Italy Indicts Getty Museum Curator
By Tracy Wilkinson and Suzanne Muchnic
Times Staff Writers
7:55 PM PDT, May 19, 2005
ROME -- In a long-running legal battle with broad implications for museum
collections worldwide, a senior curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los
Angeles has been indicted in Italy on criminal charges involving the
acquisition of precious antiquities in this archaeologically rich country,
authorities in Rome said.
Marion True, 56, curator for antiquities at the prestigious museum and
director of the Getty Villa, an adjunct site near Malibu that once was home
to the main museum, is accused of criminal conspiracy to receive stolen
goods and illicit receipt of archaeological items. It also is alleged that
True essentially laundered goods that were purchased by a private collection
and then sold to the Getty in paper transactions that created phony
documentation.
If the prosecution is successful, the Italians intend to pursue additional
cases at other museums. The plunder of Italy for its artwork is a crime
tantamount to "stealing history," the indictment reads in part. By
attempting to prosecute an official from the world's richest art museum,
Italian authorities hope to send a clear message that they no longer will
tolerate the vast and systematic robbing of antiquities from a country so
replete with historical treasures.
"We want this case to be a big deterrent," said Capt. Massimiliano
Quagliarella, who commands the police unit that oversees archaeological
theft. "It is important to stop the phenomenon of illegal excavations and
illegal exportation by eliminating the demand and thus eliminating the
offer."
He and the main prosecutor on the case briefed a reporter on the contents of
the indictment. The prosecutor asked that his name not be published, because
the case is pending and he said he did not want to appear to be trying it in
the media. The trial is scheduled to begin July 18 in Rome, at which point
the full details of the indictment will be disclosed.
Several attorneys who specialize in cultural-heritage issues say prosecuting
a museum curator is highly unusual but perhaps to be expected in a field
fraught with conflicting professional agendas and national laws.
"The fact that Italy is following through with this reflects greater
frustration of countries that can't seem to stem the flow of antiquities,"
said Lawrence M. Kaye of the Herrick, Feinstein law firm in New York. "They
are going to look for other measures until they are able to do so.
"I do think it's problematical if museum curators, particularly reputable
ones, are going to be the subject of indictments around the world. It
certainly sends a chill out, warning people to be very careful about what
kind of antiquities they are buying."
True's indictment comes after nearly 10 years of investigation. The case
involves about 40 items acquired by the Getty in recent years, the
authorities said. Investigators have not released a list of the objects, but
they said two particularly notable Greek statues of deities were included.
One sculpture, a keystone of the Getty's collection, is a 7 1/2-foot
likeness of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, carved out of marble and
limestone in the fifth century B.C. The Getty imported the work in 1987 and
declared its value at $20 million when it cleared Customs. The other work, a
33-inch figure of Tyche, the goddess of fortune, was made of marble in the
second century B.C. It is part of the collection amassed by New York art
patrons Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman, acquired by the Getty in 1996 as
part gift, part purchase.
True was traveling outside the United States on Thursday and could not be
reached for comment. The Getty issued a statement expressing disappointment
in the action: "During the course of the Italian authorities' preliminary
investigation, the Getty reviewed and provided to the prosecutors thousands
of pages of documents from our files. We trust that this trial will result
in her exoneration and end further damage to the personal and professional
reputation of Dr. True."
The prosecutor will not decide what penalty to seek until shortly before the
trial, but authorities indicated it would likely be much less than the
10-year sentence handed down to Italian art dealer Giacomo Medici, recently
convicted of trafficking in antiquities. True is not required to appear at
the court hearing. It is not yet clear whether she will be present.
Originally, the charges against True were part of a larger case that
included Medici and a Paris-based art dealer, Emanuele Robert Hecht. The
cases were divided when Medici requested a "fast-track" prosecution under
rules that allow shorter sentences in speedier trials. Medici was convicted,
sentenced and ordered to pay fines late last year. He is appealing the
decision. Hecht has been barred from entering Italy for his alleged role in
selling looted Greek silver to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
A lawyer for True, Francesco Isolabella, has described the acquisitions made
by his client as being carried out "in the clear light of day."
The Getty has a policy of returning objects to their countries of origin
should evidence indicate that is the right thing to do.
True, a leader in the field of antiquities, has worked at the Getty for 23
years. She spent her first two years, 1982 to 1984, as an assistant to
antiquities curator Jiri Frel, who was hired in 1973 by the museum's
founder, oil baron J. Paul Getty. Frel built the antiquities holding
quickly, acquiring spectacular showpieces and a huge study collection
through purchases and gifts, but he was forced to retire in 1984 after
disclosures that he had traded inflated appraisals for donated antiquities.
True was promoted to the position of associate curator upon Frel's
departure. She took charge of the antiquities department in 1986, the year
she received her doctorate from Harvard University.
On True's watch, the Getty's antiquities collection has continued to grow --
under international scrutiny. Like many museums with collections of ancient
art, the Getty has come under fire for acquiring works said to be fakes,
copies or illegal imports. In some cases, the museum has conducted its own
investigations of questionable pieces.
In 1999, the Getty took the much-publicized step of returning to Italy three
works: a 480 B.C. Greek terra cotta drinking cup that was illegally
excavated; a second-century torso of the god Mithra stolen from a private
Italian collection; and a second-century Roman head of an athlete illicitly
taken from an excavation storeroom. In announcing the decision to return the
objects, the Getty credited True's "vigilance and extensive contact with
specialists in ancient art."
http://www.latimes.com/
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