Italian Court Orders Repatriation of the Getty Bronze

The 2,000-year-old Victorious Youth sculpture, commonly known as the Getty Bronze. [Credit: Getty]

ROME — "The court's order is flawed both procedurally and substantively," said the Getty after Thursday's ruling by an Italian judge ordering the museum to repatriate its Victorious Youth sculpture. 

The priceless bronze statue was bought by the J. Paul Getty Museum for nearly four million dollars at an auction in 1974. But Judge Lorena Mussoni of Pesaro ordered its confiscation in a 37-page judgment asserting the artifact belonged to Italy's cultural heritage and was thus not for sale.

Commonly referred to as the Getty Bronze, the sculpture is dated between 300 and 100 B.C. and is considered one of the greatest to survive from ancient Greece. The lifesize statue was found in the sea off the Adriatic coast of Italy in 1964; prosecutors allege that it was smuggled out of the country and that the Getty knew its provenance was illicit.

Former culture minister Francesco Rutelli, who spearheaded Italy's efforts to recover the work, said Thursday's verdict was of "historic importance, ending the era of looting our archaeological heritage." The Getty said it would "vigorously defend" its ownership of the statue and adamantly denies any wrongdoing.

[Source: AFP]

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Italian Court Orders Repatriation of the Getty Bronze

The Standoff is Over: France Returns Stolen Relics to Egypt

PARIS — If  Zawi Hawass, the current head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, made a "to do" list, it would read something like this:

• Naos artifact from the Met - check.  
• Steele relics from the Louvre - check. 
• Rosetta stone from the British Museum and bust of Queen Nefertiti from the Neues museum - in process.

Since taking office in 2002, Hawass has been on an international campaign to recover Egyptian artifacts for his country. On Monday, Hawass achieved another victory when France's President Nicolas Sarkozy presented his visiting Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak, with the last of five in a series of what Egypt characterized as "stolen" ancient relics. "Thank you very much," Mubarak said to Sarkozy as the exchange was made.

The items at issue are 3,000-years-old and were taken from a wall painting of an ancient Egyptian tomb in the 1980s. The SCA argued that the pieces were stolen from Egypt, while French officials maintained that the Louvre took them from the country in good faith. Initially, Egypt's demands for the artifacts went ignored. Egypt then cut ties with the Louvre in October, causing the standoff that has now ended peacefully.

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Read More - France Returns Stolen Louvre Relics to Egypt | Agence France Presse

[Photo: French President Nicolas Sarkozy (left) meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (right) on Monday. Courtesy: AFP]

The Standoff is Over: France Returns Stolen Relics to Egypt

Oxford's Ashmolean Museum Reopens After 10 Months and $100 Million

OXFORD, ENGLAND — After 10-months and an almost $100 million renovation, Oxford's Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology reopened to the public on Saturday. The world's first university museum, the Ashmolean has added 39 new galleries, including four temporary exhibition galleries, a new education center and state-of-the art conservation studios.

Rick Mather Architects was responsible for the redesign and realizing the museum's new display strategy called "Crossing Cultures Crossing Time"; it is based on the idea that the civilizations which shaped our modern societies developed as part of an interrelated world culture, rather than in isolation.

The Ashmolean collection includes rare Islamic, Indian, Chinese and Japanese objects, archaeological specimens and fine art. The museum has one of the best collections of Pre-Raphaelite paintings, majolica pottery and English silver. Other objects of note include T.E. Lawrence's Arab dress, an entire Japanese tea house, a lantern used by Guy Fawkes and and a hawking glove used by Henry VIII.

Nicholas Barber, Chairman of the Ashmolean, commented, “Renowned for our collections, the Ashmolean has always held a strong position on the cultural map. But now, with a magnificent new building and inspiring displays, the Museum has been transformed into one of the world’s great cultural jewels.”

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[Photo: A newly renovated exhibit gallery inside the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology]

Oxford's Ashmolean Museum Reopens After 10 Months and $100 Million

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Met Museum Repatriates the Naos Egyptian Artifact

CAIRO -- Egypt's Head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, is continuing his scavenger hunt through the world's most prestigious museums. Since taking office in 2002, Hawass has been on an archaeological quest for so-called stolen Egyptian antiquities. Earlier this month, there was a dispute between Hawass and the Louvre Museum in Paris, ending only after the museum agreed to return 5 fresco fragments. On Monday, New York's Metropolitan Museum confirmed it will be the next institution to send an artifact back to Egypt.

The Met acquired its Egyptian relic from a private collector about a year ago, making this the first time a museum has purchased an item solely to repatriate it. The object is a red granite fragment belonging to the ancient "Naos," a pharoanic shrine honoring the 12th Dynasty King Amenemhat I, who ruled 4,000 years ago.

Hawass claims to have recovered 5,000 Egyptian artifacts thus far, however not all of his campaigns have been successful. Berlin's Neues Museum is refusing to hand over its bust of Queen Nefertiti, and the Rosetta Stone is still housed in London's British Museum.

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[Read More - The Met Returns Egyptian Artifact | AP]

Met Museum Repatriates the Naos Egyptian Artifact