A Roman Portrait to be Returned to Italy from New Zealand

A Roman marble portrait dating to the Antonine period will be returned to Italy [press release]. The female head was acquired by the Classics Museum at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand in 2003. It is reported that the portrait was purchased "from a London dealer who is a regular supplier of antiquities to the University’s Classics museum". The dealer has not been named but the Classics Museum will need to undertake a due diligence search on the other objects derived from this source.

Postscript. It now appears that the head was purchased from Charles Ede Ltd. The portrait was said to come from a 19th century collection. 

• Deuling, J. K. (2004), ‘Classics Museum Victoria University of Wellington: in the museum’, Scholia: Studies in Classical Antiquity 13 (1): 169–74. [Online]

• Italian press release
• Further information on the portrait

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Becchina and a Sardinian boat-shaped lamp

Entry from the Becchina archive
Courtesy of Dr Christos Tsirogiannis

Associate Professor Christos Tsirogiannis has identified a Sardinian boat-shaped lamb in the seized Becchina archive with what appears to be same piece shortly to be offered at auction in London.

Why does this matter? The archive clearly shows that the lamp passed through Palladion Antike Kunst in 1993. (We note that the value at SFr 60,000 shows that the piece has clearly lost its value over the years.) Yet the auction house claims that this passed into an Austrian private collection after being acquired in Vienna in the 1960s. Now, the 1960s would conveniently place the lamp in the period before the 1970 UNESCO Convention. 

But is the history supposed to be something like this? Sold in Vienna in the 1960s; acquired by an Austrian private collection; sold through Palladion Antike Kunst in Switzerland in 1993; acquired by an anonymous individual or corporate body; consigned for auction in London.

Here are the questions. Was the current vendor unaware that the lamp had passed through the hands of Palladion Antike Kunst in the 1990s? Had the auction house checked the history of the object or had they accepted the oral account? Which Vienna gallery sold the lamp in the 1960s? What is the authenticated documentary evidence? Finally, who consigned the lamp to Palladion Antike Kunst in the 1990s?

We presume that the auction house has contacted the Italian authorities.

London auctions to 2017: Christie's

Unlike the sale of antiquities in New York, Christie's has seen a growth in its sale of antiquities in London. Sales grew from £5.5 million to £7 million in 2017. This is still less than the amount realised in 2014.

However this figure for 2017 is lower than the £7.4 million for Sotheby's in London for the same year.

Becchina and the Funerary Markers from Greece

Marble loutrophoros from the Becchina archive.
Source: Dr Christos Tsirogiannis

Cambridge-based academic, Dr Christos Tsirogiannis, has identified two Attic funerary markers that have surfaced on the Swiss market (Howard Swains, "Looted antiquities allegedly on sale at London Frieze Masters art fair", The Guardian October 22, 2017). The items feature in the Becchina archive.

The marble lekythos and loutrophoros were displayed by Swiss-based dealer Jean-David Cahn at the Frieze Masters art fair in Regent's Park in London.

It appears that the items are being offered on behalf of the Swiss canton of Basel-Stadt. They had apparently formed part of the stock seized from Becchina's warehouse in Switzerland. (For more on this see here.)

Strangely the Swiss authorities are claiming that the Italian authorities have given permission for the material to be sold. But these two items are objects that were created in Attica for display in Attic cemeteries. They are from Greek, not Italian, soil.

The key question is this: did the Swiss authorities as well as Cahn contact the Greek authorities to check that the sale was acceptable? If the answer to this is no, then there has been a major breakdown in the due diligence process. Any responsible dealer would have known that they need to contact the Greek authorities for objects that would have been found in Greek funerary contexts.

This makes the statement from James Ratcliffe, counsel for the Art Loss Register sound ridiculous: “If [the Italians] are not reclaiming it, it’s then in this grey area where legally it’s seemingly OK ... As far as [the Swiss] were concerned, they were selling with good title. Now if that’s not the case, and information has emerged that’s contrary to that, then quite clearly that’s something we would say changes our view.” But if the two funerary objects came from Greece rather than Italy, then Ratcliffe's statement reflects his apparent lack of understanding of the reality of the situation.

Cahn is not unfamiliar with handling material from Greece. Items include the statue of Apollo that had been looted from Gortyn on Crete, and another Attic marble lekythos.

Incidentally, the Becchina archive also includes images of a Minoan larnax from Crete now in the Michael C. Carlos Museum. This case is currently unresolved.

These two ex-Becchina items are now toxic. The Basel authorities and Cahn would be best advised to arrange for them to be returned to Greece before the Greek authorities make a formal request and with it all the associated publicity.

Marble bull's head from the temple of Eshmun

Excavations at the temple of Eshmun in Lebanon recovered a marble bull's head. It is now suggested that it was this head, apparently first published in 1967, that was placed on loan to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (Tom Mashberg, "Met Museum Turns Over Another Relic With Disputed Past to Prosecutors", New York Times August 1, 2017 ). The head is reported to have been handed over to the Manhattan district attorney after a request was received from the Lebanese authorities.

It is suggested that the head may have been looted from an archaeological storage area at Byblos in the 1980s during the Lebanese civil war. Mashberg has rehearsed the recent collecting history:

The owners of the bull’s head, Lynda and William Beierwaltes of Colorado, say they have clear title to the item and have sued Manhattan prosecutors for its return. 

The Beierwaltes bought the head from a dealer in London in 1996 for more than $1 million and then sold it to another collector, Michael H. Steinhardt, in 2010. Mr. Steinhardt lent the relic to the Met that year, but after learning that Lebanon was disputing its provenance, he asked the Beierwaltes to take it back and compensate him.

The London based dealer has not been named although other legal papers identify one of their sources (discussed by Christos Tsirogiannis, "Mapping the supply: usual suspects and identified antiquities in ‘reputable’ auction-houses in 2013." Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueología 25 [2015] 107-44 [esp. p. 135] ).

William G. Pearlstein, who is acting for Beierwaltes is reported to have said:

“We believe the district attorney’s position is ill-founded, ... The Beierwaltes are bona fide purchasers with clean hands. By contrast, for more than 50 years, Lebanon has failed take any action domestically or internationally to report any theft of the bull’s head.”

As a point of correction, if the head was published 50 years ago, and the civil war was taking place in the 1980s, then the possible removal from the storage facility was only 30 years ago.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is quoted:

“Upon a Met curator’s discovery that this item on loan may have been stolen from government storage during the Lebanese civil war, the museum took immediate action. We contacted the Lebanese government and the lender, we took the item off display, and we have been working with federal and state authorities, which recently involved delivering the head of the bull to the Manhattan D.A. upon its request.”

I am sure that Beierwaltes will disclose the name of the London-based dealer who supplied the bull's head. From there it should be possible to identify the source of the head.

The London market: Christie's

I have been presenting a regular overview of the New York sales of antiquities at Sotheby's and at Christie's. However this chart shows the value of antiquities sold at Christie's in London (in South Kensington and at Duke Street).

Some of the more expensive pieces included an Egyptian sculpture of Isis for £3.6m (October 2012), the so-called Crosby Garrett helmet for £2.2 (October 2010), and the portrait head of an Hellenistic ruler for £1m (October 2012).

Relief from temple of Hatshepsut returned to Egypt

AP circulated a press release last week noting that a relief stolen from the temple of Hatshepsut in 1975 had been returned to Egypt from London (e.g. "Egypt receives ancient stolen limestone relief", Daily Mail December 20, 2016). It appears that the relief had been purchased from a gallery in Spain by a London based dealer.

Which gallery in Spain?

I am particularly interested in the identity of the London dealer as due diligence in the London market is a major theme of the APPG on Cultural Property.

Relief of Seti I returned from London

In October 2015 a relief of Seti I was recovered from an unspecified London auction-house (Nevine El-Aref, "Egypt recovers Stolen relief of King Seti I from London", ahramonline October 4, 2015). This was seized by British police and has now been returned to Egypt (Nevine El-Aref, "Stolen relief of Egyptian King Seti I recovered from London", ahramonline December 14, 2015).

The piece was identified by Marcel Marée of the British Museum.

The relief is currently being conserved in Egypt.

Sarcophagus from Aquino

Source: Omniroma

I am grateful to Livius (of the History Blog) for seeking clarification of the link between Robert Hecht and the recovered sarcophagus stolen from the church at Aquino.

Antonino Grincia, the mayor of Aquino, reported on the discovery in mid-November 2011 ("Sarcofago romano rubato ad Aquino e trafugato all’estero, ritrovato dalla Guardia di Finanza", Il Punto November 14, 2011). He did not disclose the details but said:

Mi era stato chiesto di mantenere il riserbo ancora per un pò data la delicatezza della fase di recupero ancora in corso, ... ma dato il momento particolarmente adatto, e dato anche che il sarcofago è ormai recuperato anche se non ancora in Italia perché il ritrovamento è avvenuto all’estero, ho ritenuto opportuno annunciarlo in questa occasione.

Robert Hecht's trial in Rome expired in January 2012, and he died in February 2012.

A press release about the sarcophagus was released in July ("Torna in Italia il sarcofago delle quadrighe; capolavoro romano recuperato da GDF, era in lista dei ricercati", ANSA July 19, 2012). It reviewed the theft of the sarcophagus in September 1991. The report noted that the presence of the sarcophagus in London had been identified in the summer of 2011 ("avvenuto l'estate scorsa a Londra"). It appears that Hecht had negotiated to return several objects, including the sarcophagus ("Hecht aveva cominciato a trattare per la restituzione di alcune delle opere in suo possesso, tra cui il sarcofago"). Hecht was also reported to have purchased the sarcophagus in 1991 ("Pare che il collezionista l'avesse comprato, proprio nel '91, pagandolo oltre un miliardo di lire"). The final phase of negotiations continued between the Italian authorities and Hecht's executor (who delivered the sarcophagus to the Italian embassy).

This report suggests that more ex-Hecht material will be handed over to the Italian authorities in due course.

From a London private collection

It appears that this broken and dirt-coated Greek terracotta protome once formed part of the (extensive) London private "collection" of an anonymous individual or individuals. One suspects that at the time that the photograph was taken that the piece, and its companion, was fresh from the ground, perhaps removed from the site of a Greek colony in southern Italy or Sicily.

It has to be remembered that "collection" can sometimes be a euphemism for "dealer's stock" (see here for a parallel example).

Imagine how the collecting history of this protome would be presented if it appeared on, say, the London market today.

London market and the American collector: pieces to return to Egypt

It is being reported that four fragments from the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III are to be returned to Egypt (Mohamed Azouz, "Egypt to receive four stolen artifacts from the UK within days", Almasry Alyoum August 6, 2011). They were seized when their present proprietor, a North American private collector, consigned them to a London auction house.

The pieces had been removed from the base of an ancient statue of Amnehotep III in his mortuary temple in Luxor, the statement said. It added that three are heads with Asian features and the fourth is a cartouche that belonged to the pharaoh.

The items were apparently spotted by a Trustee of the British Museum.

Who was the collector? How had (s)he acquired them? Which auction house was due to sell them? What had the due diligence search revealed?

We should note that an eye from a statue in the same complex was returned from Switzerland in 2008.

Auction results: Christie's in London

I note that the results of the sale of Antiquities at Christie's South Kensington have now appeared (April 14, 2011). A total of £5,245,175 was achieved.

This is one of the highest achieving sales of antiquities for Christie's in London in recent years.

Looting Matters Celebrated

Later this morning a Blue Plaque will be unveiled on the north side of Gordon Square, London to mark the venue of a landmark lecture presented through the Heritage Studies Research Group. Blue Plaques are a feature of London's cityscape and they are placed to note important historical and cultural locations in the capital.

Looting Matters is honoured to have been selected for this treatment.

Washington Lobbyist and Coins from Bulgaria

I have recently noted that the sale of some medieval coins from Bulgaria had been stopped. It now appears that Classical Numismatic Group Inc. (CNG), with an office in Bond Street, London, has issued a press statement. The release included this statement:

On 5 November, CNG's London office received a faxed letter from the Bulgarian Embassy in London notifying CNG that "The Bulgarian authorities have reasons to believe" that one of the lots in the CNG auction was part of a collection reportedly stolen in Bulgaria in 2007, and requesting CNG to withdraw the Bulgarian coins from the auction in order to allow the Bulgarian authorities to further investigate the matter.

The interesting thing is that the press release does not appear on the CNG website (as far as I can see). Is there a reason?

So where does the press release appear? On a paid-lobbyist's blog - and if you want to read the release you can click here because this same Washington lobbyist has thoughtfully left the text on Looting Matters. (There is a link to the lobbyist's original page.)

It appears that this same lobbyist is currently retained by two organisations: the International Association of Professional Numismatists (IAPN), and the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG).

The IAPN has apparently paid Bailey & Ehrenberg $20,000 this year for lobbying. (In 2009 is was $10,000.)

IAPN has also apparently paid $10,000 in 2010 to the DLM Group, and specifically to William B. Driggers and Marc P. Lupin.

CNG is a member of the IAPN.

Will the CNG disclose the name of the anonymous private collector who is reported to have consigned the coins at issue?

Stolen Statue Recovered in London

The Italian Culture Ministry has announced the recovery of a statue of Zeus in London ("ARCHEOLOGIA: Recuperate in U. K. statua in marmo rubata a Roma nel 2002 dall’ Istituto Culturale Norvegese", October 15, 2010). The Carabinieri identified it in an unspecified London antiquities gallery. The statue had been stolen from the Norwegian Institute in May 2002. The gallery handed over the statue voluntarily without recourse to legal proceedings.

How did the Zeus get to the London gallery? Who was the vendor? What was the pathway from Rome?

Looting Matters Goes Live in Torrington Place

The Looting Matters debate with the Heritage Studies Research Group of the Institute of Archaeology starts at Thursday 5 pm in the Galton Lecture Theatre, Torrington Place, London.

What are the breaking issues?

Looting Matters Goes Live: Contemporary Issues

Looting Matters goes on the road this week and will be visiting the Heritage Studies Thursday  (October 22) research seminar at the Institute of Archaeology, London, hosted by Tim Schadla-Hall.

What are this week's contemporary issues?

Have we moved on from Egypt's actions against the Louvre? What about Nefertiti and the Rosetta Stone?

What is happening about the trials in Rome? Will the thousands of objects shown in polaroids seized in Switzerland be identified and returned to Italy?

What about Greek claims over objects in Atlanta? FYROM's claim on the Koreschnica krater? Bulgaria's request for Greece to return the Byzantine silver hoard?

Will there be an update on the octodrachm in the Swiss sale?

And can we make sense of the challenges to US import restrictions on archaeological material from Cyprus?

Is there a story waiting to break?