getty spokesman declined to comment on the museum's negotiations with Italian
officials.
The
Evidence included Polaroid photographs seized from the dealers' files of
freshly excavated antiquities, some of which show the items broken, dirty and
not yet restored.
Officials at the
The artifacts were crated and shipped from
"When we acquired these objects, we did it in good faith, and there was
not evidence that suggested we could not acquire the objects in good faith.
More evidence has come to light," said Malcolm Rogers, the museum's
director, who signed papers Thursday formalizing the return.
"We in
Confidential records show that the Italian Culture Ministry also had inquired
about four dozen other items in the
The objects had been sold to the museum by dealers known to handle looted art.
But when both parties failed to find additional information about the objects,
the pieces were dropped from the deal negotiations, Italian officials said.
Culture Ministry officials said the
The agreement allows for the Italian Culture Ministry to lend antiquities to
the
"We know those loans are going to happen,"
Rutelli would not say what the Culture Ministry would
offer the
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/
world/la-fg-return29sep29,0,3655460.story?coll=la-home-world
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