[MSN] The Getty and Italy to resolve museum impasse (By Michael Brand)

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

The Getty and Italy to resolve museum impasse (By Michael Brand)

I am saddened that talks between the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Italian
government over Italy's claim to objects in the museum's antiquities
collection have broken down. I want to make it clear that the Getty remains
open to resuming those discussions. 

When I became director at the museum last December, I made it a priority to
resolve claims not only of Italy but of the Greek government. I visited Rome
to begin negotiations within my first month of full-time work, and Athens a
little while later. We have made great progress in our negotiations with the
Hellenic Ministry of Culture. We have returned two works of art and are in
the final stages of resolving the status of the two remaining objects. 

The Getty entered its discussions with Italy in the same spirit. The
Italians challenged Getty ownership of 52 objects. I was heartened when
Italy's minister of culture, Francesco Rutelli, confirmed my feeling that an
accord could be reached but that it would require compromise on both sides.
In June an agreement in principle was reached, and October 5 both parties
signed a "term sheet" that set out what had been agreed on and established a
process for working toward resolution of the remaining issues. 

It was agreed, for example, that the Getty would return 26 objects and that
Italy would drop claims on six objects as well as provide significant loans
to the Getty. We asked Italy to consider a creative solution for the "Cult
Statue of a Goddess," - the so-called Aphrodite - involving immediate joint
ownership during a period of collaborative research, and then, if necessary,
a willingness to submit to neutral, binding arbitration to resolve its
ultimate fate. With respect to the "Statue of a Victorious Youth" - the
so-called Getty Bronze - a Greek statue of an athlete found in international
waters off the coast of Italy in 1964, the Getty agreed to provide a formal,
written position regarding our claim to ownership. 

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Getty team returned to Los Angeles
believing this deal (which we were assured was fully authorized) had finally
provided a fair path to resolving past differences and a framework for
future collaboration between the Getty and Italy. 

But then everything changed on the Italian side, for reasons that no Italian
official has been able, or willing, to explain. In correspondence with the
Getty, the Italian Ministry of Culture put forward new demands, as if terms
had not been agreed on in October. We were also disappointed to be informed
that joint ownership of the cult statue would not be possible. What was even
more discouraging, however, was that before receiving our document on the
"Statue of a Victorious Youth," Italy announced unilaterally that no final
agreement would be possible without the transfer of this one object. 

Believing that face-to-face discussions were the only way to bring our
negotiations back on track, I led a team back to Rome in early November. We
came to that meeting, presided over by Rutelli at the beginning and end,
prepared to make significant compromises, including the immediate transfer
of title to the cult statue. Eventually we were told formally - for the
first time in almost 10 months of negotiations - that the political climate
in Italy precluded any agreement without the transfer of the "Statue of a
Victorious Youth." With no room for further discussion, the meeting ended. 

I cannot compromise on the "Statue of a Victorious Youth." The Getty is a
California trust, which means in essence that our collections are publicly
held. No director of any such museum can "de-accession" or transfer
ownership of works of art without a legal basis. 

I understand that Italy's claim to the bronze is an emotional and political
issue. 

But such claims cannot override the substantial legal evidence supporting
the Getty's ownership of the statue, including the fact that the statue was
obtained by the museum in 1977 only after Italian courts had declared that
there was no evidence that it belonged to Italy. Indeed, in all Italian
legal proceedings regarding the bronze, the Culture Ministry has never
before asserted a legal claim for this object. 

I believe that the Getty would have already finalised its agreement with
Italy if the unique bronze athlete had not been part of the mix.
Nonetheless, I still believe that a fair and reasonable agreement can be
achieved. I would welcome the opportunity to show the minister the Getty
Villa, the only museum in the United States dedicated to Roman, Etruscan and
Greek art and culture. I am eager for him to see personally the effect the
magnificent works of art displayed there have on the public and scholars,
who visit the Getty from around the world. It is for these visitors, who
clearly value the ability of art to illuminate our shared histories, that we
must find a mutually satisfactory and comprehensive solution. 

Whether or not that happens in the immediate future, I believe it is
appropriate for the Getty to return to Italy the 26 objects included in the
agreement we signed jointly in October. I also believe that it is
appropriate for the Getty to continue to study the origin and ownership
history of the Aphrodite statue for up to one year. If at the end of that
year we cannot conclusively present a legal case for Getty ownership of the
statue, it, too, will be given to Italy. 

Similarly, we plan to provide the ministry with information related to all
the other objects claimed by Italy so there can be no doubt about the
seriousness of our efforts to resolve those claims based on solid research
of all available evidence. Regrettably, as matters now stand, we will be
going forward with these returns and this research without any guarantee of
reciprocal loans from Italy. 

The Getty and the Italian ministry must find a way to resolve our impasse,
or both sides risk jeopardizing the extraordinary exchange of ideas and
knowledge that emerges from international collaboration in the study and
preservation of Italy's cultural heritage. We have already introduced a new
acquisitions policy - one that makes the Getty the first US art museum to
adopt strict Unesco standards - as our contribution to our mutual goal of
eliminating the desecration of archaeological sites and the illicit trade in
antiquities. 

We acknowledge that the Getty must do its part to resolve this matter. But
Italy must resist the temptation to allow political concerns to eclipse the
goal of art museums around the world to give the public access to our shared
art and cultural heritage. 

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/