[MSN] Getty Is Prepared to Return 21 Disputed Antiquities to Italy. Museum trustees approved the deal, sources say, but negotiators in Rome haven't offered it yet.

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

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Yesterday's news: the Getty bought 350 (!) items with dubious origin
Today's news: the Getty prepared to return 21 items!

Apparently the Getty has decided to insult Italy. I do hope that Italy will
be very steadfast until each and every looted object has been returned.

Ton Cremers

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Getty Is Prepared to Return 21 Disputed Antiquities to Italy Museum trustees
approved the deal, sources say, but negotiators in Rome haven't offered it
yet.
By Jason Felch, Tracy Wilkinson and Ralph Frammolino, Times Staff Writers
June 20, 2006 


ROME - The J. Paul Getty Trust is prepared to return as many as 21 contested
antiquities to Italy, its most significant concession to date, to settle a
long-standing dispute with Italian authorities over allegedly looted art,
according to sources familiar with the strategy.

Getty negotiators could formally offer to return the objects, which include
at least three masterpieces on display at the Getty Villa, as early as today
in talks with Italian cultural officials, the sources said.

Negotiations between the Getty and the Italians resumed Monday, with both
sides reporting progress and hope that a settlement could soon be reached.

Getty trustees authorized the offer last week after a presentation by museum
director Michael Brand, the sources said. It includes a marble statue of two
mythical griffins, a statue of Apollo and a 2,600-year-old cup made by the
Greek artist Euphronios, all prominently displayed at the newly renovated
Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades.

Trustees considered offering the Getty's limestone and marble statue of the
goddess Aphrodite, one of the most prized antiquities in the collection, but
decided that they would need more evidence about the statue's origins first.

The talks began in January, when Italian Cultural Ministry officials
presented evidence that 52 Getty objects were looted from Italy and
trafficked by a convicted Italian dealer.

Getty board chairman John Biggs said Monday that an internal review of the
legal status of the objects found "nothing that's black and there is very
little that is white.. It's all shades of gray."

He added, however: "Some of them are sufficiently dark gray that I don't
think there's going to be a lot of discussions about them."

After daylong meetings Monday in which the parties discussed five of the
contested objects, Maurizio Fiorilli, the lead Italian negotiator, said the
talks stood in sharp contrast to a previous meeting between the two sides.

In the previous talks, an "old spirit" of the museum's sense of entitlement
undermined serious negotiations. Monday, Fiorilli said, he found a "new
spirit" of willingness, understanding and cooperation.

"There is a fundamental difference in today's approach," Fiorilli said. "You
can see they are prepared ... and there is greater awareness."

A second round of more technical talks is scheduled for today, and several
participants said a tentative agreement at the end of the day was possible.

But that could be optimistic.

The Times revealed on Sunday that an internal Getty review last year found
that 350 objects had been acquired from dealers either convicted or
implicated in the trafficking of looted antiquities. The number was far
greater than publicly known and had not been disclosed to Italian
authorities.

Italian Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli asked the Getty delegation Monday
to produce a list of the newly identified objects, according to a source
familiar with the talks.

The 350 are in addition to the 52 contested objects identified by Italy.

Getty officials replied that they did not have a copy of the review and
needed more time to assess its accuracy. The Getty would not comment on that
aspect of the negotiations, other than to confirm the issue had come up.

Finding common ground on the initially contested 52 objects could also prove
difficult.

Italian authorities have repeatedly insisted they will accept only the
return of all 52 marble statues, vases and other pieces of ancient art that
they contend were excavated and removed illegally from the country.

The Getty bought the objects for more than $48 million, and many are
prominently displayed in the Getty Villa. Trust officials are hoping to
limit the number of returned objects by offering other services to Italy,
such as support from the Getty's conservation, research and education
efforts around the globe.

Any accord between the Getty and Italy will probably follow the lines of an
agreement earlier this year that Rome reached with the Metropolitan Museum
of Art of New York, in which 21 disputed items were returned to Italy in
exchange for long-term loans of objects of equal beauty and importance.

If the Italians were to accept a Getty offer to return 21 objects, it would
match the Met's groundbreaking agreement in number. But until a full list of
Getty offerings is made public, the artistic significance of those items
won't be known.

Biggs said from New York that he had high hopes the talks would create a
template for other museums facing similar demands from the Italians.

"What we'd like to have is a protocol for working out agreements on disputed
items," said Biggs. "If that can come out of the Getty discussions, that
could be a great addition for all of the museums of the U.S. And for the
Italians."

A Getty negotiator, Los Angeles attorney Ronald Olson, said from Rome that
Monday's meetings were marked by "mutual goodwill" and a "positive spirit."

"We can say that the first day has been a very positive start to what we
think will be a productive and long-term relationship" between Getty and
Italy, Olson said. "We think our shared interests will overwhelm any
differences."

"We've had good meetings," Getty director Brand said.

The parties were to continue reviewing the evidence about the contested
objects. With five objects covered Monday, negotiations could take several
days or longer, said the source familiar with Monday's talks.

The two sides met for approximately six hours around a large oval table in a
high-ceilinged salon at the Ministry of Culture in Rome's historic center.

About 20 people participated, including Italian archeologists and
paramilitary police who pursue art smugglers.

Giuseppe Proietti, a senior Culture Ministry official who is also
participating in the talks, said he believed the two sides were moving
closer together.

Rutelli, the culture minister, declined to discuss details but said a "very
concrete basis" was on the table.

"We are giving opportunities to the new Getty to show they want to close an
era, and it lets us give recognition to that," Rutelli said.

He and Ronald Spogli, U.S. ambassador to Italy and a Los Angeles native,
joined the negotiators for about half an hour.

Separately, the Getty's former antiquities curator, Marion True, is standing
trial in Rome on charges of conspiring with smugglers to acquire ancient
treasures for the museum. If the Getty reaches a deal with the Italian
authorities, it could undermine True's defense.


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Felch and Frammolino reported from Los Angeles. Wilkinson and special
correspondent Livia Borghese contributed from Rome.