Classical Returns from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art

Over 900 classical items - and perhaps as many as 1,200 if the Lydian haul material is included - have been deaccessioned from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Over 15 entries from the handbook to the classical collection form part of the returns.

These returns are now discussed in: 

Gill, D. W. J. 2026. "Context Matters: Classical Repatriations and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art." Journal of Art Crime 35: 55–93.

The scale of the deaccessions is staggering and does not reflect well on those who made the recommendations to acquire.

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Context Matters: Collecting the Past

I have been associated with ARCA for the last ten years, and its publishing arm, ARCA Press, will be issuing a series of essays later this year.

Context Matters is based on the twenty essays contributed to the Journal of Art Crime over its first ten years. They are supplemented by articles and review articles that were published alongside them. The chapters were written as museums in Europe and North America were facing a series of claims on recently acquired objects in their collections in the light of the photographic dossiers that had been seized from dealers in Switzerland and Greece. They engage with some of the recent debates over cultural property that include the Ka Ka Nefer mummy mask currently in the St Louis Art Museum, and the Leutwitz Apollo acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art. Two of the essays reflect on the recent and controversial metal-detecting finds in England, the so-called Crosby Garrett helmet and the Lenborough Hoard. The volume contributes to the wider discussion about the appropriate due diligence process that should be conducted prior to the acquisition of archaeological material.

The essays will be grouped around the following themes:

• International Agreements
• The AAMD and its members
• Returning antiquities
• Compliance and due diligence
• Museum curators
• Looting and the market
• Perspectives from England
• Debating cultural property

The book will come out next Fall, but there is currently a Kickstarter campaign on in which books can be pre-ordered.

Please have a look and consider pre-ordering Context Matters …and in the process supporting a good cause, as this campaign seeks to raise scholarship funds.

Horse Trading and Virginia

The latest number of the Journal of Art Crime (19, Spring 2018) has appeared. It contains my 'Context Matters' column, ‘Horse trading: museum exhibitions and cultural property’, The Journal of Art Crime 19 (Spring 2018), 63-70. 

Back in February I write about some of the sources behind the objects in the collection. There is a consideration of material associated with Walter M. Banko of Montreal. More important is the identification of material derived from Fritz Burki that now resides in Virginia.

The paper also considers Apulian pots attributed to the Virginia Exhibition painter (some of which have been sold for the benefit of Columbia University). 

I had written to the curatorial staff in Virginia to clarify some of the detail in the paper but, as I stated in the paper, I have yet to receive a reply.

Further statue from temple of Eshmun, Lebanon seized in New York City

Bull from temple of Eshmun, Lebanon.
Source: ARCA

ARCA (and other sources) has commented on the seizure of a second statue from the temple of Eshmun in Lebanon that had formed part of a New York private collection. The figure is holding an animal: a calf, sheep or goat. The collector is reported in the legal papers as Michael Steinhardt.

The marble bull's head that was also seized in New York is due to be returned to the Lebanon in the next two weeks.

Christos Tsirogiannis has established that the Beierwaltes, through whose hands the bull passed, were clients of Robin Symes. Is this the source for the bull?

And if so, did Symes handle the other statue?

And what other material removed from Lebanon could have passed through this route?

Postscript
Colin Moyniham, "Couple Drops Lawsuit Over Disputed Antiquity", New York Times, October 13, 2017: "The calf bearer sculpture passed though some of the same hands as the bull's head, according to the letter. It too had been excavated at Eshmun and was stolen from the Lebanese Republic, prosecutors said. It was then sold in 1996 by Mr. Symes for $4.5 million to the Beierwalteses, who later sold it to Mr. Steinhardt, Mr. Bogdanos wrote." The bull's head was purchased for $1 million in 1996.

Charges against New York art dealer Nancy Wiener

ARCA has provided a text-base version of the charges against New York dealer Nancy Wiener [see here].
There are some points to note:

• apparent falsification of the collecting history ("provenance") of an object
• apparent consigning genuine objects with other works to provide cover when passing through customs
• weakness in the policy for accepting lots by a major New York auction house
• the apparent changing of a stated collecting history by the same major New York auction house

We are particularly interested in co-conspirator #6:

Co-Conspirator #6 and his father are suppliers of illicit cultural property from primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to several recorded conversations, Co-Conspirator #6 has been shipping large quantities of newly dug-up, stolen antiquities from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Thailand, often via Hong Kong, and then to dealers from around the world for more than a decade.

We note:

Co-Conspirator #6, who in the mid-1980s was a child living in Pakistan and England

Objects identified from the Medici Dossier

Christos Tsirogiannis and I have reviewed the way that objects surfacing on the antiquities market can be identified through the Medici Dossier. It notes that some of the databases have been using information from the dossier, and that information has in some cases been passed to auction houses. This suggests that there needs to be an improved due diligence process for those involved with the market.

Gill, D. W. J., and C. Tsirogiannis. 2016. "Polaroids from the Medici dossier: continued sightings on the market." In Art crime: terrorists, tomb raiders, forgers and thieves, edited by N. Charney: 229-39. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

The paper is a revision of:
Gill, D. W. J., and C. Tsirogiannis. 2011. "Polaroids from the Medici Dossier: continued sightings on the market." Journal of Art Crime 5: 27-33.

Full details of the book can be found here.

Other contributors:

• George H.O. Abungu, Okello Abungu Heritage Consultants, Kenya 
• Stefano Alessandrini, Specialist Consultant to the Ministero per i Beni Culturali and the Advocate General 
• Maurizio Fiorilli, Italy 
• Colonel Matthew Bogdanos, New York County District Attorney's Office, USA 
• Toby J.A. Bull, Hong Kong Police Force, Hong Kong SAR 
• Neil Brodie, University of Glasgow, UK 
• Duncan Chappell, Australian Institute of Criminology 
• Noah Charney, Association for Research into Crimes against Art 
• Simon A. Cole, Newkirk Center for Science and Society, USA 
• Tess Davis, University of Glasgow, UK 
• Asif Efrat, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel 
• Paolo Girogio Ferri, Former Italian State Prosecutor 
• David Gill, University Campus Suffolk, UK 
• Blake Gopnik, Art Critic 
• Patricia Kennedy Grimsted, Harvard University, USA 
• Karl von Habsburg-Lothringen, Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield 
• Jerome Hasler, Art Recovery Group International 
• Charles Hill, Formerly London Metropolitan Police, UK 
• Saskia Hufnagel, Queen Mary University London, UK 
• Martin Kemp, University of Oxford, UK 
• John Kerr, University of Roehampton, UK 
• Thierry Lenain, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium 
• Simon Mackenzie, University of Glasgow, UK 
• Christopher A. Marinello, Art Recovery Group International 
• Erik Nemth, Independent Scholar 
• Vernon Rapley, Victoria and Albert Museum, UK 
• Lawrence Rothfield, University of Chicago, USA 
• Laurie W. Rush, US Army 
• Francesco Rutelli, Associazione Priorita' Cultura, Italy 
• Howard Spiegler, Herrick, Feinstein's International Art Law Group 
• Arthur Tompkins, District Court Judge, New Zealand 
• Christos Tsirogiannis, University of Glasgow, UK 
• Bill Wei, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands

Journal of Art Crime Fall 2015

The Fall 2015 number of the Journal of Art Crime vol. 14 has been published.

Readers of LM will be particularly interested in the following essays:

• Christos Tsirogiannis, 'Due diligence? Christie's Antiquities Auction, London, October 2015', pp. 27-38
• Francesco Rutelli, 'The return of iconoclasm: barbarian ideology and destruction by ISIS as a challenge for modern culture, not only for Islam', pp. 55-60
• David W. J. Gill, 'Context Matters. Malibu Memoirs: Marion True breaks silence', pp. 65-72
• Laurie Rush, 'The Carabinieri, peacekeeping and foreign relations: the Carabinieri mission to Iraq', pp. 73-80
• 'Stefano Alessandrini, Looting and passion of Greek vases from Etruria and Magna Graecia: the birth of the great collections', pp. 81-86

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Journal of Art Crime 2015 (Spring)

The Spring number of the Journal of Art Crime, edited by Noah Charney, is now available.

Here is the table of contents for the latest issue of this bi-annual publication listing the archaeological papers that will be of interest to readers of LM:

ACADEMIC ARTICLES

• Analyzing Criminality in the Market for Ancient Near Eastern Art by Ryan Casey 
• Damaging the Archaeological Record: The Lenborough Hoard by David Gill
• “But We Didn’t Steal It:” Collectors’ Justifications for Purchasing Looted Antiquities by Erin L. Thompson 

REGULAR COLUMNS

• Context Matters “From Palmyra to Mayfair: The Movement of Antiquities from Syria and Northern Iraq” by David Gill 
• Nekyia “Duplicates and the Antiquities Market” by Christos Tsirogiannis 

EDITORIAL ESSAYS

• New Archaeological Discoveries and Cultural Ventures beyond War Threats: A Model of Excellence Stemming from Iraqi-Italian Cooperation by Francesca Coccolo 

REVIEWS

• Cultural Heritage Ethics: Between Theory and Practice Edited by Constantine Sandis Reviewed by Marc Balcells

Collaborative Working in Art Crime

Lynda Albertson leading discussion of art crime ... Genuine dialogue @QMSchoolofLaw pic.twitter.com/mSiMpgYXu6

— David Gill (@davidwjgill) May 14, 2015

One of the most passionate papers at last week's conference at Queen Mary's was by Lynda Albertson of ARCA. She was urging colleagues who work in the field of Art Crime to find how their research areas could enmesh to provide a greater working of the whole. She encouraged a helpful debate and one of the themes was how academics can engage with the press to ensure that there are informed reports on art crime. (The poor quality of reporting of looting in Syria and Iraq in some of the so-called quality UK press was noted.) ARCA should be congratulated for encouraging such inter-disciplinary research.

Ric Elia Reflects on the Antiquities Market

Sofia Cecchi has interviewed Professor Ricardo Elia for the latest Journal of Art Crime (11, 2014, 85-86). Elia reveals that he first came across the issue of looting when he was excavating as a student in what is now FYROM. He reflects on his famous quote, "Collectors are the real looters". He comments on the weakness ("loophole big enough to drive a truck full of loot through") of the AAMD Guidelines over the acquisition of antiquities and ancient art.

He was asked about his quantitative study of Apulian pottery, and he finds claims made by Carlos Picon that acquisitions by New York's MMA are documented as "ridiculous". (It would have been interesting for Elia to have commented on Dyfri Williams' dismissal of his research.)

Elia is firm over the need to criminalize the looting of antiquities and calls for gaol terms and hefty fines.

Blogging in a research context

I am grateful to Doug Rocks-Macqueen for the invitation to contribute to his "Blogging Archaeology" carnival for the SAA 2014 conference.

Doug and Chris Webster will be bringing out an e-book for the conference with 14 main contributions. I have written a chapter on the theme of "Blogging in a Research Context". It has given me the opportunity to reflecting on how "Looting Matters" emerged from an established research project, and how the blog enabled me to gather information for further published research. There is a section on the blog series linked to the PR Newswire press releases (and there will be an appendix with a list of the releases). I have included a section on the contribution of LM to the Journal of Art Crime, as well as mentions of the blog in other research print publications.

More details will follow.

Cleveland and the Apollo

The latest number of the Journal of Art Crime has appeared. This contains my essay on the so-called Cleveland Apollo.

"The exhibition of the Cleveland Apollo and the thinking behind the publication of Bennett’s book reveal what Roger Bland of the British Museum once described (in a review of James Cuno’s work) as “an example of US cultural imperialism at its worst”. Bennett has reignited the debate and prepared the way for a full and balanced discussion of the so-called Cleveland Apollo at some future managed event at the Cleveland Museum of Art."

• Gill, D. W. J. 2013. "Context matters: The Cleveland Apollo goes public." Journal of Art Crime 10: 69-75.

Creating Stories?

One of the points that was made at the ARCA symposium at the V&A yesterday related to the fabrication of collecting histories, sometimes by forging supporting documentation. Richard Ellis suggested that the due diligence process should leave no stone unturned.

As I sat in the audience I kept thinking about the reported collecting history for the Leutwitz Apollo acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art. How much of it can be authenticated? How far has the museum explored discrepancies?

It is a good story as it is presented. Garden sculpture. Communist attack. Burial in the rubble of the house. Sale to a Dutch dealer.

Does the curatorial team at Cleveland believe it?

Art Forgery and Provenance

I attended the ARCA (Association for Research into Crimes against Art) Art Crime Symposium at the V&A in London today. There were two sessions:

• a. Art Recovery and Reward: Det Sgt Claire Hutcheon (Metropolitan Police), Charlie Hill, Richard Ellis, Jonathan Jones.
• b. Art Forgery and Provenance: Vernon Rapley, Christopher Marsden, Christos Tsirogiannis, Noah Charney.

I tweeted some of the themes here.

I was very struck by Jonathan Jones' point that art can be displayed in its original context (e.g. a church) rather than the sanitised environment of a museum. (It reminded me of the Houghton Hall exhibition --- and interestingly Peter Watson alluded to the exhibition during the discussion.)

During the discussion, Richard Ellis reminded us that due diligence meant that we needed to ensure that we left no stone unturned as we researched past collecting histories.

Vernon Rapley kept coming back to the Amarna Princess as well as other pieces from the same forger. He reminded us of little clues that would send curators down carefully laid false trails. Christopher Marsden (Senior Archivist at the V&A) reminded us of the forging of documentation to support "provenance".

Christos Tsirogiannis (U Cambridge) discussed a range of forged paperwork and collecting histories drawing on examples from the Medici Dossier, as well as the Sarpedon krater that had been acquired by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. He explored the background to the Getty kouros.

Fragmented pots and the role of the academic

My regular column, "Context Matters", in the Journal of Art Crime considers the fragments ("orphans") of Greek pottery returned from the collection of a deceased North American collector (via New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art) to Italy. Fragments from the same collection were also returned via the J. Paul Getty Museum.

The column asks a series of questions about the source of these fragments and when the pots were broken. It also considers the silence from key figures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

‘Context matters: fragmented pots, attributions and the role of the academic’, Journal of Art Crime 8 (2012) 79-84.

Journal of Art Crime 6 (2011)

I have now seen a copy of the fall number of the Journal of Art Crime 6 (2011).

Readers of LM will be interested in the following:

• Derek Fincham, "The Empty Frame. Cerveteri: a vulnerable ancient masterpiece", 50-51.
• David W.J. Gill, "Context matters. Compliance and the antiquities market", 52-56.
• Paolo Giorgio Ferri, "Are penal procedures only a last resort?", 65-67.
• General B(a) CC Giovanni Pastore, "Archaeology and the problem of unauthorized excavation in Italy", 68-72.

Journal of Art Crime 5 (2011)

I have eventually seen a copy of the spring number of the Journal of Art Crime 5 (2011).

Readers of LM will be interested in the following:

• Ludo Block, "European Police Cooperation on Art Crime: A Comparative Overview", 13-25.
• David W.J. Gill and Christos Tsirogiannis, "Polaroids from the Medici Dossier: Continued Sightings on the Market", 27-33.
• David W.J. Gill, "Context Matters. The unresolved case of the Minneapolis krater", 57-61.
• Christopher A. Marinello, "The Art Loss Register. Recovery update", 67-68.
• Noah Charney, Q&A with Peter Watson, 81-82.

Journal of Art Crime: Fall 2010

The Journal of Art Crime 4 (Fall 2010) is now available. The journal is edited by Noah Charney. For journal details see here.

I have been reading the number on iBooks on the iPad.

Those interested in antiquities will note the following items:

REGULAR COLUMNS

• Ton Cremers, "Security & Safety Reflections: Tracking and tracing of stolen art objects", 71-72.
• David W.J. Gill, "Context matters. Greece and the U.S.: Reviewing cultural property agreements", 73-76.

EDITORIAL ESSAYS

• Christopher A. Marinello, "On fakes", 89-90.
• Kim Alderman, "The ethics of context: exploring assumptions in discussions about the looting of archaeological sites", 93-94.

REVIEWS

• Stefano Alessandrini, review of "Ancient art works recovered by the Guardia di Finanza exhibition (14 June-12 September 2010)", 101-102 [with images]. This includes the wonderful phrase, attributed to Massimo Rossi, of "mute works", that is to say objects that have lost their archaeological context.
• Douglas L. Yearwood, review of "Art and crime: exploring the dark side of the art world", 111-112.

Those interested in Nazi Looted Art Objects and Art Crime in general will find much in the number.


For Spring 2010 see here.

Art Loss Register and Antiquities

Derek Fincham has commented on the 2010 Association for Research into Art Crimes (ARCA) conference at Amelia, in Italy. Chris Marinello of the Art Loss Register was there and Fincham provides a brief summary of his presentation.

Chris Marinello discussed the work of the art loss register, pointing out that the ALR has ceased to offer certificates for certain antiquities searches, as the database is unable to effectively determine if these objects have been recently looted from their archaeology.

I have some reservations about the use of the ALR database for identifying recently-surfaced antiquities. (In part, photography was not available in, say, the 6th century BCE when the Athenian pots were placed in an Etruscan tomb.)

I look forward to discussing this with Marinello later this summer. But the report is a good reminder that dealers and auction-houses should not rely on the ALR alone if they want to offer antiquities that do not have a documented collecting history that can be traced back to the period before 1970.

Journal of Art Crime: Spring 2010

The Journal of Art Crime 3, 1 (Spring 2010) is now available. The journal is edited by Noah Charney. For journal details see here.

Those interested in antiquities will be interested in the following items:

ACADEMIC ARTICLES

• David W.J. Gill: Collecting Histories and the Market for Classical Antiquities, 3-10 [abstract]
• Helen E. Scott: Responding to Art Vandalism in British Museums and Galleries: A Survey of the Situation, 11-22
• Miranda Vitello: The Getty Kouros Mystery, 23-30.
• Olivia Sladen: Faking History: How Provenance Forgery is Conning the Art World 41-52.
• Simmy Swinder: The Looting of the Iraq Museums: An Examination of Efforts to Protect Universal Cultural Property, 53-74

REGULAR COLUMNS

• David Gill: Context Matters. “Italy and the US: Reviewing Cultural Property Agreements”,  81-85.
• Colonel Giovanni Pastore: Cultural Heritage. “The Defense of Underwater Archaeological Heritage” / “La Difesa Del Patrimonio Archeologico Subacqueo”,  87-92.
• Donn Zaretsky: Art Law and Policy, 95-97.

EDITORIAL ESSAYS

• John Kleberg: What’s in a Number? 99-100.
• John Kleberg: University Treasures 101-102.
• David W.J. Gill: The Returns to Italy from North America: An Overview 105-09.

REVIEWS

Derek Fincham Reviews, 113-14.

• Criminology and Archaeology: Studies in Looted Antiquities, ed. S. Mackenzie and P. Green (Hart Publishing 2009)
• The Restitution of Cultural Assets, Beat Schönenberger (Eleven International Publishing 2009)

EXTRAS

• Mark Durney: ARCA profile of Ton Cremers 125
• Mark Durney: Q&A with ICE’s Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities Program Head of the Northeast, Special Agent Bonnie Goldblatt, 127-128
• 2010 ARCA Award Winners 129

For earlier numbers see here.