Egypt Requests Return of Reliefs from Paris

The Tomb of Tetaki in Thebes (TT 15) was investigated by Lord Carnarvon in 1908. It belonged to one of the 18th Dynasty (New Kingdom) officials of Thebes who was alive during the reign of Ahmose (1550-1525 BCE). A photographic record was made at the time of the opening, but, as a result of thefts, Arthur Weigall, the then Chief Inspector, decided to close the tomb. Howard Carter, who had joined Carnarvon in 1909, helped to write up the tomb in Five Years' Explorations at Thebes: a Record of Work Done 1907-1911 (Oxford 1912).

The tomb was reopened in 1924 by Professor Percy Edward Newberry (who held the first chair of Egyptology at the University of Liverpool). A copy of the tomb paintings was made by N. de Garis Davies ("The Tomb of Tetaky at Thebes (No. 15)", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 11, 1/2 [1925] 10-18 [JSTOR]).

Further archaeological work on the tomb was conducted by Daniel Polz during the 1990s.

In 2000 and 2003 the Louvre in Paris acquired four funerary reliefs. In today's announcement, Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), claimed, "The Louvre Museum refused to return four archaeological reliefs to Egypt that were stolen during the 1980s from the tomb of the noble Tetaki" (Paul Schemm, "Egypt cuts ties with France's Louvre museum", AP October 7, 2009). It is claimed that the reliefs were cut out of the tomb during the 1980s.

The vendor of the reliefs has not been stated, and the due diligence processes conducted by the Louvre have not been disclosed. However Frederic Mitterrand, the Minister of Culture for France, stated that the pieces had been acquired in "good faith" ("acquis de bonne foi") [press release]. (On the use of the phrase see here.) A statement from the Ministry continued, "It wasn't until November 2008, after archaeologists rediscovered the tomb from which the frescoes appear to have come, that serious doubts emerged about the legality of their removal from Egyptian territory."

A panel will review the case and decide if the reliefs should be returned to Egypt. Mitterand's statement makes it clear that the reliefs would be returned under the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (see further). This is widely considered to be the benchmark date for considering recently surfaced archaeological material. In the meantime, the Louvre-sponsored excavation at Saqqara has been suspended. A lecture due to be delivered in Egypt by former Louvre curator, Christiane Ziegler, has been cancelled.

Hawass is taking an equally firm line with the St. Louis Art Museum over a mummy case excavated at Saqqara.

Egypt is also seeking the return of "historic" finds (i.e. material acquired prior to 1970) from western museums, among them the Rosetta Stone in London's British Museum (see comments and video of Hawass) and the head of Nefertiti in Berlin.

French authorities seem to be treating Egypt's claim seriously although it appears that the Louvre had refused earlier requests by Hawass.

UPDATE (October 9, 2009): Fragments to be returned to Egypt. Click here.

Egypt takes action against the Louvre

It has been announced that Egypt is taking firm action against the Louvre in Paris (Paul Schemm, "Egypt cuts ties with France's Louvre museum", AP October 7, 2009). The issue revolves around the Louvre's possession of four reliefs from the tomb of Tetaki which were acquired in "good faith" in 2000 and 2003.

The statement means that Egypt's Supreme Council of antiquities has suspended the Louvre-sponsored excavation at Saqqara. A lecture due to be given in Egypt by Christiane Ziegler, a former curator at the Louvre has also been cancelled.

Nighthawking and illicit raids: clarification

Observant readers of Looting Matters will want to note that the Nighthawks and Nighthawking Survey (2009) was commissioned by English Heritage (see my earlier comments). Inspectors and archaeologists working for English Heritage have also commented on the continuing problem of looting in England.

Illicit raids on the rise

Those who think that the Portable Antiquities Scheme is the solution to looting in the UK should read today's Daily Telegraph ("Treasure hunters raid historic sites", October 5, 2009). While the PAS does good work in recording (some) finds removed from the fields of England and Wales, this is only part of the picture. (For a comment on the low scale of reporting see here.)

Pete Wilson, an archaeologist with English Heritage, is quoted by the Telegraph:

Nighthawking is a problem across the country and we fear that the recession may produce a spike.

We are getting increasing attacks on private land where the nighthawks have no permission to be.

But who are the people acquiring the finds from such nocturnal activities? Observant readers will know the answer.

Looting Matters: Italy continues to celebrate the return of antiquities

Looting Matters: Italy continues to celebrate the return of antiquities

The Medici Tour in Rome

Last week I went on an evening walk with a colleague. We toured the centre of Rome and a number of locations linked to events in the Medici Conspiracy were pointed out to me. It certainly placed several things in a wider context.

Antiquities from North American Collections at the Villa Giulia

The Euphronios krater and its companions sit in a darkened first floor room (Room 23) in the Villa Giulia, Rome. Outside the trams can be heard rumbling their way down the Viale delle Belle Arti.

The immediate museological context for these returned antiquities is the outstandingly important Etruscan collection of the Villa Giulia. Yet each one of the returned pieces has apparently been ripped from its last resting-place; this contrasts with many of the other pieces throughout the building that are derived from excavations.

The Euphronios krater, the intended highlight of Room 23, is not there at the moment. A handwritten note in its empty (but lit) case informs the visitor that it can be seen in the Museo Nazionale Castel Sant'Angelo. It is accompanied by other pieces (see earlier discussion):

• the Onesimos cup returned from the J. Paul Getty Museum (see earlier comments).
• Attic red-figured phiale, Douris, returned from the J. Paul Getty Museum (see discussion).
• Attic red-figured column-krater, attributed to the Geras painter, returned from the Royal-Athena Galleries (see earlier comments).
• fragment of Attic red-figured calyx-krater, attributed to the Berlin painter, body of Achilles (see earlier comments).
• Attic red-figured cup, Pamphaios, returned from the J. Paul Getty Museum (see discussion).
• Attic red-figured psykter, Smikros, returned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (see earlier comments).
• Attic black-figured lekythos, attributed to the Disophos painter, returned from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (see MFA website).
  
• Attic red-figured lekythos, attributed to the Terpaulos Painter, returned from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (see MFA website).
• a black-figured skyphos fragment returned from the Princeton University Art Museums (see earlier comments).
  
• a Pontic oinochoe, attributed to the Tityos painter, returned from the Royal-Athena Galleries (see earlier comments).
• a Pontic amphora, attributed to the Tityos painter, returned from the J. Paul Getty Museum (see discussion).
• a large Etruscan bronze figure, 2nd century BCE, from a French private collection (earlier reported as coming from a Swiss private collection).
• a terracotta architectural antefix with centaur returned from the Princeton University Art Museums (see earlier comments).
• a Protocorinthian olpe, returned from the J. Paul Getty Museum.
  
• a duck-shaped askos, returned from the J. Paul Getty Museum (see discussion).
  
• Caeretan hydria, attributed to the Busiris painter, returned from the Shelby White collection (see earlier comments).