[MSN] Italy and Switzerland sign deal to combat antiquities trafficking.

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Posted on Fri, Oct. 20, 2006  
 


Italy and Switzerland sign deal to combat antiquities trafficking

ARIEL DAVID
Associated Press

ROME - Italian and Swiss officials signed a deal Friday aimed at making it
harder for smugglers of archaeological treasures to use Switzerland as a
conduit for stolen antiquities.

Under the deal, customs officials of the two countries will have to ensure
that importers of antiquities from both Italy and Switzerland have proof of
the artifact's origin and of its lawful export from the neighboring country.

A 1939 Italian law makes all antiquities discovered in the country property
of the state, making export of objects found after that date illegal.
Authorities contend that looted Italian treasures have often made their way
to Switzerland, and from there onto the international market, including
European and U.S. museums.

In one of the more spectacular cases, a 1995 raid on the Geneva offices of
an Italian art dealer, Giacomo Medici, yielded thousands of photographs and
pieces of artifacts police say were looted from Italy. He was later
sentenced to a 10-year prison term on art trafficking charges.

The case has since led to the criminal prosecution of Marion True, a former
J. Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles curator on trial in Rome accused of
knowingly purchasing stolen artifacts from Medici and other dealers. True
and Robert Hecht, an American art dealer also on trial on the same charges,
deny any wrongdoing.

"The art market in Switzerland is an important market," Swiss Interior
Minister Pascal Couchepin said after signing the deal in Rome with Culture
Minister Francesco Rutelli. "We strongly wish to have an ethical, clean and
responsible market."

Rutelli also said talks with the Getty for the return of dozens of disputed
pieces have been stalled. Rutelli, who is also a deputy premier, warned
after Friday's signing that the state of negotiations with the California
museum is "widely unsatisfactory."

While an agreement has been reached for the return of some artifacts, the
Getty has not gone far enough and the room for negotiation is "narrowing,"
Rutelli told reporters.

"Until I can I will not break off (the talks), but certainly I will not
accept unacceptable deals," Rutelli said. He did not say which artifacts are
causing the stall in the talks or how long he would keep them going.

Getty spokesman John Giurini, contacted by telephone, declined immediate
comment, saying he had not heard directly about Rutelli's comments.

The deal between the Italians and the Swiss is the first such bilateral
agreement signed by Switzerland, which in recent years has toughened its
stance on antiquities trafficking by approving a more restrictive law and
ratifying a 1970 UNESCO treaty that allows countries to reclaim illegally
acquired cultural artifacts.

"Traffickers will have to go somewhere else," Rutelli told reporters, adding
that the growing awareness of the illegal trade "is making it increasingly
difficult to sell stolen or looted art."

The deal only protects artifacts that date from before the 16th century, and
both ministers expressed hope that it will be extended to safeguard art
produced from the Renaissance onwards.

While trying to stem the flow of illegally excavated artifacts, Italian
authorities have been aggressively campaigning for the return of allegedly
looted antiquities through direct negotiation with top museums as well as
criminal cases like True's.

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts have
signed separate deals this year to return a total of 34 artifacts -
including Hellenistic silverware, Etruscan vases and Roman statues - in
exchange for loans of other treasures.

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AP Writer Solvej Schou in Los Angeles contributed to this report.