by Jason Felch
[>] Li had cut his teeth: Li's most noteworthy case was the successful prosecution of former Los Angeles Rams cornerback Darryl Henley, who in 1997 was sentenced to forty-one years in prison for drug-related offenses and plotting the murder of a witness and federal judge in his drug trial.
[>] Brand, Li, and the rest: This account of the Getty's negotiations with the Italians is based on interviews with Luis Li, Michael Brand, Maurizio Fiorilli, Giuseppe Proietti, Rocco Buttiglione, Daniela Rizzo, and others.
[>] A week later: This account is based on Getty records and interviews with John Biggs and other board members present at the meeting.
In the end: This account is based on interviews with Biggs and a former Getty official. Munitz had already seen the writing on the wall. Weeks before his firing, he had met for lunch with California attorney general Bill Lockyer to say that he would be stepping down and to mull over his professional options. Lockyer, whose office was still investigating Munitz, later denied that his private talk with Munitz was improper or changed the outcome of his inquiry, which concluded that Munitz and the Getty board had misused trust money but imposed no sanctions.
[>] "incontrovertible evidence": Several knowledgeable insiders credit Met general counsel Sharon Cott with nudging de Montebello toward the realization that the Italians didn't have to meet such a high standard. De Montebello declined to be interviewed for this book.
de Montebello privately regarded: This account is based on an interview with the East Coast museum director in whom de Montebello confided at the West Palm Beach meeting.
285 In a speech before: Transcript of de Montebello's speech at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C., April 17, 2006.
[>] It was highly unlikely: Interview with the Swiss private detective and internal Getty records.
had ties to organized crime: Orazio di Simone denied this in the authors' interview with him in Rome.
[>] "dangerous people": Interview with a former Getty official who attended the meeting.
[>] Two trustees pushed back: Former and current Getty officials identified the trustees as Jay Wintrob and Peter J. Taylor, managing director for the Los Angeles branch of Lehman Brothers.
Greece had a new: This account is based on interviews with Brand and Li.
[>] In a bitter letter: True sent the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the authors, on December 18, 2006. It was addressed to Deborah Marrow, interim CEO of the Getty Trust after Munitz's resignation; Michael Brand; and Ron Hartwig.
the new minister turned: Interviews with Francesco Rutelli, Brand, Li, Hartwig, and Filippo Sensi, former official with the Italian Ministry of Culture.
[>] Within hours: This account is based on interviews with Li, Hartwig, Fiorilli, Rutelli, and Sensi. MTO attorneys deny taking a "commercial" view of the negotiations, as Fiorilli suggested. Getty records show that they were paid hourly for their work.
[>] "When we acquired": Interview with Malcolm Rogers at the return ceremony in Rome.
[>] Flying to Rome: This account of the negotiations is based on interviews with Li, Hartwig, Brand, Fiorilli, and Sensi.
[>] In a written statement: True's October 17, 2006, statement to Ferri.
[>] Ushered into: This account is based on interviews with Li, Hartwig, Brand, Fiorilli, Rutelli, and Sensi.
22: A BRIGHT LINE
[>] In early 2007: This account is based on interviews with Michael Brand, Max Anderson, and another museum director present at the meeting.
[>] Podany was heading: This account of Podany's visit to see Canavesi's photos is based on interviews with Podany and another person present at the meeting.
[>] Thumbing for dramatic effect: Interview with Filippo Sensi. Francesco Rutelli made the threat twice, in Rome and in Fano, where the Getty Bronze was first brought onto land.
It could always be: Interview with Maurizio Fiorilli and confirmed by Rutelli.
Fiorilli later denied that he had engineered the court complaint.
[>] Fiorilli dropped: Interview with Ron Hartwig.
[>] a former mentor: In the authors' interview with Hicham Aboutaam, he recalled visiting Medici's warehouse as a child.
308 "I expect that": "Italy's Rutelli Expects to Reclaim 'Hundreds of Other Works'; Shelby White's Returns to Be Exhibited," ArtsJournal, March 27, 2008, http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/2008/03/rutelli_expects_to_reclaim_hun.html.
"Ours is not": From Rutelli's remarks at Nostoi opening, quoted in "Rutelli Deploys Universal Museum-ists' Own Rhetoric Against Them," http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/2007/12/rutelli_deploys_universal_muse.html.
PHOTO CREDITS
J. PAUL GETTY: AP photo/Levy. GETTY VILLA: Stephen Osman. Copyright © 1982–2007 Los Angeles Times. Reprinted with Permission. JIRI FREL: Martha Hartnett. Copyright © 1982–2007 Los Angeles Times. Reprinted with Permission. GETTY BRONZE: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California. KOUROS: Courtesy of the authors. JOHN WALSH: Brian Gadbury. Copyright © 1982–2007 Los Angeles Times. Reprinted with Permission. MARION TRUE, MALIBU: Iris Schneider. Copyright © 1982ndash;2007 Los Angeles Times. Reprinted with Permission. APHRODITE: Luis Sinco. Copyright © 1982–2007 Los Angeles Times. Reprinted with Permission. GRIFFINS, GIACOMO MEDICI, GRIFFINS EVIDENCE, APOLLO, APOLLO EVIDENCE: Courtesy of the Italian Ministry of Culture. WREATH: Courtesy of the authors. BARBARA AND LAWRENCE FLEISCHMAN: Elena Seibert. DEBORAH GRIBBON: Lawrence K. Ho. Copyright © 1982–2007 Los Angeles Times. Reprinted with Permission. PAOLO FERRI: Courtesy of Gerasimos Domenikos. MARION TRUE, ROME: AFP Photo/Andreas Solaro.
Further Reading
For more academic treatments of the legal and ethical aspects of cultural property debate, see the following sources:
Appiah, Kwame Anthony. Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers. W. W. Norton, 2006.
Bator, Paul. "An Essay on the International Trade in Art." Stanford Law Review 34(1982): 275.
Coggins, Clemency. "Illicit Traffic of Pre-Colombian Antiquities." Art Journal 29(1969): 94.
Cuno, James. Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage. Princeton University Press, 2008.
———, ed. Whose Culture? The Promise of Museums and the Debate over Antiquities. Princeton University Press, 2009.
Fitz Gibbon, Kate, ed. Who Owns the Past? Rutgers University Press, 2005.
Merryman, John Henry. "Cultural Property Internationalism." International Journal of Cultural Property 12 (2005): 11.
———. "A Licit International Trade in Cultural Objects." International Journal of Cultural Property 4 (1995): 13.
———. "Two Ways of Thinking About Cultural Property." American Journal of International Law 80 (1986): 831.
Prott, Lyndel V. "The International Movement of Cultural Objects." International Journal of Cultural Property 12 (2005): 225.
Renfrew, Collin. Loot, Legitimacy and Ownership: The Ethical Crisis in Archaeology. Duckworth, 2000.
For more journalistic accounts of the antiquities trade, see the following sources:
Atwood, Roger. Stealing History: Tomb Raiders, Smugglers, and the Looting of the Ancient World. St. Martin's, 2004.
Chamberlin, Russell. Loot! Facts on File, 1983.
Meyer, Karl. The Plundered Past. Atheneum, 1973.
Network. Documentary. Directed by Andreas Apostolidis. Research by Nikolas Zirganos and Rea Apostolides. 2006.
Silver, Vernon. The Lost Chalice: An Epic Hunt for a Priceless Masterpiece. William Morrow, 2009.
Watson, Peter, and Cecilia Todeschini. The Medici Conspiracy: The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities. PublicAffairs, 2006.
Waxman, Sharon. Loot: The Battle over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World. Times Books, 2008.
Index
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