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sechan19In a sudden move, the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Italian Government came to an agreement regarding some forty-six contested art objects owned by the Getty but claimed stolen by the Italian Government. The Getty agreed to return a remarkable forty of them, including a prized statue of Aphrodite (although not immediately). Among the remaining six is the coveted 4th century BCE bronze statue of an athlete. The Getty had made it clear that it would not give up its signature piece on the basis of such flimsy evidence, and it appears that the Italian government was able to live with that.
Of course, as I mentioned before, it was in Italy's best interest to make a deal with the Getty before today's date. They had put an ultimatum on the table, threatening a cultural embargo against the Getty. But, you see, Italy gets way more from the Getty than the Getty gets from Italy so that was rather dumb. Still, I think they made out rather well all things considered. Initially, when talks broke apart some months ago, the Getty was only offering twenty-six contested pieces. Things are still quiet, but I'd be interested to know what made them change their minds about the remaining fourteen. Undoubtedly some new evidence regarding their provenance and acquisition.
Situations like this are tough to negotiate. On the one hand, it seems ridiculous for a country to insist so strongly on pieces like this when it has literally thousands of the same stored in warehouses. One wonders what is to be gained from taking these works out of the public eye. On the other hand, when art is looted (as many of these pieces clearly were) so much about its history is looted as well. So much information is lost forever in the process. Viewed from that perspective Italy is taking a very brave stand to defend the history of works found on its soil, and I'm happy to see this outcome.
Getty Museum Agrees to Return 40 Artifacts to Italy (NY Times)
Of course, as I mentioned before, it was in Italy's best interest to make a deal with the Getty before today's date. They had put an ultimatum on the table, threatening a cultural embargo against the Getty. But, you see, Italy gets way more from the Getty than the Getty gets from Italy so that was rather dumb. Still, I think they made out rather well all things considered. Initially, when talks broke apart some months ago, the Getty was only offering twenty-six contested pieces. Things are still quiet, but I'd be interested to know what made them change their minds about the remaining fourteen. Undoubtedly some new evidence regarding their provenance and acquisition.
Situations like this are tough to negotiate. On the one hand, it seems ridiculous for a country to insist so strongly on pieces like this when it has literally thousands of the same stored in warehouses. One wonders what is to be gained from taking these works out of the public eye. On the other hand, when art is looted (as many of these pieces clearly were) so much about its history is looted as well. So much information is lost forever in the process. Viewed from that perspective Italy is taking a very brave stand to defend the history of works found on its soil, and I'm happy to see this outcome.
Getty Museum Agrees to Return 40 Artifacts to Italy (NY Times)
