Pilfered Art Finds a Home

I had visited the Getty Museum on two occasions, the first just after it opened and a second time about two years ago. Each time I was impressed with the architecture, the grounds, and some of the items in the collection - especially Van Gogh's Irises, so when I saw this story in the Times, I did some digging because I recall that there was more to the story than the Times was saying:

The J. Paul Getty Trust has agreed to return some "significant objects" to Italy from its collection of Etruscan and Roman art, including "several masterpieces," the institution announced today in a joint statement with the Italian government.

Though few details were provided, the announced breakthrough seems to pave the way for a settlement to Italy's claims to dozens of antiquities in the Getty Museum's collection. Italy has long argued that those objects were looted from Italian soil in recent decades and sold to the Getty by unscrupulous dealers.

Neither side would say how many artifacts or which ones were being returned. In exchange for the artfacts, the two sides said, Italy is prepared to "provide loans of objects of comparable visual beauty and historical importance."

That tradeoff seems similar to one negotiated in February by Italy and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which agreed to cede title to 21 objects in exchange for important loans.

The pact with the Getty emerged after three days of roller-coaster talks between a museum delegation and officials at the Italian Culture Ministry.

It is still subject to approval by the Getty's board of trustees. The joint statement said the final agreement would be drawn up "in early summer."

On Tuesday, a Culture Ministry official had indicated that the two sides might not reach an accord until September. It was unclear what lent momentum to today's talks.

Some of the most prestigeous museum collections around the world are filled with pieces with questionable provinance, including those removed from their countries of origin in conquest, the name of science, or through illicit trade. In the past few years, those countries, including Greece, Italy, Egypt, and Turkey have sought to reacquire their lost treasures.

One such case is the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California. The Italian government has worked out a deal whereby several major pieces will be returned to Italy, and the Italians will provide certain other pieces on loan in return.

The Getty became a focal point for investigators looking at whether items in museum collections were gathered legitimately when the former curator, Marion True, was put on trial for smuggling antiquities.