Illicit Cultural Property

Recreating Strawberry Hill

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:48:00 +0000

Strawberry Hill, the gothic-revival mansion in west London is currently in the midst of a £9m restoration. Martin Bailey has a terrific story in the Art Newspaper on the efforts to track down many of the objects which were originally included in the mansion.

Horace Walpole built the home in the 18th century, which is credited for the revival of the Gothic style in Victorian England. The building was inspired by the fan vaulting at Westminster Abbey, bits of tombs from Westminster and Canterbury, and the tomb of Edward the Confessor. When Walpole died in 1797, most of the objects remained at the mansion, but an auction in 1842 led to the loss of a number of the objects. The Strawberry Hill Trust is now eager to bring these objects back together, including paintings, sculpture, furniture, ceramics, glassware, weapons, relics and manuscripts.

Some of the most sought-after items include:

1. A Roman funerary urn: The Roman urn appears below the window in a 1750s drawing of Walpole in his library by Johann Müntz. Its triangular top decoration has a tripod relief, supported by griffins.

2. Mirror with portrait of Viscount Malpas: There were two mirrors, and the lost mirror has a circular painting of Viscount Malpas. The Gothic mirror, with an ebonised wood frame, was sold in 1842 to Mrs Dawson Damer. Another mirror depicting the Earl of Orford survives (pictured, it was accepted in lieu of inheritance tax last year and will be displayed at Strawberry Hill).

3. Ornate Turkish dagger: The ornate dagger was reputed to have belonged to Henry VIII. In 1842 it was bought by actor Charles Kean, who is said to have used it on the stage. It was sold at Christie’s in 1898 to someone named as Haigham. It is depicted in a late 18th-century watercolour.

4. Gothic dining table Commissioned by Walpole in 1754, the top is of Sicilian jasper (6 x 3 feet), with the frame in black. An early 19th-century drawing of it survives. The ornately decorated table was last recorded in 1953, when it was owned by antiquarian Harry Bradfer-Lawrence, of Ripon, Yorkshire, who died in 1965.

5. Basalt Bust of Vespasian: The colossal basalt bust had been in 10 Downing Street and was later put on display at Strawberry Hill. It is depicted in a watercolour view of Horace Walpole’s gallery. The bust was last recorded at Christie’s in 1893, after leaving the Hamilton Palace collection.

Martin Bailey, Strawberry Hill on the hunt for lost Walpole treasures, The Art Newspaper, January 6, 2010.

Portable Antiquities Seized in Iraq

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Iraqi police announced today the seizure of 39 antiquities discovered hidden near a shrine outside Nasiriyah in Southern Iraq. These included clay tablets and statues, some of which may date from the 4,000 year-old Sumerian civilization. Are these objects from one of Iraq's museums? Were these objects looted from nearby archaeological sites? If I could speculate on why the objects were hidden near a shrine: it may have been a convenient place to hide these looted objects for sale to visitors to the shrine.

Katherine Houreld, Iraqi police seize artifacts amid smuggling fears - Washington Times, Associated Press, January 5, 2009.

Holiday Art Theft in Southern France

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:55:00 +0000

Two high-profile art thefts occurred in Southern France in and around the New Year.

The first was the theft of this work, Les Choristes by Edgar Degas which was reported missing from the Cantini Museum in Marseilles. The theft was discovered when the museum reopened after the holiday, and was on loan from the Musée d'Orsay which was set to end on January 3rd. The painting was unscrewed from the wall, and there was no evidence of forced entry. Mark Durney points out that 2009 began much the same way, with thefts from a Berlin art gallery, and Southern France is no stranger to art crime. The easy access the thief had to the work has led to the arrest of a night watchman at the museum.

The second theft occurred in in La Cadière d’Azur, a village in Provence. As many as thirty paintings were taken from a private home, including works by Picasso and Rousseau. The owner was on holiday in Sweden.

Big holidays are a difficult time for security. Police, owners and the public all have different priorities during these festive days, which makes art particularly vulnerable.

Picasso, Rousseau works stolen in France days after Degas drawing taken, Telegraph.
AFP: Picasso, Rousseau paintings stolen in France, January 2, 2010.

The Year in Cultural Policy

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:46:00 +0000

2009 saw a number of interesting trends in cultural heritage law and policy. Below are a few of the year's prominent stories. On a personal note, I am still enjoying the fellowship at Loyola in New Orleans; but still looking for a permanent position that will allow me to continue writing and thinking about cultural heritage. But in the mean time your interest and support continues to enrich and support my work. There is a need for people to continue thinking and writing about culture. The blog saw a lot of interest this year, with nearly 80,000 visitors. I'd like to thank you all for your interest, comments, and helpful notes and conversations.

The Four Corners Antiquities Investigation

A large federal investigation into the illegal trade in Native American Artifacts signaled a growing commitment of federal authorities into policing Native American artifacts. A June 10th raid which searched the homes and businesses of over 20 people lead to arrests, and even two suicides. So far charges have emerged in Utah, but charges may emerge in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and perhaps even Colorado.

Ongoing Repatriation Efforts

Repatriation continued to dominate headlines this year. Peru, Egypt, Greece and other nations brought suits and made charges in the press. One of the most interesting stories which emerged early in 2009 were the efforts by China to secure the return of objects taken during the period of colonialism. Many of the prominent details emerged in the press. In February an auction of many works of art from the Yve Saint Laurent auction became the proving ground for China's cultural diplomacy. These two bronzes were slated for sale at the auction, having been looted from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860. China first threatened suit against Christie's, but that suit was denied. At the auction, Cai Mingchao, the general manager of Xiamen Harmony Art International Auction Co. was the winning bidder on these bronzes. Yet he refused to pay, essentially sabotaging the auction. This was another indication of the increasing role that nations of origin are playing in the heritage marketplace. I'm not sure how many wealthy bidders would be willing to stake their reputation or future ability to bid on such a move in the future, but this was a cunningly simple, very shrewd strategic move by Mingchao and the Chinese. They wanted to disrupt the market in these objects which had been looted, and did a brilliant job doing so.

Deaccession

The decision by museums to sell works of art generated considerable controversy this year, and no dispute better encapsulates the difficulties which arise than the decision by Brandeis University to close the Rose Museum of Art. The University has shifted its position since the initial announcement. It has announced its intention to maintain the Rose in some form, but given the University's financial difficulty the decision was not made lightly. One of the difficulties with deaccession stems from its connection to our fundamental view of art and museum governance. What is the nature of art? An art museum? Are either permanent? Can we trust the governing structures in our museums? Our inability to find common ground in crafting answers to these questions accounts for the continued difficulty. But if the arts community cannot come together and craft viable solutions to these difficulties, we are going to be left with weaker cultural institutions and risk losing more works as a result of financial difficulty.

Treasure Seekers in the United Kingdom

Earlier this year Oxford Archaeology released a report on the management of undiscovered antiquities in England and Wales. The conclusion? Illegal metal detecting in England has declined since the United Kingdom amended the Treasure Act and created the Portable Antiquities Scheme. This has led to the amateur discovery of some beautiful objects, including this Anglo-Saxon hoard discovered by a detectorist this summer.

And of course art theft continued to occur with alarming regularity.

Odyssey/Spain Dispute Headed to 11th Circuit Appeal

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:58:00 +0000

The dispute between Odyssey Marine Exploration and Spain over a shipwreck which was sunk in the early 19th Century will now likely be headed for appeal. Federal District Court Judge Steven Merryday has issued an order that has adopted the Federal Magistrate's Report and Recommendation. In his order Judge Merryday stated a separate opinion would "add only length and neither depth nor clarity (and certainly not finality) to this dispute." Though this is a win for Spain, it also means the 11th circuit will now hear an appeal. Back in the Spring, federal Magistrate Pizzo held the Federal District Court lacked jurisdiction over the dispute and the property should be returned to Spain.

As I wrote then, though Odyssey Marine attempted to hide the true identity of the wreck, initially code-naming the wreck the Black Swan, there was enough information to conclude the coins came from the "Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes", a warship which was carrying treasure back from Peru when it was sunk by the British off the Spanish coast in 1804. Spain, soon declared war on Great Britain, a point which may be lost in all this talk of the treasure. This treasure was an important piece of heritage, and all the talk of Odyssey's share prices, and the rich treasure haul shouldn't distract us from why these objects are protected, and why Spain fought so vigorously to have them declared the owner.This latest development then is not terribly surprising. The case involves some complex issues of international admiralty law, and half a billion dollars in gold and silver coins. It should be a fascinating appeal, as the 11th Circuit will set a precedent governing how these salvors can explore and remove historical objects from the ocean floor.

Odyssey Marine has a press release here.

James Thorner, Odyssey Marine's treasure tangle with Spain moves to appeals court, St. Petersburg Times, Dec. 23, 2009.

Richard Mullins, Sunken treasure case headed to federal appeals court, Tampa Tribune, Dec. 23, 2009.

Katt on the Importance of Archaeological Context

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:55:00 +0000

China's Repatriation Team Visits the Met

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:52:00 +0000

"That wasn't so bad after all"

So said James C.Y. Watt, the head of Asian art at the Met after a team of Chinese experts visited the institution looking for objects which had once been at the Chinese Old Summer Palace in Beijing. China has been looking to buy or repatriate objects from the Old Summer Palace.

The looting of the palace during the Second Opium War in 1860 holds great historical significance for many in China. In response to the execution of twenty European and Indian prisoners, Lord Elgin (son of the the Elgin who removed the sculptures from the Parthenon) ordered the destruction of the palace. As a 27 year-old captain in the Royal Engineers wrote:

We went out, and, after pillaging it, burned the whole place, destroying in a vandal-like manner most valuable property which [could] not be replaced for four millions. We got upward of £48 apiece prize money...I have done well. The [local] people are very civil, but I think the grandees hate us, as they must after what we did the Palace. You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the places we burnt. It made one’s heart sore to burn them; in fact, these places were so large, and we were so pressed for time, that we could not plunder them carefully. Quantities of gold ornaments were burnt, considered as brass. It was wretchedly demoralising work for an army.

This destruction continues to shape how China views its relationship with the West. Chinese experts have conducted a campaign to seek the return of many of the objects looted from the palace. This includes the "guerilla bidding" last year which effectively prevented the auction of two bronzes from the palace last year.

Andrew Jacobs account of the visit calls into question the motives of the Chinese delegation. He throws quotations around the phrase "treasure hunting team", but the tenor in his piece echoes the pejorative of the phrase. Many in the West still fail to engage with the fundamental issue. Had the White House been burned and sacked in 1860, wouldn't a powerful America be doing everything it could to seek the return of these objects?

Jacobs references the criticism of Chinese destruction of historical sites. But nearly every nation can be accused of the same. What about the Native American burial mound which was decimated to create fill-dirt for a Sam's Club in Alabama this year? Does that mean America is an unsuitable steward for cultural treasures?

Andrew Jacobs, China Hunts for Art Treasures in U.S. Museums, The New York Times, December 17, 2009.

Leonardo's Stolen 'Yarnwinder' in Edinburgh

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:12:00 +0000

Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna with the Yarnwinder has been put on display at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh. The work was stolen in 2003 from the Duke of Buccleuch's home at Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland. The work was recovered in 2007, and eight men (including some once-prominent solicitors) are facing criminal trial for their involvement in the theft. It is a rare good outcome for an art theft like this.

Stolen da Vinci back on display, BBC, December 17, 2009.

Workshop on the Human Dimension of Cultural Heritage

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:49:00 +0000

A colleague in Florence has passed along this event at the European University Institute in Florence, this Friday December 18th. Looks to be a terrific event this week:

The Human Dimension of Cultural Heritage

Workshop organized by Professor Francioni

in cooperation with Professors T. Scovazzi and L. Pineschi

European University Institute, Florence

18 December 2009, Sala Europa (Villa Schifanoia)

10.00 Welcome to the participants and introduction to the workshop by Professors Francesco Francioni, Laura Pineschi, and Tullio Scovazzi
10.10-11.00

Francesco Francioni (European University Institute), The Contribution of International Law to the Development of a Human Dimension of Cultural Heritage
Tullio Scovazzi (Università di Milano-Bicocca), Recent Developments in the Fields of Intangible and Underwater Cultural Heritage
Ana Vrdoljak (University of Western Australia), Illicit Traffic of Cultural Objects and Human Rights

Coffee break
11.15-12.00

Federico Lenzerini (Università di Siena), Indigenous Peoples Cultural Rights vs. Cultural Heritage”: A Hard-to-Settle Tension?
Alessandro Chechi (European University Institute), Cultural Cooperation: A Revolutionary Tool for the Safeguarding of the Common Heritage of Humankind?
Uladzislau Belavusau (European University Institute), Freedom of Expression, Art and Pornography
General discussion

12.15-13.00

Patrizia Vigni (Università di Siena), Claims To Discovered Shipwrecks: Restitution, Return or Something Else?
Valentina S. Vadi (Maastricht University), The Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage and International Investment Law
Nicola Ferri (Università di Milano-Bicocca), The Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage According to the General Assembly Resolution
General Discussion

Lunch Break
14.30-15.15

Adriana Bessa Rodrigues (European University Institute), No Culture, NoHeritage: The International Regime on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing and Potential Threats to the Preservation of Local Cultures
Sabrina Urbinati (Università di Milano-Bicocca), (on intangibile heritage)
Mery Ciacci (European University Institute), The EU Ratification of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions: New Challenges and New Implications for the EU
General discussion

15.30-16.30

Riccardo Pavoni (Università di Siena), Developing Individual Criminal Responsibility for Wartime Offences against Cultural Property: The Italian Measures Implementing the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention
Micaela Frulli (Università di Firenze), International Criminal Law to the Protection of Cultural Heritage
Robert Peters (European University Institute), Defining Common Grounds in the Trophy Art Debate between Germany and Russia
Andrzej Jakubowski (European University Institute), Human and Cultural Heritage Aspects of State Succession: The Case of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

General discussion and final remarks by Professors Francesco Francioni, Laura Pineschi, and Tullio Scovazzi

Ceremony for Egyptian Relics

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:57:00 +0000

Pictured here are French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak during a ceremony today. The French returned some relics taken from Egypt in recent years which were purchased by the Louvre in 2000 and 2003. Egypt had made a dramatic call for the immediate return of the objects, ordering the removal of all French archaeologists from Egyptian sites if the objects were not returned. They were returned quickly.

Egypt demanded the return of the stolen fragments in October and broke off relations with the Louvre. Afterwards, France agreed to hand back the works, which are from Luxor's Valley of the Kings. "France is particularly committed to fighting the illegal trafficking of works of art," Sarkozy said, in a statement. The other four artefacts were to be given to the Egyptian embassy in Paris during Mubarak's visit to Paris, French officials said. The French president emphasized that the Louvre museum had acted in good faith when it purchased the artefacts and said that doubts were only raised in November during archaeological work at the site. Egypt had produced photographs from the mid-1970s showing the fragments in place on the tomb's wall.

AFP: France returns stolen Louvre relics to Egypt, December 14, 2009.

Italy Recovers 1,700 Looted Antiquities

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:51:00 +0000

The AP is reporting that Italian authorities have uncovered a looting network which raided tombs outside Naples and Venice. The objects were then illegally exported to market nations like the United States.

During more than a year of investigations, authorities recovered nearly 1,700 statues, vases and other artifacts dating from pre-Roman times to the heyday of the empire. Police flagged 19 people for possible investigation by prosecutors. The artifacts were mainly dug out from tombs in the areas around Naples and Venice and included a bronze bust of the emperor Augustus, customs police in Rome said. Part of the loot had been smuggled to the United States to be sold to collectors, they said. The Italians said they worked with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New Haven, Connecticut, to recover 47 ceramic and bronze statutes that had been looted from a tomb in southern Italy dating between the 6th and 5th centuries B.C.

The Associated Press: Italian police recover hoard of looted artifacts, Associated Press, December 11, 2009.

Hawass Wants Rosetta Stone Loan

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:56:00 +0000

"We are not pirates of the Caribbean - we are a civilised country"

So says Zahi Hawass in calling for the British Museum to loan the Rosetta Stone to Egypt. The British Museum has said the museum's trustees will consider the request. Hawass wants the loan in contemplation of the opening of Egypt's Grand Museum at Giza, in 2013. Other prominent objects Hawass would like returned on loan:

a statue of Hemiunu, the architect of the Great Pyramid at Giza (Germany);
the bust of Anchhaf, builder of the Chepren Pyramid (Boston);
a painted Zodiac from the Dendera temple (Louvre); ann a statue of Ramesses II (Turin).

The requests are part of a series of prominent requests by Hawass in recent months.

Rosetta row 'would end with loan', BBC, December 8, 2009.

Update on the Drouot Arrests

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:24:00 +0000

The AP reported yesterday that charges have been filed against nine employees of the Drouot auction house. French authorities last week found a stolen work by Gustave Courbet.

An auctioneer and eight commission agents were given preliminary charges, including ''organized theft,'' the prosecutor's office said.
Three others detained last week in the police raids on Drouot, its warehouses and homes of employees were released with no charges filed against them.
When the bust was announced last week, there was initial confusion about which Courbet work had been recovered. The painting -- stolen several years ago from a collection whose owner had recently died -- was not clearly identified, and the heir had confused it with another work, an official close to the inquiry said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.
Police initially identified the recovered Courbet work as ''La Vague'' (The Wave), worth euro900,000 ($1.3 million), but officials said Monday it was actually ''Paysage marin sous un ciel d'orage'' (Marine Landscape Under a Stormy Sky), worth about euro100,000.
The stolen Courbet -- one of several paintings by the convention-smashing realist master with a stormy ocean theme -- was found at the home of one of the commission agents being investigated. Other pieces recovered in the sweep included artworks, frames and furniture.
Under French law, preliminary charges give the judge more time to investigate and determine whether to send the case to trial. Three commission agents were jailed in the case, with the prosecutor's office accusing them of deep involvement in thefts dating back to 2001.
The auctioneer was released pending the investigation with the stipulation that he stop hosting sales.

The Associated Press, Preliminary Charges vs 9 in Paris Auction Sweep, The New York Times, December 7, 2009.

César Baldaccini and the Definition of Art

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:22:00 +0000

One of the ways criminal defendants can often try to evade "art crime" offenses is by challenging the definitions of art. The most recent example is the Piedoie brothers. The two are accused of pawning off 130 of their own creations as genuine works by César Baldaccini Baldaccini. Baldaccini died in 1998, and was known for his sculptures which were made by compressing consumer goods like cars or refrigerators into metallic blocks, like this one.

During a trial this week, the brothers will attempt to argue that made these César works as a kind of imitation, but not fakes. In a report by a French magistrate, the "lack of seriousness" of several auction houses was blamed, and the French prosecutor has expressed dismay that the French art market has been "flooded" with these kinds of fakes since the artist's death in 1998.

The investigation into these forgeries began in 2001 by mistake:

Police in the south of France searching for stolen art works, including a Chagall and a Magritte, bugged several suspects in a world of high-living, cocaine-taking art lovers and dealers. They stumbled on evidence that Eric Piedoie was flooding the Côte d'Azur with fake Césars.

The appearance of so many unknown works enflamed feelings within César's family and entourage. The artist's wife Rosine Baldaccini and daughter Anna Puységur Baldaccini were disputing his inheritance with his mistress Stéphanie Busuttil. Each side accused the other of selling off works before the dispute was settled in court.

Mme Busuttil was allegedly approached by the Piedoie brothers to sign certificates of authentification for some of their works. She says she did so in good faith: a claim accepted by the prosecution.

In other words, both César's own mistress and the art critic who catalogued his work could not tell authentic "compression" sculptures from fake ones knocked off in a garage. Awkward questions therefore arise. Were César's "compression sculptures" really art? Are the Piedoie brothers con-artists or true, accidental artists themselves?

On trial: the question of what is modern art, The Independent, December 1, 2009.

The FBI Returns pre-Columbian Antiquities

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:35:00 +0000

On Tuesday the FBI announced it was returning 150 pre-Columbian artifacts which had been smuggled out of Peru and Ecuador. The objects were found in the home of a recently deceased man, who had apparently been a collector of the antiquities.

The 153 pieces of jewelry as well as pottery, baskets, sculptures and figurines were found last April in the home of a man after he died in his retirement community in Avon Park, Florida, according to the bureau's Miami field office.
Experts indicated that the artifacts, presented in a Miami ceremony to representatives of the Peru and Ecuador governments, were between 500 and 3,200 years old, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
The FBI teamed up with specialists from Florida International University who determined that 141 of the pieces originated in what is present-day Peru, and the other 12 came from neighboring Ecuador.
"These artifacts represent the cultural heritage of Peru and Ecuador. They can never be replaced and should be on display for many to see, not locked away," said the FBI's chief agent in Miami, John Gillies.
"We are honored to return these items to their rightful owners," Gillies added.

These announcements have become almost routine, with an estimated 2,600 items recovered just since 2004.

AFP: FBI returns smuggled artifacts to Peru, Ecuador, Dec. 1, 2009.

Paris Auction House Searched

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:02:00 +0000

In more news which seems to reflect poorly on the French art trade, the AP is reporting that 12 people have been "detained" from the Hotel Druout auction house in Paris. Police found a stolen Courbet painting, the Wave, which was stolen in 2004.

First British Repatriation after Nazi-Era Law

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:49:00 +0000

The British Library will be returning the Benevento Missal, which was stolen from a cathedral during World War II. The British Library has possessed the book since 1947. This is the first repatriation of an actual object under the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act which applies only to claims during the Holocaust era, 1933-45. The Spoliation Advisory Panel recommended the missal should be returned four years ago to the cathedral.

It was brought to Britain by an intelligence officer, Captain Douglas Ash, who bought it in Naples in 1944 and later auctioned it in London.
Captain Ash wrote in a letter: “I bought an old book in Naples in April 1944, knowing nothing about it, except that it was very old, being described by the second-hand bookseller as molto antico ... I am interested in anything old and have a collection of swords and armour, but this book is completely beyond me.”
How the book reached Naples is unknown, but the cathedral argued successfully that it vanished from its library after it was bombed in September 1943, directly relating the loss to “circumstances of the mayhem of war”. Jeremy Scott, of the law firm Withers, who represented the cathedral on a pro bono basis, welcomed the new law. “I will be submitting a renewed claim [on the cathedral’s behalf] after it comes into force,” he said.

By all accounts this was the right thing to do with the missal. Yet the wrongful purchase here had little connection with the holocaust, only during the "holocaust era". It was a sale which occurred in the wake of armed conflict, and presumably the missal was appropriated in an effort to remove valuable objects from the cathedral in anticipation of allied military action.

Will this signal a creep toward increased repatriation for objects in other institutions, and for other historical periods? This law has a limited scope, and will expire in 10 years. In the United States much of the legal groundwork for repatriation first came in the context of holocaust-era claims via repatriation lawsuits. It will be interesting to see whether a similar development may take hold in the U.K. in the wake of this law and the coming claims.

Ben Hoyle, British Library to return Benevento Missal under Nazi loot law - Times Online, The Times, December 1, 2009.

A Profile of the Art Market

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:47:00 +0000

The Economist discusses the current state of the art market:

The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989, a move that started the most serious contraction in the market since the second world war. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more volatile. But Edward Dolman, Christie’s chief executive, says: “I’m pretty confident we’re at the bottom.”
What makes this slump different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market, whereas in the early 1990s, when interest rates were high, there was no demand even though many collectors wanted to sell. Christie’s revenues in the first half of 2009 were still higher than in the first half of 2006. Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to sell. The three Ds—death, debt and divorce—still deliver works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.

Good thing then that other buyers have appeared in Russia, the Middle East, and China. In fact China has increasingly used the art market to seek repatriation:

The sensitivity of the subject was shown up in February this year when the collection built up by the late Yves St Laurent, a French fashion designer, and his partner Pierre Berge was put up for sale. The auction included bronze heads of a rat and a rabbit, two pieces that had been looted from the imperial palace of Yuanmingyuan by French and British soldiers in the opium wars in 1860. The heads, part of a series of 12 figures which dominated a zodiac fountain in the palace garden, had not even been designed by a Chinese artist but by a Jesuit priest from Venice who lived in the imperial capital. All the same, their provenance and history made their sale controversial.
The government let it be known that it did not approve of a public sale of the precious bronze heads in the West and did not want its citizens to take part. Even so, both the winning bidder and several underbidders turned out to be Chinese. One, a London-based businessman, had been planning to present the bronzes to the Chinese government as a gift. The buyer, Cai Mingchao, who secured the two pieces for EURO 31m ($46m), turned out to be an adviser to a Chinese foundation which seeks to retrieve plundered treasures. He announced very publicly soon afterwards that he would not pay up. The heads were quietly returned to Mr Berge. The government has since announced that it wants to catalogue all the pieces looted from Yuanmingyuan, which some believe is the first step in a campaign to reclaim them.

Google to Create Digital Archive of Iraq's National Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Google has announced it will create a digital record of the Baghdad museum's collection, and will make the images available online by early next year. As Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive announced last week, "The history of the beginning of - literally - civilization... is preserved in this museum." Over 14,000 images have been taken, allowing the Iraqi public, and the rest of the world to see the images.

Rod Norland notes in an article for the New York Times that the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already digitized part of the collection, and created a website, the virtual Museum of Iraq. So there is some duplication here. A few things to take away from the announcement.

First, it seems like a good idea to digitize these objects, and make the images available to to public generally. However many other museums are unlikely to take this step, at least in the short term. We don't know how expensive an undertaking this was, as the costs are born by the US State Department and Google. But museums also will fear the loss of revenue from their own publications. As many museums prohibit photography, often the only way to take home a photographic souvenir of the visit is to purchase the shiny museum publications. Of course part of the impetus for this digitization project is to make these work accessible—at least in a digital way—to members of the public who are unable to visit the Baghdad museum.

Secondly, I wonder what procedures google followed with the project. Are these high-resolution images which will be useful for scholars? Will these images contain information on the history of the objects? When they were excavated? Where they were unearthed? And finally, will these images be made available to the various stolen art databases. If another tragedy were to befall this important museum, will these images be useful to help prevent the sale of artifacts?

Rod Nordland, Google Chief Announces Plan in Baghdad to Put Iraqi Artifacts Online, The New York Times, November 25, 2009.
Google to digitise Iraq artefacts, BBC, November 24, 2009.

Monuments Men on the NewsHour

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:19:00 +0000

NewsHour last week devoted a segment to Robert Edsel's new book, "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History." Here's the video:

German Court Orders Repatriation of Gold vessel to Iraq

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:13:00 +0000

Lucian Harris, for the Art Newspaper, reports on the claims by Iraq to a miniature gold vessel:

The case, which has focused attention on the sale of smuggled Iraqi artifacts in Germany, began late in 2004 when the slightly dented six-centimetre-high gold vessel was included in a sale at Munich auction house Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger, described as being of Mediterranean origin, possibly from Troy and dated to the Roman Iron-age period (1st century AD). However, the vessel was spotted by an unnamed expert who believed that it was in fact much older and of Sumerian origin.

. . .

The case has been something of a personal mission on the part of Iraqi ambassador to Berlin Alaa Al-Hashimy, whose interest in cultural affairs stems from his background as an architect . In 2007 legislation was passed in Iraq requiring envoys in foreign countries to monitor the appearance of any Mesopotamian artifacts on the commercial market. Furthermore, this August a letter of understanding was signed between the two governments to ensure cooperation in cases where Iraqi artifacts appear on the German market. A recent report on Azzaman news agency claimed that since the court's ruling Iraqi diplomats in Germany have stopped the sale of 28 Mesopotamian artifacts believed to have been smuggled out of Iraq in the past five years.

Reactions to the Culture Forum at LSE

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:07:00 +0000

I recommend Tom Flynn's comprehensive overview of the cultural panel which took place Tuesday at LSE. It sounds like it was much of the same kinds of polite disagreements which these kinds of events typically produce. Here's a flavor of Tom's reaction:

Cuno's highly political presentation — which, paradoxically, sought to criticize what he saw as the politicisation of culture by source nations — was followed by a few short comments from Tatiana Flessas.

Professor Flessas sought to point out that many encyclopedic museums are themselves national creations and are thus also instruments of nationalist agendas — actors taking up nationalistic positions by claiming the power to interpret, contextualise and assign meanings to the objects in their collections. "That building up the road is not a branch of museums UK plc, it is The British Museum", she said, drawing one the few ripples of laughter in an otherwise rather po-faced evening.

Terrific Event on Culture at LSE on Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Those of you in and around London should strongly consider attending "Who owns culture?" on Tuesday Nov. 17th. The strong panel will include Dr James Cuno, Dr Maurice Davies, Dr Tatiana Flessas, and Dr Tiffany Jenkins. These are some prominent folks, and they should present some interesting different opinions. I'd be very keen if any folks who attend would send me any impressions of the event.

Here are the details:

Who owns culture?

Tuesday 17 November, 6.30pm until 8.00pm, London School of Economics Satellite Events

Venue: Thai Theatre, London School of Economics, New Academic Building, 54 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LJ
Tickets: £7.50 (£5 concessions) per person. Tickets are available from the Institute of Ideas website.

For the past two centuries, the West has acquired treasures of the ancient world to fill its museums, so that visitors to the British Museum in London for example can see historic artefacts from all over the world. In recent years, though, various countries and even ethnic communities within countries have begun to demand the return of artefacts. Several North American museums were recently rocked by claims from countries including Italy that objects in their collections had been acquired illicitly. In response they returned over a hundred objects. Meanwhile a former curator of antiquities from the prestigious Getty Museum is currently on trial for conspiracy to traffic in illicit antiquities. In response to this controversy, UNESCO has encouraged the development of policies and laws which state that artefacts excavated after 1970 belong to the nation states in which they were found.

Where do treasures from the past rightly belong, and why? Should they be housed in the country of origin where locals as well as visitors can see them in their historic context, or in an institution with objects from everywhere? Often it is not clear what it means to say something belongs to a particular country. The Parthenon Marbles pre-date by millennia the formation of the Greek state, for example, while terracotta Nok sculptures found in Nigeria have little to do with that country’s culture today. Some argue the policy of repatriating such objects, along with ‘nationalist retentionist’ policies, promote divisive identity politics over a universalist appreciation of objects of art as part of world history. But is this just a self-serving argument on the part of Western institutions who already have much of the best ‘stuff’ from world history? Some argue museums should return objects or at least consult with the relevant communities as a form of reparations for colonialism. But does this unhelpfully politicise museums in the here and now? Others argue contentious artefacts should be entrusted to an international nongovernmental agency. But who might sit on this suggested nongovernmental agency and what power should they have? So are things best left where they are, or returned whence they came in the interests of fairness?

Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution Act takes effect

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:52:00 +0000

New legislation which took effect on Friday will allow national museums in England and Scotland to act to return works of art, based on the recommendations of the Spoliation Advisory Panel. The panel resolves claims arising from the loss of objects to the Nazis. There have been nine instances of wrongful takings in which claimants were compensated, yet the national institutions have been forbidden from returning objects outright. The only remedy was payment. This is a welcome change, and allows UK museums to do the just thing. Andrew Dismore, MP sponsored the act, and said:

It shows what could be achieved by a determined backbencher: by rolling out my sleeping bag and sleeping on the floor of the Public Bill Office overnight, I was able to become the first in the queue to apply for Second Readings after the balloted Bills, and this tactic paid off.

While I do not envisage the Act having to be used very frequently, this is an important moral step, to ensure that we can close yet a further chapter on the appalling crimes of the Holocaust.

UK museums can return looted art, BBC, November 13, 2009.

Another Munch Theft

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:47:00 +0000

Art thieves must love Edvard Munch. In yet another theft of his works, Historien, a lithograph by Munch has been stolen. A man smashed the window of the Nyborg Kunst gallery in Oslo late Thursday and stole the work. Police are speculating that this may have been a theft by order, as the thief's vehicle had been reported stolen 10 days earlier, and this unique work will be impossible to sell on the open market. AFP reminds us of some of the recent Munch thefts:

In 2004, two armed masked men burst into the Munch museum in Oslo in broad daylight and stole the "Scream" and the "Madonna" paintings before making off in a getaway car.
Ten years earlier, another version of the "Scream" was stolen from Oslo's national gallery on the same day as the opening of the Lillehammer Winter Olympics.

AFP: Munch artwork stolen from Oslo gallery, November 13, 2009.