Showing 5 results for the tag: Benevento Missal.

April 20, 2011

Benevento Missal returns to its rightful owners

Posted at 1:08 pm in British Museum, Similar cases

Perhaps the end of the long running story of the return of the Benevento Missal. Initially something that was not legally possible, but that was later allowed by changes to the law on restitution of artefacts looted during the Nazi era.

From:
Daily Telegraph

British Library returns 900-year-old religious manuscript to Italy
By Nick Squires, Rome
5:01PM GMT 07 Feb 2011

A 900-year-old religious manuscript which was looted in Italy during the Second World War has been returned by the British Library to its rightful owners in the southern Italian town of Benevento after a decade-long legal battle.

A British lawyer who acted for the archdiocese of Benevento, handed back the manuscript personally. The codex was written on parchment around 1100.

“The return of the missal had become highly symbolic for Benevento and its cathedral, so they were absolutely delighted to have it back,” Jeremy Scott, the lawyer, said.
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December 31, 2010

Benevento Missal finaly returns home to Italy because of Nazi loot restitution laws

Posted at 12:07 pm in Similar cases

More coverage of the return of a manuscript from the British Library to Benevento in Italy. The return was made possible by new laws allowing the return of items looted during the Nazi era.

From:
The Art Newspaper

Benevento Missal returns home
Sixty-five years after the end of the second world war, the precious manuscript is the first item of Nazi-era loot to be returned by a UK national museum
By Martin Bailey | Web only
Published online 24 Nov 10 (News)

BENEVENTO, ITALY. Laureato Maio, the 84-year-old cathedral librarian, lifted the early 12th-century missal from its box, and brought it to his lips. He closed his eyes and kissed the bound codex for a full minute, deep in thought. On 11 November, 65 years after the end of the World War II, the precious manuscript from Benevento (near Naples) became the first item of Nazi-era loot to be returned by a UK national museum, in this case the British Library.

Maio is the 49th librarian at Benevento Cathedral since records began, in the year 998. He remembers the chapter library in the late 1930s, in his early teens, and as a young seminary student he witnessed the terrible destruction wrought on his city by allied bombing in 1943. The cathedral was almost totally destroyed, but its manuscripts were saved. However, soon afterwards one of the early codices disappeared: a missal written in Benevento’s unique script soon after 1100.
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October 29, 2010

Benevento Missal returned to Italy by British Library under Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution Act

Posted at 1:15 pm in British Museum, Similar cases

As was speculated at the time of the law being passed, the Benevento Missal will be the first item to be officially returned under the Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution Act.

The points made originally about this particular return in relation to the law that allows it still stand. There is no evidence that the Missal was looted by the Nazis, or had any connection to the Holocaust. The law however allows its return, because of the time period in which it was removed from Italy. This highlights the piecemeal legislation implemented (when it is politically advantageous to do so) opening up holes in the anti-deaccessioning rules that govern the UK’s largest museums. The Human Tissue act before it opened up similar holes. The fact that holes need to be opened up for so-called special cases highlights the need for a full review of the legislation to cover all artefacts in museums in the UK, that they can be returned from collections when necessary.

From:
BBC News

15 September 2010 Last updated at 16:55
British Library returns manuscript looted during WWII

A 12th Century manuscript which was housed in the British Library is to be returned to Italy because it was looted during World War II.

The 290-page Beneventan Missal was taken from the Metropolitan Chapter of the Cathedral City of Benevento, Naples, in 1943.
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December 8, 2009

Benevento Missal to return under new Nazi loot law

Posted at 2:08 pm in British Museum, Similar cases

The Benevento Missal is likely to be the first artefact to be returned under the new Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution Act. This is an interesting case, as it was one of the pointers that highlighted that a chance in the law was necessary. The British Library returned it – but only as a permanent loan, as the law would not allow them to transfer ownership rights. It is also interesting though that the first case highlights the major loophole created by the new law. Because of the difficulty in proving that artefacts were looted specifically by the Nazis, the law instead covers any art looted during that time period – with the assumption that such cases will typically relate to the Holocaust. In the case of the Missal though, there is no specific evidence to tie its removal from Italy to Britain to the Nazis. This fact was highlighted by the Marbles Reunited campaign in a submission to a consultation in 2006 by the DCMS Select Committee. Whilst such returns are admirable, the inconsistencies in the law & piecemeal legislation only serve to highlight that large institutions will not step back & look objectively at restitution issues as a whole, rather than picking bits out here & there, to try & appease people while most cases remain un-discussed.

From:
The Times

December 1, 2009
British Library to return Benevento Missal under Nazi loot law
Ben Hoyle, Arts Correspondent

A medieval book is to become the first item from a British national museum to be returned to its rightful owners under a new law governing looted artefacts.

The Benevento Missal, which was stolen from a cathedral in southern Italy soon after the Allies bombed the city during the Second World War, has been in the collection of the British Library (formerly the British Museum Library) since 1947. After a change in the law, it could be back in Italy within months, according to The Art Newspaper.
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April 23, 2009

Parliamentary bill on Nazi-looted art

Posted at 12:51 pm in British Museum, Elgin Marbles, Similar cases

The signs are promising that Andrew Dismore’s bill to allow the restitution of art looted during the holocaust may become law. This is a step that must be welcomed, yet such measures as this & the Human Tissue Act highlight the need for coherent legislation that tackles all restitution issues, rather than piecemeal laws that only manage to be passed by skirting around the big restitution cases.

From:
The Art Newspaper

UK parliament closer to passing bill allowing museums to deaccession Nazi-looted art
Legislation expected to be limited to 1933-1945 only
By Martin Bailey
Posted online: 23.4.09 |

LONDON. A Private Members’ Bill is to be presented for its second reading in parliament on 15 May, to allow UK national museums to deaccession art works spoliated during the Nazi period.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is expected to support the bill, subject to drafting changes, which will greatly increase its chances of eventually becoming law. The DCMS originally hoped to incorporate a clause allowing deaccessioning of Nazi-era spoliation into the Heritage Protection Bill, but last December the bill was dropped, because of pressure of government business in Parliament.
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