More Antiquities Restitution News

Now that you've cleaned out the Miami sand from between your toes and the hype from between your ears, you're undoubtedly asking yourselves, "Now that I've seen the art of the last 10 minutes, what's the latest news about art of the centuries B.C.? CultureGrrl has your answers:

At a press conference today in Athens, Greek culture minister George Voulgarakis and J. Paul Getty Museum director Michael Brand announced they had "reached an agreement in principle" for the Getty's return of a 4th-century B.C. gold funerary wreath and a 6th-century B.C. marble kore (statue of a woman). Nicholas Paphitis of the Associated Press reports it is "unclear if the return would stop a Greek criminal investigation over the alleged theft of the wreath."

The wreath figured in recent charges reportedly brought by Greek police against former Getty curator Marion True. (Reuters' report of the Greek-Getty accord is here. The NY Times report, in today's paper but posted last night, is incomplete and outdated.)

For the complete Getty press release on the Greek agreement, click the link at the bottom of this post.

Meanwhile, another antiquities victor is flaunting its spoils: The Italian Ministry of Culture has announced (click "Archeologia in Festa") that an exhibition of 11 of the 13 objects returned to Italy last September by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts will be exhibited this Wednesday through Jan. 28 at the Museum of Antiquity, Turin, before being distributed to Italian museums in the objects' various territories of origin.

And back in the U.S., in a Newsweek web exclusive posted Friday night, James Wood, incoming president of the J. Paul Getty Trust, told reporter Andrew Murr that he needs to see "what productive role I can play" in the negotiations with Italy that have broken down over the contested "Getty Bronze." Wood added:

I think I'm another set of eyes and experience. I am very eager to resolve this in a way that is fair, and that allows us to go ahead. There are so many cooperative ventures that we and the Italians want to take. Getting there may not be easy. But I'm confident.

While noting that he has to "sit down, listen and learn a lot," Wood already served notice that the Getty should "collect aggressively," within the strictures of its new acquisition guidelines, at that "it's a good moment to step back and reevaluate the entire organization."

And here in New York, a Greek-introduced resolution on "The Return or Restitution of Cultural Property to their Countries of Origin" was adopted last week by the U.N. General Assembly. It calls on "all relevant bodies, including agencies, funds and programs of the United Nations system, to work with UNESCO, within their mandates, and in cooperation with Member States, to continue to address the issue of return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin and provide appropriate support accordingly."

In addition, it urges countries "to introduce effective national and international measures to prevent and combat illicit trafficking in cultural property, including special training for police, customs and border services."