Al Jazeera, Zahi Hawass, and Egyptian antiquities

Lee Rosenbaum's CultureGrrl has drawn attention to Zahi Hawass' interview with Riz Khan (July 12, 2007) on Al Jazeera ("Rosetta Stone: Why the British Museum Distrusts Hawass").

There are several areas of interest in the interview. Hawass makes a distinction between items stolen from stores in Egypt, objects removed from archaeological sites, and high profile objects which reside in collections outside Egypt.

First, he talks about items stolen from archaeological stores in Egypt. This includes the Middle Kingdom alabaster duck that had been stolen from the store at Saqqara and had then surfaced at Christie's in New York. It has since been returned.

He then turned to the St Louis Art Museum and the Middle Kingdom mummy mask that Hawass claims was stolen from the Saqqara store.

Hawass was then questioned about the scale of the problem though no clear cut figure was given. I have noted elsewhere that Sotheby's in New York sold some $41 million worth of Egyptian antiquities between 1998 and 2007 of which I observe,

Nearly 70% of the Egyptian antiquities auctioned at Sotheby's New York appear to be unknown before 1973.

Hawass also talks about items which reside in European and North American collections. In particular he mentions his hope that several pieces will be loaned to ("visit") Egypt for the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum. Among the pieces he hopes to borrow are the Rosetta Stone in London, the bust of Nefertiti in Berlin, the 4th Dynasty bust of Prince Ankhhaf ( "From Giza, tomb G 7510. 1925: excavated by the Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; 1927: assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of Egypt"), the Zodiac from the Dendera temple in Paris, and the statue of Hemiunnu in Hildesheim. The loan of Hemiunnu has now been agreed; Boston and the Louvre have declined to make loans. For Hawass the sanction is to "stop scientific co-operation".

As Rosenbaum observes, there may be more to these loans. As Hawass develops his theme, he states,

The Rosetta Stone is in England. We own that stone. The motherland should own this.

For interview

Returning antiquities to Italy: next moves?

There has been a pattern of approaches to North American museums for the return of antiquities to Italy:
a. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art: 2006, February [press release]
b. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts: 2006, September [press release]
c. Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum: 2007, August [press release]
d. Princeton, University Art Museums: 2007, October [press release]

Then there are the pieces in the University of Virginia Art Museum in Charlottesville.

But where do the Italian investigations go from here?

The New York Times reports:

"Negotiations continue with private collectors of antiquities in the United States, as well as museums in Europe."

Material formerly owned by Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman has been returned from the Getty. And one of the significant North American private collectors is Shelby White.

Other news reports are more specific. Maurizio Fiorilli ("Italy, Princeton museum reach deal to return disputed antiquities") is quoted as saying that talks are now concentrating on "the New Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Miho Museum in Shiga, western Japan".

The Cleveland Museum of Art holds disputed material. This includes an Apulian volute-krater attributed to the Darius painter. James Kopniske is quoted as saying that Cleveland "had received a request for the return of a number of objects and has been conducting research on the artifacts".

The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen appears to have purchased material from Robert Hecht. Bloomberg reported back in November 2005:

the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen has six allegedly looted items, all of which came through Medici, including the decorations of an Etruscan chariot for which Hecht is also charged ...

The Miho Museum may contain, according to one 2007 report ("Is Japan a Cultural Looter?"), some 50 items which are reported to be under investigation. Japanese press reports have suggested that some of the material may have come via Gianfranco Becchina ("Records Tie Japanese Dealer to Looted Antiquities").

With thousands of Polaroids to study it is likely that there will plenty more revelations.

Apulian pottery: the significance of the Darius painter

The limited information being released by Princeton on the objects being transferred to Italy is raising questions ("More on the Princeton Give-Backs: "Looting Matters" Digs for Provenance", CultureGrrl).

Yesterday I drew attention to the three Apulian pots attributed to the Darius painter which will be returned to Italy from Boston, Malibu and Princeton. The three were significant because all had been listed as recent surfacings of the "painter's" work in Boston's catalogue of South Italian pottery.

But I did not mention the Apulian dinos, also attributed to the Darius painter, which had been returned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (inv. 1984.11.7). The piece, showing Herakles and Busiris, was a purchase from "The Bothmer Purchase Fund, Rogers Fund, and Norbert Schimmel and Helen H. Mertens Gifts, 1984; Anonymous Gift, 1989" [see press release]. The piece was apparently identified by Polaroids seized during a police raid in Geneva (see Elisabetta Povoledo and Randy Kennedy, "Confrontation With Italy Looms at the Met", New York Times November 21, 2005).

Nor did I note that a volute-krater, attributed to the same painter, in the Cleveland Museum of Art (inv. 1988.41) is also apparently under suspicion (Suzan Mazur, "Italy Will Contest Medea Vase At Cleveland Museum", Scoop.co.nz, October 9, 2006).

What these pots appear to indicate is that there was a brisk movement of Apulian pottery from previously undisturbed tombs in Southern Italy to North American institutions. And the details of the transactions are beginning to emerge.

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).

Princeton antiquities and Italy: the Darius painter

One of the features of the recent returns of antiquities from North American collections to Italy has been the presence of Apulian pottery attributed to the Darius painter.

It started with the return of Boston's amphora (1991.437) showing the murder of Atreus. This had surfaced through Atlantis Antiquities in New York and Fritz Bürki & Son of Zurich. It had been semi-purchased by Shelby White and Leon Levy with a half share by the MFA (purchased "with funds given by the Jerome Levy Foundation").

Then there was the pelike from the Getty (87.AE.23) showing the return of Andromeda. This had been purchased from Fritz Bürki & Son of Zurich.

And now there is the Princeton loutrophoros (y1989-29) with the mourning of Niobe. This was acquired as a "Museum purchase, anonymous gift". (Who sold it to Princeton?)

The three have been listed together before. The Boston catalogue Vase-painting in Italy (1993) noted in a discussion of a work attributed to the Darius painter (no. 41),

Recent years have seen a host of new vases by the Darius Painter with rare or unique mythological subjects ...

The catalogue then gave a list of pieces that included the three that have been, or will be, returned to Italy. It is now becoming clear how these "new vases" were surfacing.

The Boston MFA catalogue list also includes "three volute-kraters in Berlin, one with the raid on the camp of Rhesus (1984.39), one with the rape of Persephone (1984.40), the third with Phrixos, Helle, and the ram (1984.41)". These had all passed through Switzerland and are part of a much larger grave-group.

The MFA, Getty, Princeton (and Berlin) pieces were acquired between 1984 and 1991. Professor Ricardo Elia has noted in a study on the "Looting of Apulian Red-Figure Vases",

An additional 31 per cent of the total corpus [of Apulian pots], more than 4200 vases, has surfaced between 1980-1992. Virtually all of these additional vases are undocumented and unprovenanced and are likely to have been looted from Italian sites.

I have noted before that there has been the (misplaced) suggestion that Elia has overstated the scale of the problem of looting in South Italy ("Apulian Pots and the Missing Memorandum"). But this latest agreement from Princeton (which includes an additional Apulian piece) seems to confirm Elia's research.

Image courtesy of the Princeton University Art Museum

Red figure loutrophoros (ceramic), attributed to the Darius Painter. South Italian, Apulian, ca. 335-325 B.C. One of four objects to be transferred in title to the Italian government but to remain on loan to the Princeton University Art Museum.

Princeton and the Aboutaams

Among the antiquities which are to be transferred directly to Italy as a result of the October 30 2007 agreement between Princeton University Art Museum and Italy is a polychrome terracotta architectural relief with a centaur (inv. no. 1995-129). Details of the original acquisition appear in the Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 56, 1/2 (1997) 61, 62 (ill.) [available on JSTOR].

Six of the eight pieces (four will be on loan to Princeton) which will have their title transferred to Italy were "museum purchases"; two were gifts. This terracotta relief is recorded as:

Gift of Ali and Hicham Aboutaam.

These brothers now run Phoenix Ancient Art S.A. which has galleries in Geneva and New York. The year the Princeton terracotta was presented by the Aboutaams coincided with the "incorporation" of Phoenix Ancient Art.

Their appearance here is interesting. Ron Stodghill ("Do You Know Where That Art Has Been?", New York Times, March 18, 2007 [archived]) reported on their activities earlier this year. Hicham Aboutaam is quoted as saying:

“When all those things happened at the Getty and Met, people assumed, ‘This is end of the antiquities trade because antiquities are evil,’ but I think what happened has been good for the whole field.”

Does he have any statement to make about why his gift to Princeton is now being returned to Italy? What was the source for this architectural relief?

Image courtesy of the Princeton University Art Museum

Columen plaque with a Centaur in Relief (terracotta, painted). Etruscan, southern Etruria or Latium, ca. 500-480 B.C.

Princeton antiquities and Italy: signing

Princeton University Art Museum and the Italian authorities formerly signed an agreement today ("Princeton University Art Museum and Italy sign agreement over antiquities" (October 30, 2007) [Press Release; Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali]).

Susan Taylor, Director of the Princeton University Art Museum claimed the return "is consistent with our long-standing commitment to responsible stewardship of our collections". The statements say little about the decisions that allowed these antiquities to be acquired.

For further details about the acquisitions see "Princeton antiquities and Italy: acquisition details".

Image courtesy of the Princeton University Art Museum

Red figure psykter (ceramic), attributed to the Kleophrades Painter. Greek, Attic, ca. 510 500 B.C. One of four objects to be transferred in title to the Italian government but to remain on loan to the Princeton University Art Museum.

Princeton antiquities and Italy: acquisition details

There is one striking feature of the announcement that the Princeton University Art Museum will be returning some antiquities to Italy and transferring the title of others to the Republic of Italy. It is so striking that it is like Sherlock Holmes' dog that did not bark in the night.

Previous agreements with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (Feb 2006), the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (Sept 2006), and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu (Aug 2007) all gave the accession numbers of the objects. The Princeton press release does not.

The authorities of the MFA and Getty have been particularly helpful and provided the information which has allowed a picture of the suppliers and networks to emerge (see Gill and Chippindale 2006; 2007).

Princeton and Italy seem to have made a complex deal. Some pieces will be transferred in title but remain on loan to Princeton; others will be returned to Italy; and others will remain permanently in Princeton. [Details from press release]

Princeton will keep seven objects and transfer title to eight. Of the eight objects whose ownership will transfer to Italy, half -- including the psykter and the loutrophorous -- will remain on loan to the museum for four years.

I present below a list with the accession numbers (though given the vagueness of the press release it is possible that some errors will have crept in and I have indicated where there is some uncertainty).

But what are the characteristics of the eight antiquities that will be transferred to Italy? Five were acquired in 1989 (the decade with the largest number of returns for Boston, Malibu and New York), and three in the 1990s. Four are certainly Etruscan (and the fifth was initially published as Etruscan) and it is likely that they came from contexts in Tuscany. The two Apulian pieces will probably have come from contexts in South Italy. The psykter, according to Robert Hecht's Memoirs, was apparently first known in a private house in Cerveteri suggesting it probably derived from a site in the locality. Six of the items were museum purchases. Were the curatorial staff unaware of the previous histories? Will Princeton be releasing the names of the individuals, dealers or galleries who handled the pieces prior to acquisition?

1. Apulian red-figured loutrophoros, attributed to the Darius painter. Inv. y1989-29. Museum purchase, anonymous gift.

2. Etruscan oinochoe. Presumably inv. 1995.149. Museum purchase.

3. Apulian red-figured volute-krater, attributed to the Iliupersis painter. Inv. y1989-40. Museum purchase, anonymous gift.

4. Carian round-mouthed oinochoe, attributed to the Ivy Leaf Group. Inv. y1989-53. Museum purchase, anonymous gift. [Originally as Etruscan.]

5. Attic red-figured psykter, attributed to the Kleophrades painter. Inv. y1989-69. Museum purchase, gift of Peter Jay Sharp through the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; Lloyd E. Cotsen; John B. Elliott; Jonathan P. Rosen, through the Jonathan Rosen Foundation.

6. Etruscan head of a winged lion. Inv. y1994-58. Museum purchase, John Maclean Magie and Gertrude Magie Fund.

7. Etruscan black-figure skyphos fragment with a sprinting youth. Inv. 1995-64. Gift of Brian T. Aitken.

8. Etruscan terracotta plaque with relief centaur. Presumably inv. 1995.129. Gift of Ali and Hicham Aboutaam.

Seven pieces (including a pair of Amazons) will be staying in Princeton and there is no indication as to why they formed part of the discussions and final agreement. The presence of Peter Sharrer's name is interesting. In 2002 the pediment of a second century AD funerary relief was returned from Princeton to Italy ("Ancient Art to go Home", Art in America; "Princeton Return"). This had been purchased from Sharrer in part with funds from Mr and Mrs Leon Levy. This is the piece cited in the latest press release from Princeton indicating the way it has co-operated with the Italian authorities in the past:

Most recently, in 2002, the museum voluntarily returned to the Italian government an ancient Roman sculptural relief in its collection, having contacted the Italian authorities after the museum's own research revealed that the work was taken out of Italy without a legal export permit before being acquired by the museum in good faith in 1985.

Those antiquities remaining in Princeton are:

9. Corinthian plate with the Ransom of Hector. Inv. y1989-25. Museum purchase, anonymous gift in memory of Isabelle K. Raubitschek and to honor Antony E. Raubitschek

10. Attic red-figured cup, attributed to the Brygos Painter. Inv. 1990-2. Museum purchase, anonymous gift in honor of J. Robert Guy.

11. Teano ware vessel in the form of a bird. Inv. y1990-76. Anonymous gift.

12. Pair of Canosan polychrome terracotta charging Amazons. Inv. 1995-110, 1995-111. Museum purchase, Carl Otto von Kienbusch Jr., Memorial Collection Fund

13. Fragment of Attic red-figured lekythos, attributed to the Pan painter. Inv. 1998-223. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Sharrer in honor of Allen Rosenbaum

14. Roman inlaid dagger and sheath (bronze, iron, silver, gold, niello), signed by Honillius. Inv. 1999-148. Museum purchase, Carl Otto von Kienbusch Jr., Memorial Collection Fund

15. Apulian guttus in the form of a drunken Silenus. Inv. 2000-145. Museum purchase, gift of an anonymous Friend.

But what will be the next set of antiquities to be the subject of scrutiny by the Italian authorities? The New York Times reports ("Princeton to Return Disputed Art to Italy", October 27, 2007):

Negotiations continue with private collectors of antiquities in the United States, as well as museums in Europe.

References
Gill, David W.J., and Christopher Chippindale. 2006. From Boston to Rome: reflections on returning antiquities. International Journal of Cultural Property 13 (3):311-331. [pdf]
———. 2007. From Malibu to Rome: further developments on the return of antiquities. International Journal of Cultural Property 14 (2):205-240. [pdf]