Düver fragments returned to Türkiye from Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Source: VMFA

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has announced that it has deaccessioned 41 fragments of the Düver frieze that it acquired in the 1970s (Press Release). Details of the acquisition were provided:

In 1978, VMFA purchased 34 terracotta reliefs from Summa Galleries in Beverly Hills, California, and six additional reliefs were received as gifts from Chicago-based antiquities dealer Harlan J. Berk. The following year, Summa Galleries gave another relief to VMFA, resulting in 41 polychrome terracotta relief fragments from the temple being added to the museum’s collection.

A fragment from a separate New York private collection had been returned in 2022. 48 fragments of the frieze had been returned from the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in 2024.

Other museums with parts of the frieze will no doubt be contacting the authorities in Türkiye.

These returns show that the 1970 UNESCO Convention is no longer the benchmark for making the case for repatriations. 

| |

Silver Pyxis Lid Returned from VMFA

Silver pyxis lid formerly VMFA inv.  82.181.

Among the returning antiquities from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is a silver pyxis lid. My colleague Christos Tsirogiannis has confirmed that an image is in the Becchina archive with the annotation indicating a link with Robert Hecht. Another colleague has confirmed that the the lid was a gift of Jonathan Rosen, an associate of Hecht in Atlantis Antiquities.

VMFA has yet to release a list of the returns that contains the inventory numbers as well as the previous histories (so-called 'provenance'). The museum also appears to have scrubbed the digital record of these accessions unlike some other institutions that have recorded their deaccessions. 

| |

Gnathian Askos Returned from Virginia MFA

Gnathian Askos formerly in Virginia MFA 80.72

One of the announced returns from the VMFA is a Gnathian askos attributed to the Rose painter (inv. 80.72). This was identified from a photograph in the Medici Dossier by Christos Tsirogiannis ten years ago:

Tsirogiannis, C. 2013. "Nekyia. From Apulia to Virginia: An Apulian Gnathia askos at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts." Journal of Art Crime 10: 81-86.

The museum purchased the askos from Fritz Bürki. One wonders what other pieces in the collection were derived from this source.

| |

Virginia MFA Returns Antiquities

Apulian lekythos. Formerly Virginia MFA 80.162

It has been announced that the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond will be returning 44 antiquities to their countries of origin, namely Egypt, Italy and Türkiye (see press release). The press release gives limited information and omits inventory numbers. One of the pieces is a bronze Etruscan warrior that was stolen from the Museo Civico Archeologico in Bologna in 1963 (apparently inv. 2014.217).

Other pieces that can be identified included an Attic marble funerary stele apparently handled by Gianfranco Becchina (inv. 79.148), and a pair of Apulian lekythoi attributed to the Underworld painter that were acquired from Fritz Bürki (inv. 80.162, 81.55; the one acquired in 1980 was a gift of the Council of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on the Occasion of its 25th Anniversary) [see earlier post]. A group of funerary terracottas from South Italy, and acquired in 1985, forms a large batch within the return.

Another piece is the marble statue of a boy (inv. 89.24) that was identified ten years ago by Christos Tsirogiannis:

Tsirogiannis, C. 2013. "A marble statue of a boy at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts." Journal of Art Crime 9: 55-60.

The statue was purchased from Galerie Nefer (Freida Tchacos) though it can be traced back to Becchina. 

We look forward the VMFA releasing more details about  the returns. 

| |

Düver Frieze Fragment Returns to Turkey

Düver frieze fragment: Antalya Museum (l) and New York market (r)

Among the returns to Turkey is a fragment of the terracotta architectural frieze derived from Düver in Turkey. It was offered on the New York market in October 2021 and had formed part of a New York collection. This is a significant return because Düver was looted in the 1960s before the 1970 UNESCO Convention.

The composition of the frieze was reconstructed after a series of fragments were purchased from auction at Sotheby's (24 February 1964) by a civic museum in England; examples purchased from this sale in a Stockholm collection notes that they were derived from an anonymous Swiss private collection. Further fragments were auctioned at Sotheby's in July 1964 and many of these are reported to have moved to north America. I have already noted one such fragment in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (inv. 78.62.5) that was purchased from the Summa Galleries in Beverly Hills. A further fragment in an English university collection was acquired from Robert Hecht.

It is likely that Turkish authorities will be seeking the return of these dispersed fragments so that they can be reunited and displayed to the public.

| |

VFMA and the display of the horse in Greek art

The VFMA exhibition catalogue for 'The Horse in Ancient Greek Art' has been reviewed by Carl Shaw in BMCR. The review does not consider the wider issues of the histories of the objects, with previous handlers including Nicolas Koutoulakis, Walter M. Banko in Montreal, Edoardo Almagià, and Fritz Bürki.

These issues have been discussed in some detail in the Journal of Art Crime earlier this year [see previous post].

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.

Symposium: The Horse in Ancient Greek Art

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will be hosting a symposium in April 2018. It will explore some of the themes emerging from the exhibition, 'The Horse in Ancient Greek Art'.

It would have been interesting for one of the papers to have explored the histories of some of the objects appearing in the show. Items include pots reported to have been handled by individuals such as Edoardo Almagià and Fritz Bürki.

Ex Almagià Apulian krater at Fordham University

Among the returns from the Cleveland Museum of Art was a pair of Etruscan silver bracelets that were derived from Edoardo Almagià. Then there was a major return from the Princeton University Art Museum that contained numerous pieces derived from Almagià (discussion here). The Dallas Museum of Art decided to investigate its collections and returned ex Almagià to Italy (discussion here). And other museums have ex Almagià material: Boston Museum of Fine Art, Indiana University Art Museum, Tampa Museum of Art. Chasing Aphrodite has added material in the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Among the items in the Walsh collection at Fordham University is an Apulian volute-krater attributed to the Virginia Exhibition painter (inv. 8.001). The catalogue entry does not appear to provide a statement about the kraters' history. However, the krater is currently on view at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), and the catalogue entry helpfully states: "Ex. coll. Edouardo [sic.] Almagiá [sic.]; Arte Primitivo, 1994; Gift of William Walsh, 2006".

Can I suggest that the curatorial teams at Fordham and VMFA contact the Italian authorities to check the background to this krater?

History of objects in Virginia exhibition

Colleagues have suggested that I had a look at the exhibition catalogue of The Horse in Ancient Greek Art that will be opening at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in a week's time. Among the interesting sources for the objects are:

• Edoardo Almagià: no. 43, Apulian volute-krater attributed to the Virginia Exhibition painter, Fordham University Collection 8.001 [Fordham cat. no. 32]
• Fritz Bürki: no. 19, Apulian lekythos attributed to the Underworld painter, Virginia MFA 81.55; no. 20, Apulian lekythos attributed to the Underworld painter, Virginia MFA 80.162; no. 26, Corinthian skyphos showing a boar hunt, Virginia MFA 80.27; no. 41, Apulian calyx-krater attributed to the Dublin Situlae group, Virginia MFA 81.81; no. 53.1, Apulian Xenon oinochoe, Virginia MFA 81.82; no. 53.2, Apulian Xenon oinochoe, Virginia MFA 81.83
• Sotheby's, London (12–13 December 1983): no. 42, Apulian patera attributed to the Baltimore painter, Fordham University Collection 11.003 [Fordham cat. no. 25].
• Summa Galleries Inc. Beverley Hills: no. 12, a Phrygian terracotta revetment, Virginia MFA 78.62.5. (This looks as if it could be part of the Düver frieze.)
• Robin Symes: no. 55, Villanovan or early Etruscan bronze horse bit, Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 84.28

The series of acquisitions from Fritz Bürki is particularly significant as Dr Christos Tsirogiannis has written on a Gnathian askos acquired by Virginia MFA in 1980. Not only was this acquired from Bürki but it had previously been handled by Giacomo Medici. Has VMFA conducted a rigorous due diligence search on the series of objects that it acquired from Bürki? Has VMFA contacted the Italian authorities about the controversial askos?

Has Fordham University contacted the Italian authorities about the Almagià volute-krater? And what about the Apulian patera that surfaced at Sotheby's, London in 1983?

We should be grateful to Peter Schertz and Nicole Stribling, the editors of the VMFA catalogue, for printing the histories of the objects.

The Horse in Ancient Greek Art

Attic red-figured column-krater attributed to the Orestes painter.
Virginia private collection.
Source: NSLM

The exhibition, 'The Horse in Ancient Greek Art', will be on show at the National Sporting Library and Museum, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It will include a number of objects from private collections. I hope that the full collecting histories will be provided.

I looked up the Attic red-figured column-krater attributed to the Orestes painter (and featured on the exhibition website). It surfaced in the Fortuna gallery in Zurich in 1980 (and was re-offered in 1983), and then was for sale in the Royal-Athena Galleries, New York in 1983. It was then offered through the Old World Galleries, New York before being auctioned at Christies (June 8, 2004, lot 328) where it was sold for $47,800. It then passed into a Virginia private collection. What was the collecting history of this krater prior to 1980?

I note that other kraters attributed to this painter were found at Agrigento, Camarina (two), Chiusi and Spina. Where was the Virginia krater found? And when? Its fairly complete nature suggests a tomb is quite likely.

This exhibition reminds us of the material in the Virginia MFA that has been identified by Cambridge-based Dr Christos Tsirogiannis.

Mario Bruno, Becchina and the Bucci painter

The public handover of antiquities linked Gianfranco Becchina and seized in Basel raise major issues over objects identified from Becchina's dossier of images. Among them is an Attic black-figured column-krater attributed to the Bucci painter. The Becchina dossier suggests that they had been handled by the dealer Mario Bruno of Lugano.

Bruno appears in The Medici Conspiracy (p. 154): '[one of two] competitors in trafficking archaeological material from Italy, both busy trying to buy the best objects that came to light'.

I have noted this krater before when it passed through Christie's in 2013 (for $37,500) as part of the dispersal of the Kluge collection. The present owner of the Bucci painter's krater is unstated.

The Bruno-Becchina link also appears in the statue in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (noted by Dr Christos Tsirogiannis).

ADCAEA: who is one of the officers?

I have discussed the Association of Dealers & Collectors of Ancient & Ethnographic Art (ADCAEA) elsewhere. This association has as one of its aims:

• To educate and inform members on policies and laws that affects the international movement of cultural property

I note that the Treasurer for this association is Joseph Lewis II.

Is this Joseph Lewis II the same one who loaned Egyptian material to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts? And the same one who loaned Egyptian material to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (as spotted by Lee Rosenbaum)? And the same Joseph Lewis II who donated material to the Michael C. Carlos Museum (an institution which has been less than forthcoming about the acquisitions)?

Is this the same individual who was linked to the Egyptian coffin that was intercepted in Miami where it was described as 'agricultural products' after being shipped by a Barcelona galerista? (For corrected name.)

And is this the same collector who was named in the Khouli case? (See also Rick St Hilaire with update.)

If the Treasurer of ADCAEA is indeed the collector of Egyptian antiquities, please could ADCAEA release full details (including authenticated collecting histories) of all the donations and loans made by this individual?

After all, ADCAEA has as another of its aims:

• To promote awareness and understanding of ancient and ethnographic art collecting through open communication with members and the public.

Medici and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Cambridge University researcher, Dr Christos Tsirogiannis, has identified another ancient object from the Medici dossier. He has identified a Gnathian askos acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in 1980 from images seized in the Geneva Freeport. The item was derived from Fritz Bürki whose name is associated with many of the returns from North American collections to Italy.

According to AAMD Guidelines the curatorial staff at VMFA will need to contact the Italian authorities.

• Tsirogiannis, C. 2013. "Nekyia. From Apulia to Virginia: an Apulian Gnathia askos at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts." Journal of Art Crime 10: 81-86.

| |

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: marble statue identified

Cambridge University researcher Christos Tsirogiannis has made a further identification ("A marble statue of a boy at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", Journal of Art Crime [Spring 2013] 55-60). The statue can be identified in a transaction between Mario Bruno and Gianfanco Becchina in August 1987.  It was then on offer through Galerie Nefer (owned by Frieda Nussberger-Tchacos) in 1989 and acquired by Virginia at that point. The curator in charge at this point was Dr Margaret Ellen Mayo (formerly linked to Summa Galleries in Beverly Hills).

Tsirogiannis' research demonstrates that Tchachos appears to have provided the statue with a created collecting history that linked it to Dr Arthur von Arx and Alfred Obrecht. The polaroid photographs also suggest that the statue was still in a broken and muddied state long after the time that Tchachos had been suggesting that the object was known.

Under the AAMD Guidelines this new evidence should compel the curatorial team in Virginia to contact the Italian authorities.

Virginia: "we're willing to help in any way"

I have commented before on the loan of items from the Lewis Collection to Virginia MFA. I now note that the museum has made a fuller response (Mark Bowes, "VMFA studies artifacts of smuggling defendant", Richmond Times Dispatch July 23, 2011).

Alex Nyerges, the museum's director and CEO, commented: "to the best of our knowledge [the collection] was purchased by the owner and lent to the VMFA in good faith". Some of the pieces were purchased on the London market. Others are said to have passed through anonymous French and Swiss private collections. The report highlights the problems of falsified collecting histories ("provenance").

It is reported:

the VMFA has notified the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York through the Virginia attorney general's office of the museum's willingness to cooperate in the investigation.
"We just said if there is anything you need from us, we're willing to help in any way," Nyerges said. So far, federal authorities have not contacted the museum, he said.

The report notes that the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University has failed to respond to enquiries. I know that Lee Rosenbaum has also contacted the museum and received the same silence. My email has gone unacknowledged.

The Lewis Collection: Loans at Virginia MFA and Boston MFA

Lee Rosenbaum has added information about the Lewis Collection and a single loan to Boston's MFA ("Joseph Lewis’ Egyptian Art Loans at U.S. Museums, Continued (plus Boston’s planned giveback to Turkey)", July 22, 2011). She also comments on the return of the "Weary Herakles" to Turkey.

Virginia and the Joseph A. Lewis II Collection

Last week I noted that Lee Rosenbaum had identified material from the Joseph A. Lewis II collection in Virginia MFA. Rosenbaum has now published a list of the relevant material in Virginia. (My requests to two other AAMD member museums about their holdings from the Lewis Collection have been met with silence.)

The collecting histories are:

• private Swiss collection before 1970 (2)
• Ex: private Swiss collection of Simon Ohan Simonian, before 1970
• Ex: Collection James B. McMullen, 1950 (2)
• Ex: Collection of William Bowmore, Brisbane, Australia 1960s
• Ex: Rupert Wace Ancient Art, London, UK; Ex: French private collection before 1950

What are the authenticated and documented collecting histories for the pieces said to have passed through the Swiss collections, conveniently before 1970? Which Swiss collections? Are they collections or the former stock of Swiss-based dealers? Likewise, what is the authenticated collecting history of the French private collection? (Remember the Middle Kingdom Alabaster Duck.)

Curators at Virginia MFA would be wise to ask for a full set of the documentation.

The Lewis Collection and Virginia MFA

Lee Rosenbaum reports that the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has acknowledged that it has 8 Egyptian pieces on loan from the Lewis collection ("Virginia MFA’s Lewis Loans: More on Museums & the Indicted Egyptian Antiquities Collector", July 15, 2011).

Like Rosenbaum, I am still waiting to get a response from the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, and from Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.