Another article that adds a few additional details on the Greek request for the return of looted artefacts held by the Getty.
From:
BBC News [1]
Greece demands ‘stolen artefacts’
Last Updated: Tuesday, 25 October 2005, 08:55 GMT 09:55 UKGreece is renewing calls for the return of artefacts from Los Angeles’ J Paul Getty Museum it claims were stolen, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The request follows the museum’s agreement to return three antiquities to Italy that were allegedly stolen.
Former Getty curator Marion True has denied criminal charges of conspiracy to receive stolen goods and illegal receipt of archaeological artefactsThe four artefacts disputed by Greece date from about 400BC.
They include a gold funerary wreath, an inscribed tombstone and a marble torso, which were bought by the museum for $5.2m (£2.9m) in 1993.
‘Lack of evidence’
The Times reported that the funerary wreath was purchased by Ms True, but she originally rejected it because she did not trust the sellers but later made a deal to buy it.
The Greek Consulate is citing a “lack of evidence” in the way the artefacts were exported and indicated they were illegally on the art market.
The J Paul Getty Museum has previously denied knowingly buying stolen antiquities.
Ms True’s trial on charges relating to the Italian items is expected to resume in Italy in November, having been adjourned after opening statements.
She resigned from the museum over a separate issue.
The Getty museum has returned the three items to Italy in the form of a donation, avoiding any admittance of wrongdoing in the purchases.