Looting Matters

Maxwell L. Anderson, Director of the Dallas Museum of Art, appears to be concerned about some of the acquisitions made by the museum before his appointment. He has placed a number of recent acquisitions on the AAMD's object register. Among them is a volute-krater, attributed to the Underworld painter, purchased from Edoardo Almagià in 1998 (inv. 1998.74). The krater first surfaced 1989, and it is claimed ("reputedly") that it had previously formed part of an (anonymous) English private collection.

Dallas also has a pair of Etruscan bronze shields with head of Acheloos (Inv. 1998.115.1-2.M), "Reputedly in a European collection prior to sale by Edoardo Almagia. Purchased by the Munger Fund from Mr. Almagia." [AAMD] What is the name of the anonymous European collection?

Almagià is directly associated with objects returned to Italy from the Cleveland Museum of Art and Princeton University Art Museum. Almagià should be able to supply Dallas with the name of the spec…

The Italian Ministry of Culture (MiBAC) and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) have announced that MIA will be returned an Athenian red-figured volute-krater to Italy (press release: Italian, English). MIA joins five other AAMD museums in returning cultural property to Italy.

The krater was acquired in 1983 from Robin Symes apparently on the recommendation of Michael Conforti. The press releases are silent on the fact that MIA has started (and possibly shelved) an investigation into the krater's collection history back in November 2005 when museum officials were shown images from the Medici Dossier by reporters from the Los Angeles Times.

There are two comments. The Italian Minister of Culture, Giancarlo Galan, commented:
“This success was possible because Italy has chosen the diplomatic route in order to obtain the return of certain objects which might have provenance questions. I take this occasion to thank the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for its cooperation and look forwa…

I have been reflecting on how major North American museums managed to get themselves into a situation where they acquired recently surfaced antiquities. Indeed they have exposed themselves to criticism from foreign governments, academia and the media.

I presume the motivation was to build a collection of classical antiquities that would rival other museums. Curatorial careers were built on the finest Greek pot, or should that be vase?, or the most unusual archaic marble statue. but did those curators never stop and think about the sources? Had these genuinely unknown objects really resided in some anonymous villa beside Lake Geneva? Or did these same curators suspect that they were derived from the deliberate destruction of archaeological sites? But did they care? Or were they just naive?

The move to address this problem was brought to the world's attention by bodies such as UNESCO and the AIA. From the North American museum community we should also note Maxwell Anderson's pi…

Questions about the Joseph A. Lewis collection of Egyptian antiquities have been raised since the indictment of the collector and some North American dealers. Loans have been noted at Virginia MFA and at Boston MFA. The coffin seized in Miami was also apparently destined for the same private collection.

I have yet to receive a response from the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University. However, Lee Rosenbaum of Culturegrrl is far more persistent and has posted information about the 19 objects donated by Lewis. Yet information about their collecting histories has yet to be released and Rosenbaum rightly draws attention to the AAMD policy on transparency.

Such a silence is not surprising. It appears that the museum has yet to resolve the Greek claims over a Minoan larnax, a pithos, and a statue of Terpsichore.

I have written to the Michael C. Carlos Museum again today.

Lee Rosenbaum of Culturegrrl has drawn my attention to the newly named president of the AAMD: Dan Monroe. Monroe is credited with the tightening of the AAMD's position on recently-surfaced antiquities.

I wonder if Kaywin Feldman, the outgoing president, will be announcing the return of the Minneapolis krater to Italy.

The St Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD). In 2008 the AAMD published "2008 Report of the AAMD Subcommittee on the Acquisition of Archaeological Materials and Ancient Art". Guideline G states:
If a member museum, as a result of its continuing research, gains information that establishes another party’s right to ownership of a work, the museum should bring this information to the attention of the party, and if the case warrants, initiate the return of the work to that party, as has been done in the past. In the event that a third party brings to the attention of a member museum information supporting the party’s claim to a work, the museum should respond promptly and responsibly and take whatever steps are necessary to address this claim, including, if warranted, returning the work, as has been done in the past.The Stanford Archaeology Center has published an image of the Saqqara register apparently showing the mummy mask. It …

I have drawn attention to a statement by various US bodies.
We call on the Egyptian authorities to exercise their responsibilities to protect their country’s irreplaceable cultural heritage. At the same time, we call on United States and European law enforcement agencies to be on the alert over the next several months for the possible appearance of looted Egyptian antiquities at their borders.
The Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation has issued the full text and the list of signatories has expanded to include:

American Anthropological AssociationAmerican Institute for ConservationAssociation of Art Museum Directors (AAMD)Friends of Cultural Heritage (Turkey)International Association for Art ResearchSino-American Field School of Archaeology

In 2005 a reporter from the LA Times showed the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) a photograph that linked an Attic red-figured krater to a wider investigation into recently-surfaced antiquities. Now "Culture Monster" at the LA Times has noted (December 21, 2010) the Lee Rosenbaum's coverage of the story.
Questions are being raised about whether the Minneapolis Institute of Arts is coming sufficiently clean about an ancient Greek vase in its collection, which has been linked to antiquities dealers involved in tainted acquisitions by the Getty.MIA Director, Kaywin Feldman, is probably regretting writing a letter to the New York Times that drew attention to her thinking on cultural property. And her position is important because she is also President of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD).

But there is another aspect to this story. The krater is reported to have been acquired by the MIA on the recommendation of Michael Conforti, then head curator at the museum.…

Lee Rosenbaum has asked the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) a series of key questions about the Attic red-figured krater acquired in 1983 reportedly on the recommendation of Michael Conforti ("Transparency Gap: Minneapolis Institute Refuses to Discuss Greek Hot Pot", Culturegrrl December 20, 2010). Her starting point is a letter to the New York Times by Kaywin Feldman, director of the MIA and president of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), where she noted "the highest principles of collecting and stewardship of their collections".
Rosenbaum rightly shows that this is not a new story. She links to a statement made by MIA in November 2005 (i.e. over five years ago). She also notes that the MIA confirms that the statement as reproduced is accurate. In other words staff at MIA had been shown an image of the krater by a reporter from the Los Angeles Times.

The image, as Rosenbaum reminds us, is derived from the Medici Dossier. It shows the krater still …

I am grateful to Lee Rosenbaum of Culturegrrl for her comment on Kaywin Feldman's letter to the New York Times (December 7, 2010) on the return of material from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to Egypt. Feldman is president of the Association of Art Museum Directors and director of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She was responding to a NYT editorial, "Repatriating Tut" (November 29, 2010), that drew attention to Hawass' attempts to reclaim the mummy mask acquired by the St Louis Art Museum.
Egypt has rightly been demanding that governments and museums return fundamental parts of its patrimony that have disappeared from ancient troves. It has had no success thus far with a 3,200-year-old burial mask at the Saint Louis Art Museum, a bust of Nefertiti in Germany, or the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum.Hawass takes the view that the mask was removed from one of the archaeological stores in Saqqara.

Feldman claimed to be "taken aback" by the edi…

The AAMD has made available its two submissions to CPAC relating to the proposed MOU with Greece.
a. Statement of the Association of Art Museum Directors; Presented by Stephen J. Knerly, Jr.
b. Statement of the Association of Art Museum Directors; Presented by Larry Feinberg, Director Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Knerly sums up his paper:
As a result, the Committee should recommend that Greece’s request be tabled for further study. The Committee should thoroughly investigate whether the statutory requirements necessary for the imposition of the import restrictions sought by Greece can be satisfied. In addition, before an MOU can be adopted by the United States, extensive work will need to done in order to create a designated list that does not sweep objects from all over the Mediterranean world into an effective trade embargo that would preclude the entry into the United States of objects from an extensive list of countries. Finally, the Committee should recommend that, in the interim, …

Christos Tsirogiannis is conducting important research on the Medici Dossier. A polaroid in the archive shows an Attic red-figured calyx-krater with a Dionysiac scene. The krater is still encrusted with mud and salt deposits; it appears to be fresh out of the ground.

The krater appears to be the one acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Art (inv. 83.80). The MIA website has the following description:
On the front is a lively procession, with the wine god Dionysus amid his entourage of cavorting satyrs and maenads, or female devotees. Of particular interest is the child-satyr who, in an apparently unique representation, rides on the shoulders of one of the maenads.The child-satyr is seen quite clearly in this image.

The krater was acquired from Robin Symes in 1983 (see Star Tribune November 14, 2005, "The Minneapolis Institute of Arts bought its vase "in good faith" from Robin Symes, ... said museum spokeswoman Anne-Marie Wagener", archived here) and was reported …

Greece has asked the USA to consider imposing import restrictions on certain categories of archaeological material. It seems that they are concerned that looting continues to feed the market in recently-surfaced antiquities.

Concern has been expressed in the Greek press and by the Greek authorities about the Minoan larnax in the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University.

But what is the full collecting history of the Minoan larnax acquired by Houston's Museum of Fine Art (MFAH)? It is nearly two years since I sent a request to the MFAH (another AAMD member) for this information. Is the silence significant?

The Houston larnax is likely to have been found on Crete. When did it surface?

Greece has requested that the USA consider imposing import restrictions on antiquities that have their origins in Greece. Such a move is timely. It appears that in 2007 a Greek investigative journalist identified three items in a North American university collection (and AAMD member) that appeared to have been removed from archaeological contexts in recent times. Indeed two of the pieces appear to feature in photographic archives seized in Switzerland. The museum issued a press release in 2008. The acquisitions had been made in the last ten years.

In 2009 I reviewed some of the recent returns to Greece. While the J. Paul Getty Museum and Shelby White have been willing to return objects to Greece, it seems that other museums are reluctant to negotiate.

Is there any surprise that the Greek authorities have made a formal request to restrict the trade in recently surfaced archaeological material when an AAMD museum behaves in this manner?

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Source: Enet.