Marion True and Greece: The Rome Trial Continues

The Rome trial of Marion True has continued (Elisabetta Povoledo, "Antiquities Trial Continues in Rome", New York Times, February 21, 2008). Daniela Rizzo has been giving evidence in court as a prosecution witness.

A prosecution witness painstakingly presented the court with photographs and documents on Wednesday in an effort to establish that more than a dozen looted artifacts had made their way into the Getty’s collection.

Some of the objects illustrated in court are now exhibited in Rome, "Nostoi: Capolavori Ritrovati": 43 items were formerly in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum. These include 11 pieces formerly in the Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman collection (one of the returning Roman wall-painting fragments appears to be from the same room as a fragment returned by Shelby White), and three from the Maurice Tempelsman collection.

Many of these returning objects were acquired during the curatorship of Marion True (see "Marion True: some preliminary thoughts on the New Yorker Interview").

Commenting on images of objects clearly fresh out of the ground, Rizzo said:

If it came from an authorized dig, it would say so and give a date ... The fact that it doesn’t makes you think, doesn’t it?

Indeed it does.