Friday 19 March 2010

Rome Displays Ancient Greek silverware

I was struck by the terminology used in the Associated Press article: "Rome to display ancient Greek silverware" March 19th.

A collection of ancient Greek silverware dating to the third century B.C. is going on display in Rome after being returned by the Metropolitan Museum in New York, officials said Friday [...] The pieces are known as "The Morgantina Treasure" after the name of the ancient Greek settlement where they were excavated, near what is now the Italian city of Aidone.


... Italy's aggressive campaign against illegal trafficking in antiquities...
... came back as part of a deal with the Met ...
...Italy has been aggressively campaigned (sic) to ....
... recover antiquities it says were looted ...
... secured the return of dozens of [...] artifacts in deals with museums...

[Those nasty "aggressive" foreigners, eh? But its a good job the Americans tricked them into agreeing to some kind of "deal"].

Somewhat more balanced and informative was Elisabetta Povoledo's "Antiquities Once Owned by Met Go On Display in Rome" New York Times March 19, 2010, which gives a bit more of the background to the Morgantina Treasure affair. "In 1981 and 1982 the Met bought the silver hoard from the American dealer Robert Hecht for $2.74 million. Mr. Hecht is currently standing trial in Rome on charges of conspiracy to traffic in looted artifacts". The objects were returned to Italy as part of a 2006 agreement between the government and the Metropolitan Museum. In recent years Italy has signed similar accords with other American institutions and archaeologists praised such restitutions "as indicative of a cultural sea change that recognizes that “archaeology is context,” according to Malcolm Bell III, a professor at the University of Virginia who played a crucial role in establishing the provenance of the objects, which led to their return".
The silver will be on display in Rome until May 23, when it will travel to Sicily, where it will eventually be exhibited in Aidone. It will return to the Met periodically in keeping with the 2006 agreement, which also provides for a continuing exchange of antiquities. Last month the Met installed a recently excavated ancient Roman silver dining set from Moregine, on the outskirts of Pompeii, sent by Italy in exchange for the silver.

1 comment:

David Gill said...

For a little more on the "hoard", who handled it, and who paid for it see Looting Matters.
The AP report talks about "dozens" of returning antiquities. In fact this is well over a hundred items from some of the most high profile museums in North America.
David

 
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