[MSN] Ancient Nazi-looted religious cross returned

[MSN]

Ancient Nazi-looted religious cross returned
Tue May 6, 2008 1:11pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - A priceless medieval religious cross stolen by the Nazis
in Poland during World War Two was returned on Tuesday to the heirs of the
rightful owners after it was found in a rubbish skip.

The enameled cross, 47.5 centimeters (18.7 inches) high and 29 centimeters
(11.42 inches) wide, originally from Limoges in France, was discovered in a
container full of junk from a house clearance in the Austrian ski resort of
Zell am See.
Limoges is famed for its medieval enamels as well as for its 19th century
porcelain.
Acquired in 1865, the cross featured among the thousands of works of art in
the collection built up by Countess Isabella Dzialynska who displayed it in
her castle at Goluchow for many decades.

The collection also included printings as well as Egyptian, Etruscan,
Phoenician, Greek and Roman antiquities and medieval and Rennaissance
enamels, jewellery and silver.
"I am delighted by the recovery of a precious piece from this once
magnificent collection, which we hope to re-constitute in its own building
in Poland one day," Count Adam Zamoyski, one of the heirs, who lives in
London, said in a statement.
The statement was issued by the London-based Commission for Looted Art which
specializes in returning art works stolen by the Nazis to their rightful
owners.

With the war imminent, some of the gems in the Dzialynska collection were
buried on the castle grounds where they were found by the Nazis in 1941.
Three years later with the tide of war turning, the looted items were moved
on the orders of Adolf Hitler to Castle Fischhorn in Zell am See from where
they were again looted in the chaos around the end of the conflict.
Efforts by heirs of the owners to find them after the war met with no
success.
After verification and lengthy negotiations with the finder involving the
Commission for Looted Art in Europe, the cross was returned on Tuesday to
Count Zamoyski at a ceremony at the Mining Museum in Leogang near Salzburg.
"We very much hope that the people of Zell am See and the surrounding area
will be moved to consider whether they have not come across pieces of
antique jewellery, glass, enamel, and similar items that might be from this
collection," he said.
"Any action that led to the recovery of further pieces would not go
unrewarded," he added.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)
http://www.reuters.com/

toncremers at museum-security.org
http://www.museum-security.org
http://www.museumbeveiliging.com
http://www.handboekveiligheidszorgmusea.nl