This story was originally published by ArtsATL.
The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University has reached an agreement with the Ministry of Culture of the Hellenic Republic to transfer three objects from its collection to the Greek ministry, the museum has announced. The Carlos and other American museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, have been criticized in recent years for purchasing and exhibiting allegedly looted artifacts.
This week, Emory signed a long-term agreement of cultural cooperation with the Ministry that includes the voluntary return of these objects and more educational opportunities for students. The decision to return the objects follows discussions between the two organizations that have been ongoing for two years.
In August 2023, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an extensive investigative article about the acquisition of alleged illicit antiquities by the Carlos.
Credit: Bruce M. White,
Credit: Bruce M. White,
The agreement was signed by Ravi V. Bellamkonda, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Emory, and Lina Mendoni, the minister of culture for the Hellenic Republic, who was in Atlanta to tour the Carlos Museum and meet with Emory leadership.
At the historic signing, Mendoni said that “it had been well documented that [these objects] had been illegally exported from Greece. . . . We hope that other museums abroad will follow the example of the Carlos Museum, which has sought to solve the problem through dialogue and a spirit of cooperation.”
Henry S. Kim, associate vice provost and director of the Carlos Museum, said in a press release: “Today’s event is just the beginning, and the Carlos Museum looks forward to many years of expanded cultural cooperation between the Ministry and Emory.”
The objects in question are a marble statue of a goddess or muse (Terpsichore), a bathtub (larnax) and a marble seated figure. According to the Carlos, the muse and the seated figure were on display in the museum’s Classical Court gallery until July 30, 2023, when they were de-installed in preparation for their return. The larnax was last displayed in one of the Greek galleries and was rotated off display on November 17, 2021, as part of a regular change of displays. The Carlos purchased the Terpsichore sculpture in 2002 from New York-based dealer Robert Hecht who said at the time that he and partner George Zakos had owned it since 1974.
In 2023, the Carlos was shown evidence of the statue’s provenance — it likely came from illicit excavations in the 1990s.
Credit: Bruce M. White
Credit: Bruce M. White
When the Carlos purchased the Minoan larnax, or bathtub, in 2002 from Robert Haber, a New York-based art dealer and consultant, the museum believed the object had been in the collection of Nicholas Koutoulakis since the late 1960s.
In 2023, the General Directorate presented the museum with evidence that the object came from the archives of convicted antiquities trafficker Gianfranco Becchina. Given Becchina’s criminal history, the museum said, there is a high probability it was looted.
In 2017, Becchina was convicted by a Greek court of trafficking the third object now being transferred to Greece: a seated marble figure that the Carlos purchased in 2003 from New York art dealer Michael Ward. According to the Carlos, the museum did not receive any provenance information from the dealer at that time.
In 2023, the General Directorate presented the museum with Polaroid photos taken in May 1989 showing the sculpture either in the process of being removed from the ground or being stored outside. That evidence, and the Greek court conviction, strongly support the claim that the object was the product of illicit excavations.
Under this new agreement, the Carlos will have the opportunity to partner with museums in Greece on the loan of objects and the creation of new exhibitions at the museum.
Credit: ArtsATL
Credit: ArtsATL
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