tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972497915033440413.post4204951939667211019..comments2024-03-20T18:15:41.858+00:00Comments on Looting Matters: CPAC review of MOU with Italy: the AIA versionDavid Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164794689385933318noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972497915033440413.post-12832679528937799842009-12-12T21:02:24.288+00:002009-12-12T21:02:24.288+00:00And I expect that Mr Tompa thinks the approximate ...And I expect that Mr Tompa thinks the approximate 1 million ancient coins from multiple "source countries" that were bought and sold on eBay (US) this year are better off with these handlers? No history, no context, just dirt and coins. How many will be carefully cleaned; how many abrasively cleaned? Who will publish them and who will view them?Nathan Elkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13060145336179440359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972497915033440413.post-77615067383465518172009-12-12T02:38:19.280+00:002009-12-12T02:38:19.280+00:00Nathan- You were at the same CPAC meeting I was, ...Nathan- You were at the same CPAC meeting I was, weren't you? Italy (or at least Stefano Di Caro) wants import restrictions on coins, no? In theory, such a claim is based in part on the presumption that the State is the best steward for artifacts, no? As I mentioned in my own blog, I think the Rome display is excellent in concept, but was certainly showing signs of neglect when I was there, something that has been verified by others. Keep in mind this is by far the best numismatic display in Italy. Every other one I have seen (mostly in Sicily) is just awful and I can only imagine the storage conditions behind the scenes. This is all relevant to any claim that the Italian state is the best steward for coins, purportedly justifying as it does, potential restrictions on American collectors. Of course, the Italians themselves don't really believe this. They have a vibrant and quite legal internal trade in unprovenanced coins of the exact same type the AIA wants restricted. <br /><br />Thank you for also reminding us about this on your blog:<br /><br />"Most of the coins in the cases at the Palazzo Massimo come from the private collection of Francesco Gnecchi, a numismatic scholar from the late 19th and early 20th century, but other displays include excavated hoards and finds as does its larger inventory which cannot be displayed at once. Some 60,000 - 70,000 ancient coins from the Rome, which were recovered during the risorgimento, await publication by the numismatists at Frankfurt. Some finds from the Tiber River have already been published."<br /><br />So, the Museum has benefited from the generosity of a collector to make its display possible, but 19th c. ancient coin site finds from Rome still have not been published?<br /><br />Imagine that.....<br /><br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Peter TompaCultural Property Observerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05924359202414555962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972497915033440413.post-40458123214659918552009-12-11T20:44:40.731+00:002009-12-11T20:44:40.731+00:00Last fall was my latest trip to Rome; I actually b...Last fall was my latest trip to Rome; I actually blogged about the Palazzo Massimo display in September 2008 immediately following the trip and posted photographs of some of the displays (including the stratigraphic display described above). Click <a href="http://coinarchaeology.blogspot.com/2008/09/coin-collection-at-museo-nazionale.html" rel="nofollow"><br />here</a> to read the post and view the pictures, and note also the comments.Nathan Elkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13060145336179440359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972497915033440413.post-24317584629361603502009-12-11T20:38:09.589+00:002009-12-11T20:38:09.589+00:00Mr. Tompa has reacted to the attention brought to ...Mr. Tompa has reacted to the attention brought to Sebastian Heath's article via a post denigrating the numismatic display at Palazzo Massimo - Italy's national coin collection. I've visited the collection personally several times and while it is true that the magnifiers, which move on rails by means of buttons, are sometimes broken down (they are probably subjected to a lot of wear), the display is otherwise extensive and superb. A progression of Italy's entire history of coinage is put on display for the viewer: from <i>aes rude</i> through the use of cast bars and coins, to struck Republican and Imperial coins, and then Medieval and modern coinages. <br /><br />The ancient section makes up about half of the floorspace. In addition to cases showing the coins, there are side displays which show hoards and various votive assemblages, accompanied by bilingual explanatory placards. One display reconstructs the stratigraphic arrangement of coins from a well using the actual coins: old cast coins on bottom, with layers of later coins above it and finally the struck coins on top. <br /><br />Mr. Tompa also quotes an unnamed collector who chastises the Italian display. One of the criticisms is that a curator (sic!), described as wearing a jacket and a badge, didn't know anything about the coins. Sounds like a museum guard - not a curator!<br /><br />I've visited several numismatic displays at other national museums, including the British Museum. The British Museum has an and respectable display of coins. But I don't think that one could or would assert that it is supremely better than that of Palazzo Massimo. I don't recall the presence magnifiers allowing one to view the coins up close as one can in Rome either. If my recollection is correct, Palazzo Massimo probably devotes more floorspace to coins and, at least for Roman coinage, the displays are arguably more encyclopedic and dynamic. The current exhibition space at the American Numismatic Society is rather limited and requires entrance into a secure area to view it. A wider selection of coins from the ANS is on view at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.<br /><br />No public display of ancient coins in the United States really compares to the size and scope of what is on view at Palazzo Massimo. <br /><br />Therefore, one must ask the question: For what reason is Mr. Tompa so intent on denigrating the Italian display, especially since there are probably few national displays that could rival it in terms of scope and content?Nathan Elkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13060145336179440359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972497915033440413.post-71548865287443221262009-12-11T20:18:33.002+00:002009-12-11T20:18:33.002+00:00John- Sorry, but as I indicated to David previous...John- Sorry, but as I indicated to David previously, IAPN and PNG are not interested in releasing their CPAC document for public consumption while it is under active consideration. Perhaps, later as was done with the Cyprus submission (see ACCG website for that one). Nevertheless, the state of Italian museums is well known. You may want to try to find a copy of the Oct. Art Newspaper. It has an interesting article about and interview with Mario Resca, Italy's museum czar. He is very forthright about the problems he is facing, chief among which is gross underfunding.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Peter TompaCultural Property Observerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05924359202414555962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972497915033440413.post-44974140317810252072009-12-11T00:58:24.730+00:002009-12-11T00:58:24.730+00:00Peter,
As someone who often bemoans the state of ...Peter,<br /><br />As someone who often bemoans the state of Italian museums, I'd welcome a chance to read the IAPN's or PNG's analysis of the state of Italian museums and their handling of coins and other artifacts. Could you point me to that?<br /><br />Thanks in advance.John Muccigrossohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06544834631983054987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972497915033440413.post-44587679863398716742009-12-10T19:51:04.907+00:002009-12-10T19:51:04.907+00:00Now, now, David. The IAPN and PNG description of ...Now, now, David. The IAPN and PNG description of Italy's handling of the coins in the care of the State was based on an a thorough analysis of the whole picture, not just a focus on one high profile exhibit in Rome. As to that exhibit, while it is quite nice, when I was there a few years back, it was already suffering from neglect-- more than a few dark cases and broken magnifying devices.<br /><br />As for a more general view of Italy's handling of its cultural patrimony, I would also direct you to the candid interview with Mario Resca in the October Art Newspaper. <br /><br />Peter TompaCultural Property Observerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05924359202414555962noreply@blogger.com