At Last Italy will Afford Pompeii Regular Maintenance

The Art Newspaper interviewed Massimo Osanna, the man leading the restoration work at Pompeii ("Pompeii will have regular maintenance at last") seven years after a string of collapses in 2010 left many concerned for the site’s preservation and the ability of Italy to look after its own heritage. More than a million euros has been invested in the restoration project and the Italian culture ministry created a special management structure that prevents the infiltration of organised crime into the process, which due to past mismanagement had become one of the major problems in the past.

Maladministration of MOU Measures

Expert dealer Dave Welsh on his blog ("More Maladministration of the 1983 CCPIA, Taking a Closer Look At The Evidence" Friday, April 21, 2017) raises the issue of the way federal authorities put the demands of foreign powers over the rights of its own citizens. A US buyer still has not received a package of 200 Roman coins bought in 2014 for a minimum of 1000$ because they were stopped by CSI officials in Cincinnati who claimed that there were problems with the 'paperwork', again the triumph of needless bureaucracy over reason. The coins have now been "sent back"... to Italy (because they are "Roman"!). Dealer Welsh points out that

These images are, of course, not of sufficiently high quality to allow for reliable attribution, however they have been examined by interested collectors, and it seems clear that some of these coins were struck in Middle Eastern mints, and are therefore clearly not of "Italian origin." It unfortunately appears to be the case that the officials involved in deciding whether coins should be detained in Customs for "illegal importation" are either not competent to accurately identify the actual location of their manufacture, or far worse, are ignorantly assuming that "Roman means Italian."

He goes on to make several important observations:

There are many ways in which maladministration of the law causes injustice and unfair hardships to law-abiding citizens. One of these ways is the unjustifiable and detestable practice of arbitrarily refusing importation of objects whose appearance merely resembles items included in the "Restricted List" published after the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding with a state requesting import restrictions on ancient artifacts. That unfair and unreasonable practice enables an official to order Customs detention without going to the trouble of carrying out a detailed investigation, and places the entire burden of the investigation upon the importer, who then must assemble entirely at his own expense (and without much time to do so) a documentation package proving "legal origin" of the artifacts. "Guilty until proven innocent" is a standard that the archaeology lobby very much desires should be applied to every ancient artifact. However, it is not a standard that is in any way compatible with with the time-honored traditions of English Common Law, which became the origin of both the British and US Constitutions, and the legal rights of citizens of the English-speaking nations. It is to be hoped that the impending review and restructuring of the US State Department and the Department of Homeland Security will include elimination of the scandalous maladministration of the 1983 CCPIA.

See also: Peter Tompa on this watershed case, too: ICE Sends Roman Coins From Middle East To Italy Because Roman Means Italian?

First Archeologists, now Idol-worshippers

 

An impudent Hindu or Buddhist guy suggests 'shifting the onus of proving the legality of an artifact to the seller and not the source country'. "Guilty until proven innocent" is a standard that the archeology lobby very much desires should be applied to every ancient artifact. However, it is not a standard that is in any way compatible with with the time-honored traditions of English Common Law, which became the origin of both the British and US Constitutions, and the legal rights of citizens of the English-speaking nations. The idol worshippers will not prevail here.

Swedish King Gustav III’s Collection of Antiquities

Gustav III´s Collection of Antiquities, interior, The Royal Palace.

Another reminder of the importance of private collecting for the establishment of our great museums and promoting public interest in the classical past. This collection constitutes an important part in the original core of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Sweden. Acquired at the end of the 18th century, the views on restoration that it expresses soon contributed to make the collection unmodern. It has never been the object of exhaustive study. The material is now being published, the first volume in a projected series of three, appeared in 1998: A-M. Leander Touati, Ancient sculptures in the Royal Museum. The eighteenth-century collection in Stockholm, vol. I, 1998. Among the 180 objects that remains to be published, about 150 were bought from Francesco Piranesi in Rome and represent the remaining part of his father’s, Giovanni Battista’s marble business. Another 33 pieces stem from earlier Swedish Royal collecting, mainly that of Queen Christina and Queen Lovisa Ulrika. The objects cover a wide spectrum of ancient Roman genres: decorated architectural fragments, funerary alters, sarcophagi, urns, wellheads, candelabra, portrait busts as well as small and full sized sculpture in the round. The pieces are studied in the light of their contribution to Roman art history as well as in that of the early Modern period.

Armorican Bronze Age arrowheads

 Craftsmanship and the love of beauty go back in time further than what we understand as 'civilization': 

Stunning Armorican Bronze Age arrowheads found in the Kernonen barrow at Plouvorn, Finistère (photo C. Nicolas).

Remembering a Great Collector

Founder of the British Museum Hans Sloane was born on this day in 1660. Much of his original collection is still on display.

Iraqis demand action as popular archaeological site neglected

At the ziggurat of Dur-Kurigalzu (modern Aqar-Quf),

Here we have a very good example of the nationalist use of the global heritage by Moslems (Adnan Abu Zeed, 'Iraqis demand action as popular archaeological site neglected' Al-Monitor April 15 2017.)

Every year on March 21, Iraqis gather around the ziggurat of Dur-Kurigalzu, the site of an ancient city dating to the 14th century B.C. that is located northwest of Baghdad, to celebrate Nowruz and the first day of spring. Residents from the city's various sects come together to celebrate ancient festivals near structures such as the ziggurat, built by King Kurigalzu, who ruled between 1438 and 1412 B.C. during the Kassites era in Iraq after the fall of the city of Babylon at the hands of the Hittites in 1595 B.C. The [...] monument reminds Iraqis that Iraq has been home to glorious civilizations.

Despite its obvious importance the disorganized ragheads cannot be trusted to look after the site

Despite the city’s historical importance, it has been neglected [...] No one is paying attention to the place and proof is the cracked walls around the ziggurat. Mold caused by humidity has affected up to one meter of the walls, which are now surrounded by thorns and wild plants [....] The ziggurat has never been sufficiently protected [...]  Control over archaeological areas was weakened due to the [recent] security chaos, and smugglers dug around it to steal the precious pieces buried in the sand [...] protecting the ziggurat requires a sufficient budget that has never been provided, so it is unlikely to see any positive change under the current circumstances.[...] People who visit the ziggurat can clearly see how rainwater and salts have caused cracks in the structure, while a lot of debris and trash can be seen all around the ziggurat. [...] In order to develop the ziggurat and turn it into an archaeological site, security must be established.

This situation is not an isolated one:

The ziggurat is only one of dozens of neglected archaeological sites waiting to be converted into archaeological and touristic projects that provide jobs and financial resources for Iraqis, help the economies of the cities where they are located and showcase Iraq's historical heritage to the world.

Obviously there is little point repatriating to such people artifacts seized from collectors  as they clearly lack the resources and will to look after them properly.

China: Murdering Citizens

Every year, the Chinese state carries out several thousand judicial executions -- more than the rest of the world combined. For the most part, the names of those executed remain secret, known only to their families. All figures about the death penalty, as well as most details about executions, remain classified as "state secrets," part of a deliberate effort by China's rulers to hide from public view the horrifying scale of the country's capital punishment system. [...] China's criminal justice system is also plagued by insurmountable defects. With a conviction rate standing above 99% and a majority of criminal cases tried without a lawyer in the courtroom, the odds of defendants receiving a fair trial are abysmally low. The risks of miscarriage of justice and wrongful executions are exacerbated by a judicial system that is not independent and continues to convict on evidence based on "confessions" -- often coerced or extracted through torture.

Nicholas Bequelin, 'China's deadly secret: More executions than all other countries put together' CNN April 11, 2017

This is the sort of state which our government supports by signing MOUs promising to send them antiquities seized from American collectors. Let us oppose the renewal of such agreements until China fully respects the human rights of its citizens.

Figurine found at Mehrgarh Baluchistan,

Figurine found at Mehrgarh Baluchistan, an important Neolithic site founded approx 7000 BC. Located near Bolan Pass, it is one of South Asia’s earliest sites...

Peruvian Animal Vases

These imaginative animal vessels were produced in modern-day Peru,
between 100 B.C. and 500 A.D.

Toledo Museum of Art sells Duplicate Artifacts

Toledoans may soon have a rare chance to buy a piece of Roman or Egyptian history first brought to Toledo more than a century ago (Roberta Gedert, "Toledo Museum of Art selling off over 140 pieces", The Blade April 5 2017).

During a public sale last fall of more than 60 pieces of ancient artifacts from the Toledo Museum of Art’s collection, 145 additional pieces were offered by the museum that never made it to the auction block. The second lot, which includes 18 early pieces acquired in 1906 by museum founder Edward Drummond Libbey during a trip to Egypt, was determined by Christie’s Auction House to not be of high enough value to be sold through public auction. Subsequently, the museum will offer the antiquities for sale first to other museums before the public will have an opportunity, said TMA director Brian Kennedy. 

Of course, "the October sale was met with objections from the Egyptian and Cyprus governments, who said cultural artifacts should remain accessible to the public. “We have taken this position … let’s offer them first to museums and see if they want them; then if they don’t, put them on the market,”

The museum has contracted with private antiquities dealer Harlan J. Berk LTD., of Chicago, which is currently offering the pieces, including statues, vases, lamps, pitchers, and bowls from Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, and Italy, to the 244 members that make up the Association of Art Museum Directors.[...]   More than 40 of the pieces have sold since the directors’ group was notified, said Aaron Berk, director of antiquities for Harlan Berk. He said working with the museum on the venture is an unusual process for the company that his father, Harlan Berk, founded in 1964. A timetable to release the remaining items for sale to the members of the American Alliance of Museums and then to private individuals has not been set. “As soon as we feel like the museums have been exhausted, we will open it up to the public,” Mr. Berk said. [...] If all items sold at listed prices, total sales would peak at more than $283,500. That price tag compares to the almost $970,000 generated from the 66 higher-priced pieces during the online and live auctions at Christie’s in October. Money from both sales goes into the museum’s new acquisitions fund. Deaccessioning is the act of permanently removing pieces from a museum through sales so that new pieces can be acquired. The 213 pieces were chosen from the museum’s collection of more than 1,500 antiquities under a two-year process of review of its antiquities collection by an art committee, which determined that the pieces selected had not appeared in museum literature or been studied by scholars, were not up to collection standards, or were duplicates of other pieces in the collection. 

This seems like an ideal solution to the masses of material lying unwanted in museum stores all over the world. Even the governments of the countries producing the antiquities agree:

Leonidas Pantelides, ambassador for Cyprus, [...] drafted a letter [...] on Tuesday, recommending that the museum consider similar deaccessioning in the future. “In return, both the embassy and the Hellenic American Community will laud the Toledo Museum of Art as a responsible ethical museum for engaging in rules-based deaccessioning and paving the way for responsible museum practice that can be hailed as truly pioneering,” Mr. Pantelides wrote.  

Syrian Fritware Bowl with a Hunting Dog

Fritware bowl with a hunting dog,
made in Syria in the 13th century Ashmolean Museum

Syrian artefacts have been coming on the market and collected for many decades. 

Senator Rubio on Egypt

Strong US-Egypt ties are in our interest but we can't turn a blind eye to ongoing human rights abuses by the Egyptian government. We should suspend the repatriation of collectors' property to this country until this evil is eradicated there.

Athens, Greece: Precious Art Exposed to City Pollution

The original Caryatids (minus one) before their transfer to the Old Acropolis Museum in 1979 (Photo: AlisonFrantz-1952 Courtesy @ASCSAthens)

Moslem Hypocrites

This is Princess Ameera al-Taweel of the Saudi Arabia Kingdom, an Arab state that jails women for showing their face in public. Hypocrites.

English Shabti Collection

Manchester Museum  Shabtis

Priceless trove of 600 Roman statues lay hidden in basement for 40 years

Umberto Bacchi. "Priceless trove of 600 Roman statues lay hidden in basement for 40 years" Intermnational Business Times  March 30, 2017.

 A legendary collection of ancient marbles that has been locked away from public sight is to go on display for the first time in decades. The Torlonia collection, which comprises 620 statues and sculptures, has been described as the world's most important private collection of classical art – but almost no one has been able to admire it since it was buried in the basement of the namesake aristocratic family in Rome in the 1970s. The Italian government has now announced that decades of negotiations with the Torlonia family were brought to a successful ending and an agreement to unveil the works has been reached.[...] The family has long resisted government attempts to return the artworks to the public.

The attempts of the Italian fascist government to get their hands on these privately-owned artworks are nothing short of scandalous. The collection of marbles, bronzes and alabasters was put together in the 19th century by Giovanni Torlonia, a skilful financier. The masterpieces were exhibited in the family's private museum in Rome up to 1976, and the collection has since remained sealed inside the basement of a house in the Italian capital.

Hilarious April 1 Post by Peter Tompa

Saturday, April 1, 2017

President Putin Awards Russia's Highest Honor to Two American Archaeological Advocacy Groups

'Art Crime Researcher' Scared by her own Slides,

Frida Larsdotter Lundgren, art crime researcher, on the market for conflict antiquities, looks a little frightened by her own slides!