Gold vessel from Ur - or is that Troy?

I have been following the case of the gold vessel that is said to have surfaced at Münzenhandlung Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger of Munich, Germany during 2005. The piece was seized by the German authorities who asked Michael Müller-Karpe of the Römisch-Germanische Zentralmuseum in Mainz, a leading expert on metalwork from Iraq, to study it. Among Müller-Karpe's publications is his Metallgefäße im Iraq 1 (Stuttgart 1993).

Müller-Karpe concluded that the piece was similar to objects found in the royal cemetery at Ur. There is the possibility that the gold vessel had been looted subsequent to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The gold object remains with Müller-Karpe at the request of the cultural attaché at the Iraqi Embassy in Berlin. Dieter Peulen of the German customs would like it to be returned.

The piece has been discussed by both Nathan Elkins and Paul Barford.

But there are further questions to ask.

Who consigned the gold vessel to the Munich coin-dealer?

What is the basis for the dealer suggesting that the vessel came from Troy?

I also observe that the coin-dealer is a member of the International Association of Professional Numismatists (IAPN). This organisation, based in Brussels, is one of three bodies involved in a legal suit against the US Department of State over the import of antiquities to the USA.

The Scottish Parliament on the Parthenon

Among the motions and amendments for the Scottish Parliament on Monday June 29, 2009 was this:

S3M-4498 Hugh O’Donnell: The Opening of the Acropolis Museum in Athens—That the Parliament congratulates the Greek people and Government on the opening of the eagerly awaited Acropolis Museum in Athens, which will house artefacts covering the Greek bronze age and Roman and Byzantine time periods; notes that part of the space is specifically designed to accommodate the Parthenon Marbles, and urges the British Museum to enter into negotiations with the Acropolis Museum with a view to returning the Parthenon Marbles to their original home.

Supported by: Rob Gibson, Mike Pringle, Bill Kidd, Jim Tolson, Gil Paterson, Christina McKelvie, Sandra White, Alasdair Morgan, Jim Hume

Parthenon sculptures on Twitter

The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles has launched its Twitter site. BCRP's press release (July 9, 2009) had a response to Neil Macgregor from Professor Anthony Snodgrass,

"Let us have a sensible negotiation on the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures, between equals, without any prior stipulations about ownership and possession. Only then can the possibilities for the transmission of the sculptures to other countries, whether physical or virtual, be seriously discussed,"

Image © David Gill

The Journal of Art Crime: volume 1

The first volume of The Journal of Art Crime edited by Noah Charney and published by the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art (details here).

There is much in the volume with a series of regular columns including my own, "Context Matters: Archaeological and Antiquities Crime".

Timothy Rub on loans over ownership

I was struck by a reported comment of Timothy Rub, the out-going director of the Cleveland Museum of Art (Steven Litt, "Losing director could make for great partnership", Plain Dealer (Cleveland) July 5, 2009). Rub spoke at a conference at the end of June and "made a convincing case for long-term loans as a way for countries seeking to control illicit trade in antiquities to share national patrimony". He is quoted:

"Access might not mean ownership."

Such a statement is a move towards a position of stewardship of the archaeological record, a position I have been advocating here. Rub is now standing in marked opposition to senior museum figures such as James Cuno and Philippe de Montebello who have been vocal advocates of "ownership".

Perhaps before he leaves Cleveland Rub could release the collecting histories of the objects returned to Italy.

Cleveland Museum of Art: Objects in Rome

The fourteen antiquities handed back to Italy by the Cleveland Museum of Art have gone on display in Rome ("Art back home in Italy after stay in Cleveland", cleveland.com July 8, 2009). Although the collecting histories have yet to be released, it is clear that the identifications were made from the seizure of photographs and documents in raids on the premises of dealers in Switzerland.

Looted Shipwreck off Sicily

ANSA has reported on the recovery of five 1st century CE Roman transport amphorae from the sea off the island of Filicudi in the Aeolian islands ("CC Messina recuperano anfore Romane alle Eolie", June 24, 2009). The containers had apparently been removed from the wreck and then hidden in an underwater crevice nearby.