[MSN] Getty announces tentative deal with Italy in antiquities dispute.

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Getty announces tentative deal with Italy in antiquities dispute 
- 
Wednesday, June 21, 2006 


(06-21) 17:34 PDT Los Angeles (AP) -- 


The J. Paul Getty Trust, which has been negotiating with Italian authorities
over demands to return antiquities alleged to have been illegally obtained,
said Wednesday it reached a tentative agreement to send "very significant
objects" to Italy in exchange for loans of comparable items.


The announcement, identified as a joint statement with the Italian Ministry
of Culture, came after several days of talks in Rome. However, it did not
reveal which items would be involved or state whether they were the disputed
antiquities. A Getty spokesman, Ron Hartwig, declined to elaborate on the
statement.


"The Italian government will receive from the Getty a number of very
significant objects, including several masterpieces," the statement said.
"In return, as a sign of fruitful dialogue and collaboration among the
parties, Italy will provide loans of objects of comparable visual beauty and
historical importance."


The trust governs museums including the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the
Getty Villa in Malibu.


The announcement stated that "the parties acknowledged a shared commitment
to the exchange and increase of knowledge, and look forward to extensive
future collaboration, including joint exhibitions which will maximize the
potential of the newly renovated Getty Villa, the only art museum in the
United States dedicated to the art and culture of ancient Italy and Greece."


Final agreement, including "mutual collaboration, research and the exchange
of important antiquities," is expected in the early summer, it added.


During the discussions Italy asked for return of 52 items initially and then
added 33 artifacts.


The disputed artifacts include prized masterpieces of Etruscan, Roman and
Greek art, such as a statue of Aphrodite that investigators say was stolen
from Sicily before the Los Angeles museum bought it for $18 million in 1988.


The talks are part of an Italian effort to crack down on antiquities
trafficking and recover artifacts that were allegedly stolen or illegally
exported from Italy and sold to European and U.S. museums.


A former Getty curator, Marion True, is being tried in Rome on allegations
of knowingly purchasing stolen artifacts for the museum. True denies any
wrongdoing.


URL:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2006/06/21/state/n162647D98.
DTL