The Cleveland Apollo

Earlier this year I drew attention to the forthcoming display of the Cleveland Apollo. I look forward to reading about the documentation for its reported display in an East German garden. There has been a discussion of the German collector in the German press. So I presume all the issues will be addressed in full by Michael Bennett's newly published book on the Apollo.

Steven Litt ("The Cleveland Museum of Art wades into global controversy over antiquities collecting with exhibition and catalog on its ancient bronze Apollo", cleveland.com September 27, 2013) quotes Bennett:

Bennett, however, states that the Apollo was one of thousands of antiquities in private hands whose ownership histories are not completely documented. Lack of such documentation, Bennett writes, is not evidence that an object was looted. It’s not a case of guilty until proven innocent.

I hope Bennett has read Chippindale and Gill on such antiquities and that he reflected on how our comments predicted the outcome of the Medici (and related) scandal.

Litt also draws to the recent history of the vendors of the statue as well as comments by museum director David Franklin (and see his comments on the Drusus).

And lest it is forgotten that Cleveland played its part in the returns to Italy (and has yet to rehearse its position on the objects' acquisition) the list can be found here.

I look forward to reading Bennett's book in due course.