[MSN] Boston Museum to Return Art to Italy

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Boston Museum to Return Art to Italy
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 27, 2006; 6:20 PM


BOSTON -- The Museum of Fine Arts has reached a tentative agreement to
return antiquities that Italian authorities say were stolen and later sold
to the institution, officials said Thursday.

The museum and the Italian Ministry of Culture said in a statement that
officials from both groups met in Rome this week and worked toward a final
agreement to transfer "certain objects of Italian origin" in the museum's
collection to Italy.
 
Italian authorities said this year they were trying get back at least two
dozen objects _ including a vase, a jar and a statue _ from the Museum of
Fine Arts as part of an effort to recover works they claim were stolen and
sold to museums around the world.

The Museum of Fine Arts and the Italian Ministry of Culture said Italy would
loan similar "significant works" to the museum. The museum and Italian
officials described the agreement as a "cultural partnership."

Marion True, former J. Paul Getty Museum curator, and art dealer Robert
Hecht are accused of participating in a smuggling ring that placed artwork
taken from Italy in American museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts.
Both have denied wrongdoing.

The Italian Culture Ministry said both sides had agreed not to reveal the
objects to be returned to Rome.

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