The Stern Collection in New York: Cycladic or Cycladicising?
Looting Matters
by David Gill
2M ago
Courtesy of Christos Tsirogiannis There appears to be excitement about the display of 161 Cycladicising objects at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (Nikolas Zois, "The Cyclades in New York City", ekathimerini.com January 26, 2024). Doubts have already been raised by eminent archaeologist Christos Doumas that the collection contains modern creations. Have these concerns been addressed by those who have organised this display of ungrounded material? Earlier this week a delegation from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture accepted the return of three items from the Michael C. Carlos ..read more
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The Carlos Museum: Time to Reflect?
Looting Matters
by David Gill
2M ago
The return of three antiquities acquired in 2002 and 2003 raise a number of issues for the curatorial team at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University. The museum appears to overlook a number of 'facts' in the way that it has written about the return. First, a Greek journalist, Nikolas Zirganos, raised the issue of three pieces back in 2007: two of the pieces are included in the return.  Second, there was a suggestion that the Greek authorities had raised concerns about the three pieces at the time. Third, the identifications had been made by Christos Tsirogiannis. Fourth, dis ..read more
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Returns to Greece from Michael C. Carlos Museum
Looting Matters
by David Gill
2M ago
Some things take time. Back in 2007 Nikolas Zirganos wrote a story about three antiquities in the Michael C. Carlos Museum [see here]. The identifications had been made by Christos Tsirogiannis.  Over the years the museum has released further snippets of information: e.g. the revised history for the larnax.  It was announced today that as part of a cultural agreement between Emory University and the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, three items would be returning to Greece: a. Minoan larnax (inv. 2002.034.001). "The Carlos purchased the larnax from Robert Haber, New York in 2002. A ..read more
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Silver Pyxis Lid Returned from VMFA
Looting Matters
by David Gill
4M ago
Silver pyxis lid formerly VMFA inv.  82.181. Among the returning antiquities from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is a silver pyxis lid. My colleague Christos Tsirogiannis has confirmed that an image is in the Becchina archive with the annotation indicating a link with Robert Hecht. Another colleague has confirmed that the the lid was a gift of Jonathan Rosen, an associate of Hecht in Atlantis Antiquities. VMFA has yet to release a list of the returns that contains the inventory numbers as well as the previous histories (so-called 'provenance'). The museum also appears to have ..read more
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Gnathian Askos Returned from Virginia MFA
Looting Matters
by David Gill
4M ago
Gnathian Askos formerly in Virginia MFA 80.72 One of the announced returns from the VMFA is a Gnathian askos attributed to the Rose painter (inv. 80.72). This was identified from a photograph in the Medici Dossier by Christos Tsirogiannis ten years ago: Tsirogiannis, C. 2013. "Nekyia. From Apulia to Virginia: An Apulian Gnathia askos at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts." Journal of Art Crime 10: 81-86. The museum purchased the askos from Fritz Bürki. One wonders what other pieces in the collection were derived from this source ..read more
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Virginia MFA Returns Antiquities
Looting Matters
by David Gill
4M ago
Apulian lekythos. Formerly Virginia MFA 80.162 It has been announced that the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond will be returning 44 antiquities to their countries of origin, namely Egypt, Italy and Türkiye (see press release). The press release gives limited information and omits inventory numbers. One of the pieces is a bronze Etruscan warrior that was stolen from the Museo Civico Archeologico in Bologna in 1963 (apparently inv. 2014.217). Other pieces that can be identified included an Attic marble funerary stele apparently handled by Gianfranco Becchina (inv. 79.148), an ..read more
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The Parthenon Sculptures and the political arena
Looting Matters
by David Gill
4M ago
Metope from the Parthenon © David Gill Listeners to Prime Minister's Questions in Parliament today can hardly have failed to notice that the Parthenon marbles are very much a live issue (see "PMQs: Rishi Sunak accuses Greek PM of grandstanding over Elgin Marbles", BBC News 29 November 2023). This follows the cancellation of a planned meeting between the British Prime Minister and the Greek Prime Minister that had been due to take place earlier in the week ("Sunak cancels Greek PM meeting in Parthenon Sculptures row", BBC News 28 November 2023).  So much of the debate has been a ..read more
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The Wild Goat Plate Fragment and Francavilla Marittima
Looting Matters
by David Gill
5M ago
Source: Michael C. Carlos Museum The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University has returned a Wild Goat fragment to the Italian government. The statement notes: In June 2021, Italy’s Ministry of Culture presented the Carlos with photographic evidence that the Carlos fragment joins with two other fragments from the same plate. One fragment, currently housed in the Museo Nazionale Archeologico della Sibaritide, was unearthed during official excavations at the Timpone della Motta Sanctuary in Francavilla Marittima. The second fragment was returned to Italy from a European museum fo ..read more
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The Michael C. Carlos Museum and the Becchina Archive
Looting Matters
by David Gill
5M ago
Image from the Becchina photographic archive courtesy of Christos Tsirogiannis; objects in the Michael C. Carlos Museum The Michael C. Carlos Museum has issued details of the five items that will be handed over to Italy (and three of them will remain on loan). Three of the pieces—the Laconian cup, the Attic Band Cup, and the Apulian fishplate—feature in images from the Becchina archive. The implications of the images are clear: "the fact that the Carlos could not determine where the [cup] was before it was with Palladion, there is a high probability the cup was looted". This make ..read more
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The Michael C. Carlos Museum and an Apulian Fishplate
Looting Matters
by David Gill
5M ago
Source: Michael C. Carlos Museum The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University has noted that it will be returning an Apulian fishplate attributed to the group of Karlsruhe 66/140 (inv. 1986.015). The website provides the so-called 'provenance': Probably with Gianfranco Becchina, Zurich, Switzerland. Ex coll. William Knight Zewadski, United States, purchased from Sotheby's London, 17 May 1983, lot 261. Deaccessioned by MCCM for repatriation to the Italian Republic, August 29, 2023. What does 'probably with' mean? What is the basis for returning the fishplate? Who consigned the ..read more
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