At first I thought I was reading an older story – but it appears that there is another auction of artefacts that are now suspected to have been through the warehouses of Giacomo Medici.

From:
The Art Newspaper

Medici “loot” for sale?
Two works coming to auction with Bonhams appear similar to those pictured in Polaroids found in the convicted dealer’s Geneva store
By Fabio Isman and Melanie Gerlis | From issue 217, October 2010
Published online 5 Oct 10 (market)

Bonhams London is to auction two antiquities that may have passed through the hands of the dealer Giacomo Medici, who has twice been found guilty of trafficking in antiquities in Italy, but is free as he mounts his third and final appeal. As we went to press, the auction house had not withdrawn the lots because the necessary information on the items had not been released, despite Bonhams’ repeated requests to the Italian authorities, they say.

Pictures in the Bonhams catalogue of the two works coming to auction on 6 October appear similar to Polaroids found in Medici’s Geneva store, which were seized in 1995 and presented as evidence during his trials, although these particular objects were never examined in court. This means that the objects have not been studied to establish their origins and whether or not they were illegally excavated or exported and may be legitimate.
Read the rest of this entry »

For some time, Greece has suggested that the return of the Elgin Marbles could be made more easily possible by a long term / semi-permanent loan. On a regular basis though it is suggested that this does not resemble what is normally described as a loan – therefore it is unworkable & merely restitution via the back door. Some silver platters have just been returned to Switzerland – not something directly relevant to this case. What is interesting though is that although they were owned by St George Church at Hanover Square in London, they were held by the British Museum on permanent loan. So, whulst they might claim that the concept of a permanent loan is oxymoronic & refuse to enter into serious discussions, it appears that when the situation occurs in reverse thewy are perfectly happy with accepting such an unworkable proposition.

From:
Swissinfo

August 26, 2009 – 3:21 PM
History returns on a silver platter

Four silver plates nearly five centuries old have been repatriated from Britain to Switzerland.

The pieces, created by Swiss Renaissance painter Urs Graf in 1519, were purchased by the Basel History Museum and the Swiss National Museum from the British Museum for £400,000 (SFr694,000).
Read the rest of this entry »

Bernard Tschumi, the architect who designed the New Acropolis Museum will be a keynote speaker at the annual Latsis University Prizes Ceremony at the University of Geneva.

He is giving this talk at 18:00 on Monday 5th October.

A lecture in Switzerland on the New Acropolis Museum has been organised by the Swiss Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles.

From:
Athens News Agency

06/12/2009
Lecture on Acropolis Museum

The Alliance Francaise in Bern, Switzerland, organised a lecture on the theme of “The New Acropolis Museum – An opportunity for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece?”, in the presence of a large Swiss audience.

The speaker was Olivier Vodoz, Vice President of the International Red Cross and Vice President of the Swiss Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Skulpturhalle in Basel is hosting an exhibition about the New Acropolis Museum with the support of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture.

From:
Athens News Agency

11/5/9
Skulpturhalle Basel hosts Acropolis Museum exhibition

An exhibition promoting the New Acropolis Museum in Athens will open at Skulpturhalle Basel, Switzerland, on May 12, part of an initiative by the Hellenic Foundation for Culture (HFC).

The exhibition focuses on the excavations conducted on the spot where the new museum stands today, some 400 metres from the Acropolis, and serve as a pre-opening of the New Acropolis Museum next month. The exhibition is organised by the Organisation for the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum (OANMA).
Read the rest of this entry »

Further coverage of Egypt’s success in securing the return of a looted artefact depicting the head of Amenhotep III.

From:
Al Ahram (Egypt)

25 – 31 December 2008
Issue No. 927
The return of Amenhotep III

EGYPTIAN archaeologists were in high spirits this week as a greywacke head of the 18th Dynasty King Amenhotep III was returned to Egypt after two decades of being shunted back and forth between Switzerland, Britain and the US, reports Nevine El-Aref.

The distinctive features, with full cheeks, wide, raised and slightly arched eyebrows above elongated but sharply edged narrow eyes, are a supreme example of the sculptural style that dominated King Amenhotep III’s reign. Originally part of a larger statue of Amenhotep III, the head is thought to have been made in the studios located within the Ptah Temple enclosure at Memphis, near the Saqqara necropolis.
Read the rest of this entry »

More coverage of the return of a sculpture of the head of Amenhotep III to Egypt from Britain.

From:
BBC News

Page last updated at 13:01 GMT, Friday, 19 December 2008
Britain to return Egypt sculpture

An ancient sculpture of a pharaoh smuggled out of Egypt disguised as a tacky souvenir is to be returned home after almost 20 years.

Antiques restorer Jonathan Tokeley-Parry dipped the stone head of Amenhotep III in plastic and painted it black to make it resemble a cheap copy.
Read the rest of this entry »

A sculpture smuggled out of Egypt eighteen years ago by Jonathan Tokeley-Parry has been returned. What the article is unclear about, is why it took from 1999 (when it was recovered by police) until now for it to be returned.

From:
Daily Telegraph

Smuggled ancient sculpture returns to Egypt
A priceless sculpture which was expertly smuggled out of Egypt disguised as a cheap souvenir of itself is to be returned home.
By Sarah Knapton
Last Updated: 3:11PM GMT 19 Dec 2008

The Head of Amenhotep III, a pharaoh who died in 1375BC, was stolen 18 years ago by a British smuggler.

Jonathan Tokeley-Parry disguised the stone head as a souvenir, coating it in plastic and painting it black to make it appear to be a tacky copy of a historical artefact.
Read the rest of this entry »

Some more information on the return of the lekythos to Greece yesterday from Switzerland. Looting Matters also discusses this event in more detail, looking at the secrecy that seems to surround some of the coverage of it.

Greek Culture Minister Mihalis Liapis has also used this event to highlight again the need for the Elgin Marbles to be returned.

From:
MSNBC

Ancient urn returns to Greece
Campaign underway to reclaim illegally exported antiquities
Associated Press

updated 3:41 p.m. ET April 21, 2008ATHENS, Greece – A 2,400-year-old funerary urn has been returned to Greece and put on display, part of a campaign to reclaim illegally exported antiquities from museums and art dealers around the world.

The marble urn was displayed Monday at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Read the rest of this entry »