Theft and Trafficking of Antiquities—Greece and Judas

For many months we have been discussing the various allegations of antiquities trafficking surrounding American museums and countries such as Italy, Egypt, India, and Greece. The Italian trial of Marion True, the former curator of LA’s J. Paul Getty museum, continues to lurch along, and Greece is investigating whether “nearly 300 antiquities seized from a villa on a remote island last week are connected” to the ongoing dispute.^[1]

Giorgos Voulgarakis, Greece’s culture minister, suspects that international smuggling rings are involved in providing the antiquities that were found in “one of the biggest illegal antiquities cases in recent years.”^[2] Minister Voulgarakis, however, cautions that “there was no evidence yet supporting [last week’s] media reports of a link between the police raids and a dispute between Greece and the Getty Museum.”^[3]

The seized antiquities include pieces from the Mediterranean and elsewhere, and while they may have been purchased at auction houses like Christie’s or Sotheby’s, “non had been declared to national authorities, as Greek law demands.”^[4]

The antiquities—which include a headless marble statue of Aphrodite, a marble sarcophagus, three marble busts, and two granite sphinxes—were seized on Schoinoussa, a tiny island in the Cyclades.^[5] The Cyclades are considered to be antiquities-rich, and last month, more than 60 illegal antiquities were seized on Paros, an island near Schoinoussa, and one suspected antiquities smuggler was arrested.^[6] One of the homes on Paros belongs to Marion True, and it is likely the home that is at the center of a conflict-of-interest controversy between Ms. True and the Getty museum.

In other antiquities news, the stories surrounding the recent unveiling of the Gospel of Judas have an interesting antiquities-trafficking component. It seems the individual who is credited with “rescuing” the manuscript—Frieda Nussberger-Tchacos—has something of a “dark” past. Four years ago, Ms. Nussberger-Tchacos received a suspended sentence in Italy for possessing looted antiquities, and she has allegedly been involved “for years” in antiquities trafficking.^[7] The same man prosecuting Ms. True, Paolo Ferri, says “In the past, she was at the centre of the looting in Italy.”^[8] It has become a controversy of sorts mainly because Mr. Nussberger-Tchacos is benefiting financially from the National Geographic Society’s $1 million fee for publication rights, as well as royalties from books, documentaries, and other endeavors.^[9] This angers some “leaders in the archaeological community,” because it encourages “not only the trade but the looting that feeds the trade.”^[10] It was Ms. Nussberger-Tchacos’s past which prompted the Yale Divinity School to take a pass on the Gospel; according to the school’s Dean—Harold Attridge—the document was believed to be on the market illegally.^[11]

The National Geographic Society, however, says that it conducted an intense investigation into the legitimacy of the document, and came up with no cause for concern.^[12] Furthermore, the Gospel will be transferred to an Egyptian museum after it is exhibited in the United States, so many of the questions about its legal status will be rendered moot at that time.^[13]

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[1] Nicholas Paphitis, Greece Investigates Seized Antiquities, Associated Press (via Yahoo!), Apr. 18, 2006. For the record, Reuters puts the number of artifacts seized at 99. See Karolos Grohmann, Police Find Antiquities Haul on Remote Island, Reuters, Apr. 18, 2006.
[2] Paphitis, supra note 1.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Dark Past of the Judas Gospel Dealer, Sydney Morning Herald, Apr. 15, 2006.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Makda Asrat, Gospel Deal Stirs Ethical Controversy, Yale Daily News, Apr. 17, 2006.
[12] Id.
[13] Jason Felch, et al., Judas Gospel Figure Has Tainted Past, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Apr. 13, 2006.