January 31, 2006
Italy frustrated by Met Museum's delay on 'looted' art
It looks like the conversation is turning less polite between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Italian culture ministers, who want the museum to return a number of antiquities they believe were smuggled from Italy, according to Bloomberg News.
At issue are 22 artifacts, including 2,500-year-old vases and Hellenistic silver. Italy has proposed that the Met return the disputed objects in exchange for long-term loans of objects of equal importance.
Italian officials said they thought they had a deal, but that the Met is now demanding "excessive" proof.
But the Met doesnt see it as a problem at all: "We have requested additional documents, but they were documents that were referred to in the document we got from Rome, but weren't attached," Met spokesman Harold Holzer told Bloomberg.
(Link found via ArtsJournal.)
Earlier: Museums and museum goers complicit in art thefts?
Italy says Met Museum agrees to return looted art
Italians seek meeting with Met Museum on looted art
January 31, 2006 01:58 PM in Museums
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