False Closure? Known Unknowns in Repatriated Antiquities Cases

Abstract

Abstract:Based on research into the confiscated photographic and document archives in the hands of the top antiquities dealers (Robin Symes-Christos Michaelides, Robert Hecht, Giacomo Medici, and Gianfranco Becchina), so far more than 250 looted and smuggled masterpieces have been repatriated from the most reputable North American museums, private collections, and galleries, mainly to the Italian and the Greek states. Most of these repatriations were advertised in the press as voluntary action by the institutions and the individuals who possessed them. However, this is far from true; the repatriations were the results of lengthy negotiations, where the presentation of evidence alternated with diplomatic tactics and legal threats in order for the two parties (in some cases, three) to reach an agreement. Among the much-celebrated repatriated antiquities are at least two cases that require further research regarding their legal owner. This article aims to analyze these two cases and to set out new questions. In the end, there is doubt that the state who finally received these antiquities is necessarily the one from which they have been looted and smuggled. Based on this analysis, the article aims to highlight alternative paths to the discovery of the truth, paths that might have been more effective, if they had been followed.

Alternativas en resolución de conflictos en patrimonio arqueológico. El caso del expolio y el tráfico ilícito internacional

“…En muchas ocasiones se han adoptado acuerdos una vez que ya había comenzado el proceso judicial que ejercía presión sobre las partes (Stamatoudi 2016: 435). De hecho, se ha sugerido que en algunos casos los museos han adoptado acuerdos de devolución para evitar verse obligados a revelar información sobre sus adquisiciones durante un proceso judicial, algo que podría suponerles más solicitudes de devolución de bienes patrimoniales (Tsirogiannis 2016). El uso de las ADR en este ámbito claramente dista de ser perfecto pero es una oportunidad tanto para recuperar unos bienes arqueológicos expoliados como para, en el proceso, generar acuerdos más amplios de colaboración.…”

Forensic Archaeometry Applied to Antiquities Trafficking: The Beginnings of an Investigation at the Frontiers of Knowledge

“…However, the possibilities have almost been exhausted and it has proven ineffective in cases of new pieces placed on the market, usually from war-torn Middle Eastern countries, especially Syria. Furthermore, Tsirogiannis (2016) has demonstrated that the mere presence of photographs in files seized by the Italian police from intermediaries and traffickers, in the first decade of this century, can lead to errors in the attribution of provenience. This would seem to be the case of the sculpture of the wife of Emperor Adrian, Vibia Sabina, returned by the Fine Arts Museum of Boston to the Italian government, which alleged the existence of photos of this work shortly after its clandestine find in the G. Medici archive, when it is now known that it is from Turkey.…”

Forensic Archaeometry Applied to Antiquities Trafficking: An Investigation at the Frontiers of Knowledge

“…I3xiWuPH/10180/8548028/?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.interior.gob.es%2Fes%2Fportada%3Fp_ of almost been exhausted and it has proven ineffective in cases of new pieces placed on the market, usually from war-torn Middle Eastern countries, especially Syria. Furthermore, Tsirogiannis (2016) has demonstrated that the mere presence of photographs in files seized by the Italian police from intermediaries and traffickers, in the first decade of this century, can lead to errors in the attribution of provenience. This would seem to be the case of the sculpture of the wife of Emperor Adrian, Vibia Sabina, returned by the Fine Arts Museum of Boston to the Italian government, which alleged the existence of photos of this work shortly after its clandestine find in the G. Medici archive, when it is now known that it is from Turkey.…”