Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Italy Scores Point in Getty Row re "Aphrodite" - Next "The Victorious Youth"

The ANNOTICO Report

 

An Independent Expert on a 5 Member Panel has said tests confirm the Italian view that it comes from the ancient site of Morgantina in central Sicily.


Palermo University geochemistry professor Rosario Alaimo said he compared samples of the work with those of another statue from Morgantina and "came to the conclusion that both materials are Sicilian stone from the Siracusa-Ragusa area".

Other members of the panel are studying pollen and earth taken from the statue when it was cleaned in 1988.

 

Now comes the battle  over a third-century BC bronze 'Victorious Youth' attributed to the famous Greek sculptor Lysippos.

The athlete, which the Californian museum acquired in 1977, was found in the Adriatic, off the north-eastern port of Fano, in 1964.

The Getty claims that it was found in international waters and so does not belong to Italy.Italy does not dispute that the bronze was outside
territorial waters when it was discovered, but stresses that it was taken out of the country illegally.

My old friend Ron Olson, the Leading partner at Munger- Tolles (Munger is Warren Buffet partner) who represents the Getty Museum in the Negotiations, has quite a hill to climb. :) :)

Thanks to Pat Gabriel

ITALY SCORES POINT IN GETTY ROW

Life in Italyhttp://www.lifeinitaly.com/news/news-detailed.asp?newsid=4917

From ANSA

March 26, 2007

(ANSA) - Palermo, March 26 - Italy has landed a major  blow in the battle to win back a disputed fourth-century BC  Greek statue of Aphrodite from the John Paul Getty Museum.

The American museum is resisting demands to give the statue back because of doubts about whether the artwork is actually from Italy in the first place.

But a member of the panel of five independent experts set up to ascertain its provenance has said tests confirm the
Italian view that it comes from the ancient site of Morgantina in central Sicily.


Palermo University geochemistry professor Rosario Alaimo said he compared samples of the work with those of another statue from Morgantina and "came to the conclusion that both materials are Sicilian stone from the Siracusa-Ragusa area".

The Getty has said the statue, one of the jewels in the Malibu Getty Villa's lauded Greek and Roman collection, could have been made elsewhere, possibly at an ancient Greek colony in North Africa.

Some studies had suggested it is a composite, put together from Sicilian limestone and Greek marble to form an irresistible object - the oldest large 'cult' statue of the goddess.

The Getty has said it will hand over the statue, which it bought from a London dealer in 1988, if a year of study by
the panel shows it was looted from Morgantina.

Other members of the panel are studying pollen and earth taken from the statue when it was cleaned in 1988.Italian Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli has threatened to break off relations with the Getty unless the museum returns several dozen objects, including the
Aphrodite.

In January, in the wake of a long expose' in the Los Angeles Times, Rutelli said the Getty's claim to the Aphrodite was "crumbling".
The minister argued that the LA Times "has corroborated what the Carabinieri (art police) have always said, that it left Italy illegally".

Citing evidence turned up by the reporters, Rutelli said the Getty's claim to the piece rested on the "risible" claim that it once belonged to a tobacconist in a town on Italy's border with Switzerland.

"It's such a clear falsification (that) it's surprising a great institution like the Getty is still dragging its heels," Rutelli said.

Even if agreement is eventually reached on the Aphrodite, there is an even bigger sticking point in the negotiations: a third-century BC bronze 'Victorious Youth' attributed to the famous Greek sculptor Lysippos.

The athlete, which the Californian museum acquired in 1977, was found in the Adriatic, off the north-eastern port of Fano, in 1964.

The Getty claims that it was found in international waters and so does not belong to Italy.Italy does not dispute that the bronze was outside
territorial waters when it was discovered, but stresses that it was taken out of the country illegally.

Talks between Italy and the Getty on the return of disputed works broke down just before Christmas.

The deal with the Getty was to have been the third with major US institutions.

The Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts have agreed to return key parts of their classical collections in return for loans of equivalent value.

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news-detailed.asp?newsid=4917

 

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