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The Getty Museum returns to Italy ancient sculptures that were obtained illegally

2022-08-12T00:50:52.052Z


The center will deliver the 'Orpheus and the Sirens' set and four other objects later in September Exterior view of the Getty Museum, in Los Angeles, California (USA). Bob Riha Jr (Getty Images) The controversy over the origin of some pieces in its collection has been accompanying the Getty Museum for decades. This Thursday, the entity announced an agreement for the return to Italy of the set of ancient terracotta sculptures of Orpheus and the sirens and that it is preparing to return four oth


Exterior view of the Getty Museum, in Los Angeles, California (USA). Bob Riha Jr (Getty Images)

The controversy over the origin of some pieces in its collection has been accompanying the Getty Museum for decades.

This Thursday, the entity announced an agreement for the return to Italy of the set of ancient terracotta sculptures of Orpheus and the sirens and that it is preparing to return four other objects later for having been obtained in illegal archaeological excavations.

Orpheus and the Sirens are no longer on display in the museum.

It has been the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office that, following the trail of a crime, has led to the conclusion that the sculptures were obtained in an illegal archaeological excavation.

The sculptures were acquired in 1976 by J. Paul Getty, shortly before his death on June 6 of that year.

Its cost then was $550,000.

Set of ancient terracotta sculptures 'Orpheus and the Sirens', to be delivered to Italy in September.Getty Museum

“In accordance with Getty's policy of returning objects to their country of origin or country of modern discovery when reliable information indicates they were stolen or found in illegal excavations, the museum has removed the objects from public view and is preparing to transport them to Rome in September, where they will join the collections designated by the Ministry of Culture,” the entity said in a statement.

The museum explains that the extreme fragility of the sculptures requires special equipment and procedures for their transportation.

Dating to between 350 and 300 BC, Orpheus and the Sirens are a group of nearly life-size sculptures.

Mermaids are actually part women and part birds.

The male figure is a singer, with a somewhat open mouth that had a kind of harp, now missing.

In explaining his collection, the museum explains that his identity is uncertain, but it could be Orpheus.

The mythical poet became associated with the sirens in the Argonautics, when he helped Jason and his crew pass safely through the sirens by playing music and enchanting monsters.

“However, in the art of the fourth century BC, Orpheus wears a highly embroidered oriental costume: a long, flowing robe with a short cape and a soft Phrygian cap.

Therefore, the seated man may rather be a representation of a deceased mortal as a musician.

The museum adds that given the size and funerary associations of the three figures, it is likely that the group decorated a tomb.

This large sculptural ensemble, originally painted in bright colors, "is an exceptional example of the terracotta production characteristic of the Greek colonies in southern Italy," he says.

Other returns

Recent investigations by the Getty and independent scholars have led to the conclusion that the museum must also return a colossal marble head of a divinity from the 2nd century AD;

a 2nd century AD stone mold for casting pendants;

an oil painting titled

The Oracle,

from 1881, by Camillo Miola;

and a thymiatery, a type of censer for ceremonial use, in Etruscan bronze from the 4th century BC

The first three objects were acquired by J. Paul Getty and the Getty Museum in the 1970s;

the fourth, in 1996. None of these objects has been exposed to the public in recent years.

The museum is currently working with the Ministry of Culture to organize its return.

Painting 'The Oracle', by Camillo Miola, which will also be returned to Italy by the Getty Museum. Getty Museum

“We value our strong and fruitful relationship with the Italian Ministry of Culture and with our many fellow archaeologists, conservators and other specialists throughout Italy, with whom we share a mission to advance the preservation of ancient cultural heritage,” said Timothy Potts, director of the museum, through a statement.

Getty and Italy have mended their relations, which went through stormy times.

Marion True, a former museum curator, was charged in Rome in 2005 with theft of ancient art, though she was never convicted.

She resigned from her position at the museum and the following year, but the scandal caused by revelations about the museum's practices led to a long negotiation for the return of works of art to Italy.

In December 2006, in a letter sent to the Getty Foundation, she stated that she was being made to “bear the weight” of practices that were known, approved and sanctioned by the museum's management.

In 2007, Italy dropped the charges against True, and the Getty reached an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture to return 40 of the 46 objects claimed, including the limestone and marble statue of Aphrodite from the 5th century BC, paintings frescoes stolen from Pompeii, marble and bronze sculptures and Greek vases.

Source: elparis

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