The "Preveza" Athlete and Lost Context

Italy has had recent successes in retrieving antiquities looted from archaeological sites. But what about about other source countries?

I have been re-watching Network: The Illicit Trade of Antiquities (DVD) that has Greece as a focus. One of the cases dates back to May 1998 when the Greek authorities intervened in the suspected purchase of a large classical bronze figure of a youth ("Police in Germany seize cache of Greek antiquities", AP, May 30, 1998). A police raid intercepted the statue in a crate (apparently labelled "USA") at Saarlouis and arrested a man, Michail Kotsaridis, a Greek national who lived in Saarbrücken, Germany.

It appears that Marion True of the J. Paul Getty Museum had been negotiating with Christoph F. Leon of Switzerland for the statue. Remember that 1998 is after the the revised acquisition policy of the J. Paul Getty Museum (see my earlier comments). Leon supplied at least one Athenian calyx-krater that has been returned to Italy (formerly inv. 88.AE.66) and a gold funerary wreath that was returned to Greece (formerly inv. 93.AM.30). (Leon also supplied the "tomb-group" of Apulian pottery now in Berlin.)

A police statement said :

The 1.5-meter bronze statue, covered with barnacles and salt, is missing its arms but otherwise intact. Police said they believe it was found underwater near the western Greek port of Preveza.

Images clearly show that the piece had clearly been underwater. Giorgos Tzallas of the Greek police force, claimed in the Network interview that the statue was due to be sold to either the J. Paul Getty Museum for $6-7 million or a Japanese collector for $6 million. Apparently Leon was due to receive $1 million for acting as the middle man. There is no suggestion that Marion True was going to buy the piece once she had seen it.

The statue was not alone:

Also seized were 311 coins, 103 bronze objects and 39 clay animal figurines, all believed to be from the classical Greek period.

Kotsaridis was imprisoned for 15 years but no action was taken against any further parties.

The statue has been on display in the National Museum in Athens. But what was its context? Was it from a late classical shipwreck? In other words, was the wreck contemporary with the statue (like the bronze head of a "philosopher" from the Porticello shipwreck)? Or was the wreck of the Roman period reflecting the removal of "works of art" to Italy? Or had it been jettisoned (as the Riace bronzes seem to have been). We just do not know. The information has been lost.

The "Preveza" athlete reminds us of a world of intermediaries acting between the looters and collecting institutions.

Image
© David Gill

Aegean Waves: Collecting Cycladic Figures

The Museum of Cycladic Art has published a volume, Aegean Waves, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its foundation. It is beautifully produced, with colour illustrations, and is "addressed ... principally to the general public".

It notes the phenomenon of

illegal excavations on the Cyclades Islands, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s, to meet the demand on the international [emphasis mine] antiquities market. The result of this intensive activity on the part of antiquities smugglers was the plundering of hundreds of Early Cycladic tombs and the removal of evidence of inestimable value for scholars. (p. 41)

There is acknowledgment of the "Keros haul" (and Sotirakpoulou has written a definitive study of what she considers a "hoard"). Entry 14 shows a selection of fragmentary figures attributed to the "haul" and notes that it is "a characteristic example of the intense antiquities-smuggling that went on in the Cyclades ... in order to meet the great demand for Cycladic figurines on the international antiquities market". Entry 18 shows joining fragments from two pieces from the "haul" in the Museum of Cycladic Art (inv. nos. 1033 and 1017) and two fragments excavated from Kavos (Naxos Museum 4197 and 4272). It is asserted:

this is indisputable evidence that the aforementioned part of the "Keros Hoard", that seems to have been smuggled out of Greece and sold abroad as a group, does indeed come from Kavos on Keros.

While the joins do indicate the connection for these pieces, I remain to be convinced that every piece associated with the "haul" was found in the same location. And parts of the "Keros haul" continue to be displayed in public exhibitions.

There was certainly an international market for Cycladic figures and the fragmentary male figure (no. 30; inv. no. 969) once graced the cover for Antiquities from The Erlenmeyer Collection, Sotheby's (London), July 9, 1990.

Aegean Waves also illustrates a "Double marble figurine of unknown provenance" (p. 44, fig. 50). This featured in the Katonah Museum of Art's 2006 exhibition, Ancient Art of the Cyclades (no. 15, "mother-and-child composition") where it was listed as "Private collection, New York". This figure with "unknown provenance", or to be more precise "unrecorded find-spot", had in fact appeared in two other exhibitions: Early Cycladic Art in North American Collections as "Standing female two-figure image" (no. 18, "Collection of Shelby and Leon Levy") and Glories of the Past: Ancient Art from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Collection as "Two joined standing female figures of marble" (no. 9). Is this the sort of piece the authors of Aegean Waves had in mind when thinking about the sort of figures that have been sold on the "international market"? The Museum of Cycladic Art has a very fragmentary example illustrated here (no. 41; inv. no. 339).

But was the market only international?

I observe that the entries in Aegean Waves do not include information about find-spots (except for the fragments from the "Keros haul"). It is worth re-reading Ricardo Elia's comments in response to Colin Renfrew's Cycladic Spirit:

One can only guess at the cost of forming the Goulandris collection in terms of archaeological sites destroyed and information lost.

Christopher Chippindale and I have explored the extent of the loss of information in our study of the "Material and intellectual consequences of esteem for Cycladic figures" (a work unreferenced in Aegean Waves). There is, however, an oblique reference in a discussion of marble figures attributed to the "Goulandris Sculptor" (no. 29).

Other scholars ... are of the opinion that these views carry the implication of artistic principles, aesthetic perceptions and social structures that are not consistent with what is known at present of Cycladic society in the 3rd millennium BC. They believe that the manner in which Cycladic figurines were made may have derived from a combination of a general sense of the proportions of the human body and the application of basic design principles that were established by centuries of repetition. The similarities between some of the figurines are attributed by them either to the existence of local workshops and traditions, or to the fact that they express a particular period.

The loss of archaeological contexts through the desire of collectors and museums to possess Cycladic figures has meant that the means of exploring such regional workshops has been lost for good.

Looting has had serious intellectual consequences for the study of Early Cycladic Culture.

References
Bothmer, D. von Editor. 1990. Glories of the Past: Ancient Art from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Doumas, C. G. 2000. Early Cycladic Culture: The N.P. Goulandris Collection. Athens: N.P. Goulandris Foundation - Museum of Cycladic Art.
Elia, R. J. 1996. "A seductive and troubling work." In Archaeological Ethics, edited by K. D. Vitelli, pp. 54-62. Walnut Creek: Altamira.
Getz-Gentle, P. 2001. Personal Styles in Early Cycladic Sculpture. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.
---. 2006. Ancient Art of the Cyclades. New York: Katonah Museum of Art.
Getz-Preziosi, P. 1987. Sculptors of the Cyclades: Individual and Tradition in the Third Millennium BC. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
---. 1987. Early Cycladic Art in North American Collections. Richmond: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Gill, D. W. J. 2002. Review of P. Getz-Gentle, Personal Styles in Early Cycladic Sculpture (Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2001). Bryn Mawr Classical Review.
---. 2007. Review of Peggy Sotirakopoulou, The "Keros Hoard": Myth or Reality? Searching for the Lost Pieces of a Puzzle (Athens: N.P. Goulandris Foundation - Museum of Cycladic Art, 2005). American Journal of Archaeology 111: 163-65. [Full text]
Gill, D. W. J., and C. Chippindale. 1993. "Material and intellectual consequences of esteem for Cycladic figures." American Journal of Archaeology 97: 601-59. [JSTOR]
Renfrew, C. 1991. The Cycladic Spirit: Masterpieces from the Nicholas P. Goulandris Collection. London: Thames & Hudson.
Sotirakopoulou, P. 2005. The "Keros Hoard": Myth or Reality? Searching for the Lost Pieces of a Puzzle. Athens: N.P. Goulandris Foundation - Museum of Cycladic Art.
Stampolidis, N., and P. Sotirakopoulou. 2007. Aegean Waves: Artworks of the Early Cycladic Culture in the Museum of Cycladic Art at Athens. Milan: Skira.

Operation "Ulisse": Oplontis Fresco on Display in Rome

In February I noted the seizure of antiquities at a private residence in Paris as part of the Italian Operation "Ulisse".

One of the seized items, a Roman fresco removed from a Roman villa at Oplontis, went on display in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome ("Rosso pompeiano. La decorazione pittorica nelle collezioni del Museo Nazionale di Napoli e a Pompei") last week ("Stolen Vesuvian fresco on show in Rome", ANSA, March 27, 2008). This painting (further image) shows:

a bower of vines, a satyr riding a mule, and a cloaked woman making a sacrifice at an altar. The three-metre long fresco is the largest landscape-themed painting ever found in the Vesuvian area.

The trail of the painting has now been released. It was apparently in Geneva in the early 1980s (but where? in a private collection? with a dealer?) before being displayed "in the house of a rich industrialist in Brussels" (who?). It was found "in the house of French publisher and art collector Jacques Marcoux in Place Vendome [Paris] in February".

The painting will be returned to one of the archaeological collections in the Bay of Naples area.

Image
From ANSA.

La Forza del Euphronios: Sarpedon Carried to Mantua

Four antiquities returned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York are on display in Rome. However the Sarpedon krater is now in an exhbition, "La Forza del Bello", in the Palazzo Te, Mantua ("Ancient Greek art dazzles Mantua", ANSA, March 31, 2008).

The press release provides further information:

The exhibition also features a small ''bonus'' section at the end, showcasing three masterpieces that US museums have recently returned to Italy after lengthy negotiations.

These include a marble ceremonial basin decorated with Nereids and a striking painted marble sculpture of griffons attacking a doe, both returned from the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

The third piece - returned from New York's Metropolitan Museum this January after decades of discussions - is a terracotta drinking cup [sic.] painted by the 5th-century BC Greek master Euphronios.

Homecomings: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of the first agreements to return antiquities to Italy was made with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (February 21, 2006) [Press Release]. The discussion has tended to centre around the Sarpedon krater but there were other pieces as well.

The current Nostoi exhibition in the Palazzo Poli in Rome contains the following pieces (with the number in the previous Nostoi exhibition):

• Laconian cup with warrior. Attributed to the Hunt painter. Formerly New York 1999.527. Gift from the family of Howard J. Barnet. "Lent to the Museum periodically since 1981" (Mertens). Publ. Joan R. Mertens, in "Ancient World", The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, 58, No. 2, Recent Acquisitions: A Selection 1999-2000 (Autumn, 2000), 13 [JSTOR]. (Nostoi no. 3; old no. 3).
• Attic red figure psykter with young horsemen. Attributed to Smikros (attributed by J. Robert Guy). Formerly New York L1980.104 (loan from Mr & Mrs Spears, Riverdale [NY]); 1996.250. Gift of Thomas A. and Colette Spears. Publ. Dietrich von Bothmer, in "Ancient World", The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, 55, No. 2, Recent Acquisitions: A Selection 1996-1997 (Autumn, 1997) 12 [JSTOR]. (Nostoi no. 15; old no. 14).
• Attic red figure amphora with cithara player. Attributed to the Berlin painter. Sold at auction, Sotheby's (London), December 13-14, 1982, lot 220. Formerly New York 1985.11.5. Publ. Dietrich von Bothmer, in "Greek and Roman Art", Recent Acquisitions (Metropolitan Museum of Art) (1985-1986), 9 [JSTOR]. (Nostoi no. 17; old no. 16).
• Apulian red-figured dinos with Herakles and Busiris. Attributed to the Darius painter. Formerly New York 1984.11.7. Purchase, The Bothmer Purchase Fund, Rogers Fund, and Norbert Schimmel and Helen H. Mertens Gifts, 1984; Anonymous Gift, 1989. Dietrich von Bothmer, "Greek and Roman Art", Notable Acquisitions (Metropolitan Museum of Art) (1984-1985), 6-7 [JSTOR]. (Nostoi no. 57; old no. 51).

Not included this time:

• The Sarpedon krater. Formerly New York 1972.11.10. (old Nostoi no. 9)

Entry revised: August 21, 2008.

Image courtesy of New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art (www.metmuseum.org).

Dinos with Herakles and Busiris, ca. 340–320 B.C.; Red-figure. Greek, South Italian, Apulian. Attributed to the Darius Painter. Terracotta; H. 9 3/4 in. (24.79 cm). Purchase, The Bothmer Purchase Fund, Rogers Fund, and Norbert Schimmel and Helen H. Mertens Gifts, 1984; Anonymous Gift, 1989 (1984.11.7).

Nostoi: Capolavori Ritrovati. Exhibition List

The list of objects now on display at the Palazzo Poli, Rome has now been issued. (There are differences from the earlier exhibition.) The present exhibition that opened last weekend consists of the following:

• Boston, Museum of Fine Arts (12): nos. 7, 10, 16, 19, 30, 31, 47, 48, 50, 56, 59, 74.
• France, private collection (1): no. 42.
• London, Robin Symes (1): no. 66.
• Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum (41): nos. 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 38, 40, 41, 46, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69, 72, 73.
• New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art (4): nos. 3, 15, 17, 57.
• New York, Royal Athena Galleries (5): nos. 23, 35, 39, 43, 71.
• New York, Shelby White collection (9): nos. 5, 8, 18, 36, 37, 44, 45, 65, 70.
• Princeton, University Museum of Art (1): no. 1.

I posted a list of the Shelby White material yesterday. As there has been a suggestion that my list varies from the Italian list, I reproduce it here with the Italian titles, Nostoi catalogue number, and the New York Glories of the Past exhibition catalogue entry. (The two lists are the same.)

1. Anfora attica a figure nere "panatenaica" con corridori (no. 5). Glories of the Past no. 104.
2. Anfora attica a figure nere con Dioniso e Arianna a banchetto (no. 8). Glories of the Past no. 107.
3. Cratere a calice a figure rosse con Zeus e Ganimede (no. 18). Glories of the Past no. 117.
4. Hydria ceretana con pantera e leonessa che attaccano un mulo (no. 36).
5. Hydria ceretana con la fuga di Ulisse dall'antro di Polifemo (no. 37).
6. Anfora calcidese con cavalcata di giovani (no. 44). Glories of the Past no. 102.
7. Statuetta bronzea di Kouros (no. 45). Glories of the Past no. 87.
8. Frammento di decorazione parietale ad affresco: prospettiva architettonica e maschera teatrale (no. 65). Glories of the Past no. 142.
9. Frammento di decorazione parietale ad affresco: figura di Menade sdraiata (no. 70). Glories of the Past no. 143.

Image
© ANSA.

The Art Loss Register: Readers' Views

How do readers of Looting Matters perceive the Art Loss Register?

I felt that it was a question worth asking as there appears to be a little bit of confusion among museum curators and dealers.

The Director of the St Louis Art Museum (SLAM) felt he could buy an Egyptian mask with confidence because it did not appear in the ALR database.

Hicham Aboutaam was quoted in 2005 as saying that the ALR was "a registry for stolen and looted artifacts".

Due Diligence is now a key issue - but does the ALR solve the problem of recently surfaced antiquities? What does an ALR Certificate say about an object passing through the antiquities market?

So I posed the question:

What does it mean when a certificate from The Art Loss Register (ALR) accompanies an antiquity that is for sale?

70 people cast a vote (and they could choose more than one option).

The different options were:

• The object does not appear in the ALR database [60 votes]
• The object comes from a documented old collection [4 votes]
• The object does not come from an illicit excavation [2 votes]
• The object has not been stolen from a museum [7 votes]
• The object has not been stolen from a private collection [5 votes]
• No country will have a legal claim on the object [4 votes]

Most people got the right answer. The ALR Certificate means that that the object does not appear in the ALR database. No more; no less.

Hopefully if the piece had been stolen from a museum, there would be a record and the authorities would be alerted. But this is not always the case. And what about stores of archaeological material? How frequently are they audited for thefts?

Are all pieces in private collections registered with the ALR?

And can a piece that has been buried for (say) 2500 years appear on the ALR database? No! So it will not be on the database if it has come onto the market as a result of recent looting. And if it can be shown to have been looted, it is likely that a country will have a legal claim on it. And suddenly the ALR Certificate is not the complete answer to the due diligence process.

Does the ALR need to start ensuring that its certificates are issued with a reminder that they provide no guarantee that the object has not appeared on the market as the result of recent looting?