Nations Battle Illicit Antiquities Trade
By FRANCES D'EMILIO
Associated Press Writer
December 4, 2003, 5:59 PM EST
ROME -- From Egyptian mummies to Greek statues, remnants of ancient
civilizations are eagerly eyed by dealers looking to pocket profits
and by curators hoping to add prestige to museum collections.
The flourishing illegal market in antiquities is being battled with
tougher laws, international accords and legal action, like a case in
a Rome courtroom Thursday against a curator at the J. Paul Getty
Museum in Los Angeles.
The crusade to save ancient heritage has been invigorated by the
public outcry over the looting of Iraq's national museum after the
fall of Baghdad, which "served to galvanize the world's attention,"
said Jane C. Waldbaum, president of the Archaeological Institute of
America.
Once antiquities start circulating, it is often exceedingly difficult
to trace them.
"Most of what appears on the market are undocumented antiquities,"
said Waldbaum, a classical archaeologist. Often, there is no way to
tell "when, where or how they were acquired, no way to know if they
were excavated yesterday or come from a collection," she said in a
telephone interview Wednesday from the institute's headquarters in
Boston.
In Rome, prosecutors are seeking the indictment of Marion True,
curator for antiquities at the Getty museum, and three art dealers on
charges of illegally exporting cultural goods, receiving state-
protected cultural property and criminal association.
Italy, a pioneer in police work to crack down on illicit antiquities
trafficking, forbids selling or exporting ancient artifacts found in
the country.
Getty officials defended True's work. "We've found no evidence of any
wrongdoing," said Pamela Johnson, a spokeswoman for the J. Paul Getty
Trust. "We have reviewed and provided to the relevant prosecutors
thousands of documents from our files."
True's lawyer, Francesco Isolabella, defended his client after
Thursday's hearing, saying "the acquisitions True made were made in
the clear light of day."
One of the accused dealers, Giacomo Medici, an Italian, denied he
ever sold anything to the Getty. The other two dealers are an
American resident of Paris and a Swiss man.
Medici said the investigation began in 1995 when police found photos
of artifacts they deemed of "uncertain origin" in his office in
Geneva. He said hundreds of pieces are under investigation.
The judge postponed the hearing until March 4, citing technicalities.
Other high-profile cases include the conviction last year by a
federal court in Manhattan of antiquities dealer Frederick Schultz, a
former president of a dealers association. He was sentenced to 33
months in jail for plotting to smuggle a stolen bust of a pharaoh out
of Egypt.
While countries rich in archaeological finds like Greece and Italy
have long led campaigns to discourage illicit trade, nations like
Britain and Switzerland, considered hubs of illegal trafficking in
antiquities, have begun taking steps to combat the problem.
In October, Switzerland ratified the 1970 UNESCO treaty, which allows
countries to reclaim illegally acquired cultural artifacts. Britain
signed in 2002.
"We have made enormous progress," Andrea Rascher, who heads
international and legal affairs at the Swiss Federal Office of
Culture in Bern, said in a telephone interview Thursday.
A new Swiss law extends the span on what's known as "good faith
acquisition" from five to 30 years. Under that clause, an antiquities
owner who can document the object was acquired "in good faith" more
than a specified number of years ago, can keep the object.
The Swiss antiquities business now has what Rascher called "tougher
diligence" rules, requiring them to record every piece that enters
their shops.
Last month, Swiss authorities handed over to the Egyptian government
two mummies, sarcophagi and masks that were among some 200 objects
discovered in a customs warehouse in Geneva.
Other recent cases include:
* Afghanistan asked Switzerland in October to look into a customs
depot for pieces of the giant, 1,500-year-old Buddha statues the
country's Taliban rulers blew up in 2001 before U.S. military forces
drove them out. The pieces were reportedly spotted by an
international specialist.
* Last month, Germany returned to Greece 13th-century Minoan-era
idols and a bronze pot dating to Byzantine times that were found at a
Munich train station in 1999.
In 2001, nearly 275 items stolen from the Archaeological Museum of
Ancient Corinth, near Athens, were returned. The FBI, acting on a tip
the goods were consigned for auction at Christie's, had discovered
them in fish crates in Miami.
Saying it could help counter pressure on museums to purchase more
antiquities, Waldbaum noted a U.S.-Italian accord that permits long-
term loans of Italian treasures, including many kept in storehouses
because Italy's museums have no more room.
* _
Associated Press reporter Aidan Lewis in Rome contributed to this
report.
http://www.newsday.com/
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