12th December 2006, 01:23
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Quote: Getty Museum to return 2 Greek treasures
By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece — The J. Paul Getty Museum on Monday settled a decade-old cultural heritage dispute with Greece, agreeing to hand over two ancient treasures that Athens claims were illegally spirited out of the country.
Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis and museum director Michael Brand said they had "reached an agreement in principle on the return" of a gold wreath and a marble bust. A formal agreement will be signed soon, they said in a joint announcement issued in Athens and Los Angeles, where the Getty Museum is located.
The deal comes as antiquities-rich Greece steps up its campaign to reclaim looted artifacts, thousands of which are prominently displayed in museums and collections worldwide.
Voulgarakis said the objects' return _ which follows a demand first made in 1995 _ would not stop a criminal investigation into the alleged theft of the wreath. Last month, an Athens prosecutor brought charges against "persons unknown," a blanket accusation allowing a magistrate to open a wide-ranging investigation to determine whether anyone should be brought to trial.
"Greek justice is independent" of government intervention, Voulgarakis said.
The fourth century B.C. wreath is decorated with sprays of gold leaves and flowers inlaid with colored glass paste and _ according to Greek authorities _ was illegally excavated in the province of Macedonia. Designed as a burial gift, it was probably made shortly after the death of the Macedonian warrior-king Alexander the Great.
The marble statue, which lacks its head, lower arms and legs, is of a young woman and is a type widespread in southern Greece and the Aegean Sea islands from the mid-seventh to the late sixth centuries B.C.
In September, the Getty museum returned two ancient sculptures dating to the sixth and the fourth centuries B.C. to Greece, following pressure from Athens. These are on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Voulgarakis said Greece had not committed to any trade-off with the Getty in exchange for the works, but said he "cannot rule out" lending Greek artifacts to the private museum or organizing exhibitions there in the future.
Italy also has been seeking the return of several antiquities it claims the Getty obtained illegally.
Under Italian law, all antiquities found in the country after 1939 must be turned over to the state. Rome signed separate deals this year with New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts for the return of a total of 34 artifacts in exchange for loans of other treasures.
But talks with the Getty have so far failed to yield a comprehensive deal. Italy demanded the Getty return at least 47 works, and the museum agreed Nov. 21 to return 26 allegedly looted antiquities_ an offer that did not include a highly prized statue of the goddess Aphrodite and a bronze of a victorious athlete. Rome called the offer unilateral and inadequate.
Italy's campaign includes the prosecution of former Getty curator Marion True and art dealer Robert Hecht, who are on trial in Rome for allegedly receiving archaeological treasures stolen from private collections or dug up illicitly. They deny wrongdoing.
|  Quote: Italy teams with Greece to reclaim antiquities
By Hugh Eakin
Published: December 11, 2006
Pooling their resources and diplomatic clout, Greece and Italy plan to forge a formal alliance to pursue the return of ancient artifacts from museums in the United States and Europe, the Greek culture minister has said.
The agreement, which he expects to complete in early 2007, would cement recent collaboration between the two countries as both pursue increasingly muscular campaigns to get back prized Greek and Roman antiquities. Greece especially is focusing on recovering the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum.
Outlining the strategy in an interview last week in New York, Culture Minister George Voulgarakis said Greece wanted to benefit from the Italians' growing expertise in tracking antiquities and mixing carrot-and-stick diplomacy with criminal prosecutions.
"The Italians are very well organized — very, very well organized," Voulgarakis said. "Every country has its own policy and priorities, but we can help each other."
[The J. Paul Getty Museum announced Monday that it would return to Greece two ancient works of art that Greece claims were illegally spirited out of the country, The Associated Press reported from Athens.
[Greece claims the works — a gold wreath dating from about 400 B.C. and a sixth century B.C. marble statue of a young woman — were illegally excavated and spirited out of the country.
[It was unclear if the return would stop a Greek criminal investigation over the alleged theft of the wreath. Italy also has been seeking the return of several antiquities it claims the Getty obtained illegally.]
In late November, Greek prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation of Marion True, the former antiquities curator at the Getty, focusing on her involvement in acquiring the wreath for the museum.
And last week, Greek officials sent the Getty a new dossier of evidence, including documents and photographs, to support their claim for the wreath, whose place of excavation had previously been unclear.
Italian officials have, meanwhile, indicated that they were prepared to drop their own separate claim for the stone statue, which was among 52 objects that Italy requested from the Getty last January. The conflicting claims had previously posed a potential barrier to the object's return to Athens. (In November, the Getty unilaterally decided to return 26 of the 52 objects to Italy after talks between the two sides broke down.)
For countries seeking to claim antiquities in foreign collections and museums, the threat of legal action has become an important tool.
In 2004, Italian prosecutors indicted True on charges of conspiring to import looted artifacts, and in recent weeks Italian officials have made it clear that the outcome of her continuing trial in Rome could depend in part on the Getty's willingness to meet the Culture Ministry's demands.
Voulgarakis stressed that the Greek judiciary was independent of the government and that his talks with the Getty and other museums did not hinge on any legal proceedings in progress.
The accord between Italy and Greece outlined by Voulgarakis would include provisions for both enforcement and cultural diplomacy.
Because of their common interests and shared classical heritage, he said, the two countries might pursue some claims jointly and then determine which objects should go to which country.
Anthee Carassava contributed reporting from Athens.
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