Stealing History
Cultural treasures are being looted--and museums and collectors are turning a blind eye
Another character in Ferri's cross hairs is Symes, now bankrupt and fresh out of a British prison where he was held for civil contempt of court in another case. Ferri says he's still investigating Symes. Chillingly, Ferri also doesn't rule out criminal charges against other curators. Howard Spiegler, cochairman of the international art practice at Herrick, Feinstein, a New York law firm, says that is a serious threat. "[Ferri] will want that kind of pressure," if only to force museums to return objects. Italian investigators say they have also linked items in the private New York collection of Shelby White and her late husband, Leon Levy, to Medici.
As the investigation plays out, the Association of Art Museum Directors continues to argue that unprovenanced works should be displayed if they are rare and have historical importance and aesthetic merit. Philippe de Montebello, director of the Met, says "to not consider them would contribute to suppressing knowledge and also denying the public access to what is their artistic heritage."
That kind of defiance aside, it's doubtful that many museums will continue to risk buying or accepting donated antiquities of dubious provenance. "Who needs the embarrassment?" Hoving asks. Moreover, trustees may balk at spending huge sums on items that could end up being taken away. Instead, museums will most likely seek long-term loan arrangements with countries of origin, perhaps in exchange for funding legitimate excavations. Even the Met might have lost some of its appetite for the Levy-White collection, which once seemed destined to be donated to the museum. Next year, it will open a newly built Roman Court, paid for in part by a $20 million donation from the couple. But, de Montebello says, "the Met never planned to display the bulk of the Levy-White collection. Only a handful of loans have ever been contemplated and are still being contemplated."
Watson says the investigation has dealt the looted antiquities market a body blow. "People won't collect them," he says, "if they're not convinced museums will accept them." Indeed, Italian officials say the market in that country has already shrunk by half. Perhaps it's time for the tombaroli to look for day jobs.
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