An Austrian museum has handed a Klimt painting looted by the Nazis to a descendent of the original owner.

From:
Agence France Presse

Austrian museum to return Nazi-stolen Klimt
(AFP) – Apr 21, 2011

VIENNA — An Austrian museum announced Thursday it will return a Gustav Klimt painting stolen by the Nazis and worth over 20 million euros, to the Canadian descendant of the previous Jewish owner.

Expert reports backed Georges Jorisch’s claim to the 1915 painting “Litzlberg am Attersee” (“Litzlberg on the Attersee”), which had belonged to his Jewish grandmother Amalie Redlich, according to Salzburg’s Museum of Modern Art.
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In yet another example of the peculiarities of museum collection ethics, the British Museum can hang on to carious items taken by indisputably hostile means, while at the same time searching out the possible owners of items found in the UK today. I’m not saying that doing the latter is bad, but it is unclear at what point the magical split occurs between collections that must be repatriated & those that must not.

From:
Art Daily

April 19, 2011
The Hackney Hoard: Coroner to Rule on Unique and Historic Treasure Case Found in Garden

LONDON.- On 18 April 2011 the Coroner for Inner North London resumed an inquest in relation to a hoard of American gold dollars found in Hackney in 2007. The hoard consists of 80 coins which were minted in the United States between 1854 and 1913. They are all $20 denominations of the type known as ‘Double-Eagle’ and the find is totally unprecedented in the United Kingdom.

The hoard was discovered in the back garden of a property in Hackney and reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme but in a unique twist to the story a likely descendent of the original owner of the coins has been found.
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More coverage of the return of the Cyrus Cylinder to the British Museum following its loan to Iran.

From:
CAIS

Cyrus the Great’ Cylinder returns to the UK in one piece
Monday, 18 April 2011 18:52

LONDON, (CAIS) — The Cyrus the Great Cylinder, described as the world’s first Charter of Human Rights returned to the British Museum on Monday, following the seven-month loan to the National Museum of Iran (NMI).

The priceless Cylinder arrived in the UK just after the cultural authorities in Iran severed ties with the Louvre over the French museum’s decision not to lend Iranian antiquities to NMI.
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The loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran was always going to be a political issue, in terms of the reasons for Iran requesting it & some of the reasons for Britain’s delay in going ahead with their original offer. The Cylinder has now returned to the British Museum – negating many of the original warnings made about the safety of the artefacts while it was out of the country & the doubts expressed about Iran’s willingness to return it.

Channel 4 News

Monday 18 April 2011
The Persian relic that divides Iran’s leaders

Saturday morning and the British Charge d’Affaires breaks cover to issue a public condemnation of Iran’s human rights record, and urges Tehran to respect its obligations on this score. She does so at the very moment that the Government in Tehran is handing back the most precious artefact to reside beyond Iran’s border.

The Cyrus cylinder has been on loan to Iran – against Foreign Office advice, since September. Hundreds of thousands (Iran claims millions) of people have filed past it – a tiny 2,500-year-old fragment of Persian historic culture laid on a velvet cushion. The relic has cuniform lettering on it and is regarded as one of the very earliest statements of human rights known to mankind. Yesterday saw its return to the custody of the British Museum..where it has lain since it was dug up in babylon in the late 19th century. It will arrive back in its showcase this afternoon.
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A photo exhibition about the New Acropolis Museum is going on display at the Centre of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture in Belgrade.

From:
Greek Reporter

New Acropolis Museum Photo Exhibition Hosted in Belgrade
Posted on 15 April 2011 by Marianna Kourti

A photo exhibition for the new Acropolis Museum is hosted at the Centre of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture in Belgrade. With the exhibition, the Centre participates in events which are organized in the Serbian capital for “Museum Nights” on the 14th of May. The photos present the Holy Rock of the Acropolis, the place where the new Museum was built, external faces of the building and its surroundings with the findings, which came to light during the excavation in the place where the Museum was constructed. The exhibition, which is organized with the cooperation of the Acropolis Museum and the Committee for Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments, will last until the 14th of May.

As part of their tour during which more of the collection is temporarily reunited, the Lewis Chessmen are now going on display in Stornoway – the closest that they have been to the location that they were first discovered.

From:
BBC News

15 April 2011 Last updated at 00:29
Lewis Chessmen exhibition opens in Stornoway museum

Some of the historic Lewis Chessmen have gone on display on the island where they were found more than 150 years ago.

More than 30 of the 12th Century pieces are being shown at the exhibition at Museum nan Eilean in Stornoway.
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Four more items looted from the Cairo museum earlier this year have now been returned.

From:
Zahi Hawass

Press Release – Four Objects Return to the Egyptian Museum

Four objects missing from the Egyptian Museum since the January Revolution have been returned, announced Dr. Zahi Hawass, Minister of State for Antiquities.

The objects returned include the gilded wooden statue of Tutankhamun standing in a boat throwing a harpoon (JE 60710.1). The statue suffered slight damage; a small part of the crown is missing as well as pieces of the legs. The boat is still in the Museum, and the figure of the king will be reunited with it and restored.
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On certain days, the New Acropolis Museum is aiming to put on special events, to encourage families to spend their entire days there.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Wednesday April 13, 2011 (20:54)
Acropolis Museum invites visitors for an all-day experience

The Acropolis Museum is launching a new initiative starting on the weekend of April 16 and 17, inviting visitors, and families especially, to spend the day there indulging in a series of activities.

These include archaeology-themed games for the entire family, a screening on the history of the Acropolis, the opportunity to watch restorers work on sculptural artifacts and presentations based on the exhibits. Other perks in the “Day at the Acropolis Museum” pack include a special menu at the restaurant and a discount on items purchased at the gift shops.
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The official figures for 2010 show that the New Acropolis Museum was the most popular site for tourists visiting Greece. The British Museum might claim that more people see the Elgin Marbles in London (a fact that is open to some debate), however in the case of the New Acropolis Museum, the figures are for those people purely wanting to see the marbles – not general figures for a museum, which may include the Duveen Gallery, amongst numerous other elements.

From:
Agence France Presse

Acropolis Museum is Greece’s top site: official data
(AFP) – Apr 11, 2011

ATHENS — The Acropolis Museum was Greece’s top tourist draw in 2010, eclipsing for the first time the ancient Athens citadel whose sculptures it showcases, official data showed on Monday.

Over 1.3 million people queued to visit the country’s newest museum between January and December last year, the Greek statistics authority (Esa) said.
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Despite what institutions such as the British Museum might claim, repatriation has become an important part of the role of most international museums.

From:
The Epoch Times

Museums Gain New Relevance in the Modern World
By Shar Adams
Created: Apr 11, 2011

Every one has heard of blockbuster movies and sell-out theatre performances but we do not usually relate blockbuster exhibitions to museums. We can now, the dusty shelves and creaking floorboards of the C20 museums fast becoming a thing of the past.

Today well considered and relevant exhibitions can be found in museums with artifacts from the past cleverly displayed to interact with multi media, digital displays and even live performances.
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A museum in the Netherlands is returning a fragment from the Acropolis that was taken by a Dutch tourist as a souvenir fifty years ago. This is a similar sort of case to a fragment from the Colosseum in Rome, that was returned from the USA in 2009. The Museum of Antiquities in Leiden wants other museums to follow their example – unfortunately most seem intent on taking a less enlightened approach to the issue.

From:
RNW

Piece of Acropolis returned after 50 years
Published on 11 April 2011 – 11:09am

The Museum of Antiquities in the Dutch city of Leiden will return to Greece a small marble fragment of the Acropolis: the ancient fortress and temple complex in the capital Athens.

Newspaper de Volkskrant reports that the piece of marble, probably part of a cornerstone located just above one of the Acropolis’ columns, was taken by a Dutch tourist more than fifty years ago.
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More coverage of Iran’s dispute with The Louvre. This situation is not dissimilar to the one between Iran & the British Museum over the Cyrus Cylinder in 2010.

From:
The Independent

Iran at odds with France over ancient artworks
By John Lichfield in Paris
Friday, 8 April 2011

Iran has declared a cultural war with one of the world’s largest museums, the Louvre in Paris, which it accuses of reneging on a promise to send part of its collection of ancient Persian artefacts to an exhibition in Tehran.

The Iranian vice president and culture minister, Hamid Baghai, said this week that Tehran was cutting all relations with the museum but he failed to pursue a threat, made in February, to sever all cultural links between Iran and France.
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