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Repatriation of Ancient Artifacts to Italy

by | May 26, 2017 | 0 comments


Yesterday Amineddoleh & Associates LLC had the honor of attending the repatriation ceremony for a collection of ancient artifacts returned to the Italian Republic. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. recognized the importance of returning antiquities and honoring their repatriation with a ceremony and press release. He noted that the trade in looted objects signals the willingness of collectors and institutions to condone this harmful practice, and that efforts should be made to halt the trade in looted works. The seized pieces were returned to the Consul General of Italy in New York, Francesco Genuardi who thanked the DA for “achieving another important result in the fight against the international smuggling of antique artifacts.”

The role of Amineddoleh & Associates LLC in the ongoing federal seizures and repatriations is as an expert legal consultant on the topic of international cultural patrimony laws. The Republic of Italy arguably has the best laws protecting cultural patrimony, or at least some of the most stringent and protective ones. In addition, Italian law enforcement agents have been celebrated for their successful protection and recovery of artifacts. The Comando Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale (the Carabinieri Headquarters for the Protection of Cultural Heritage) is the best trained and most successful unit protecting heritage sites, preemptively halting the plunder of heritage, and demanding the return of nationally owned objects.

Yesterday’s repatriation ceremony after the seizure should be viewed as an example to collectors, dealers, and other art institutions. The US government treats these crimes seriously and will pursue the rightful return of plundered goods. Assistant District Attorney, and famed cultural heritage preservationist, Matthew Bogdanos, is a inspiring advocate for the rightful restitution of cultural property. During the ceremony, he spoke about the well-documented cultural plunder that occurred in Italy, and the impossibility of determining the number of objects that have been looted. Some have appeared on the art market, however many are still hidden in private and public collections. Congratulations to the US and Italian agents working on this case!

The repatriated objects will be displayed at the General Consulate of Italy in NY, and then displayed at museums located in Italy.

 

http://manhattanda.org/press-release/8th-century-bce-bronze-statues-among-collection-ancient-artifacts-being-repatriated-it

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2017/05/26/US-returns-stolen-archeological-artifacts-to-Italy-.html

http://www.kiro7.com/news/looted-statues-pottery-returned-to-italy-after-probe-in-nyc/526609581

 

 

 

Today’s Auction of Purportedly Looted Artifact Exceeds Expectations

by | Apr 28, 2017 | 1 comment

Christie’s offered the rare opportunity to own “an iconic work of art from the 3rd millennium BC.” The auction house describes the truly exceptional object as follows:

Standing 9 inches high, the Guennol Stargazer is one of the finest and largest preserved Anatolian marble female idols of Kiliya type — and will be offered in the Exceptional Sale on 28 April at Christie’s in New York. The Guennol Stargazer is from the Chalcolithic period, between 3000 and 2200 BC, and is considered to be one of the most impressive of its type known to exist. It is further distinguished by its exhibition history, having been on loan at The Metropolitan Museum of Art at various periods from 1966 to 2007.

The Guennol Stargazer garnered a great deal of attention, with the sale estimated to bring in about £2million. However, today’s sale exceeded all expectations with the hammer price being $12,700,000. Although auction results often exceed estimates, this sale was particularly surprising because the work’s legal title is in dispute. Turkey claims that the work was looted and that it should have never been placed up for auction.

Then today, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey posted an open letter in the NY Times (see the image below to read the text) calling for the return of objects looted from Turkey. The letter praises institutions and collectors who have shown good faith and repatriated looted works to their origin nation. The letter does not mention the Guennol Stargazer (although the silhouette of the object appears on the top of the page), but the meaning of this letter is not lost to anyone in the antiquities field.

As the legal title of this object is in dispute, a U.S. court ruled that Christie’s cannot release the work to the purchaser until a final determination on its legality is made.