Subject: new German law enacted Nov. 2001 re: statute of limitations
Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2002 16:05:58 -0500
Dear Sir or Madam: I write on behalf of my colleagues and myself at Valparaiso University School of Law in Indiana, U.S.A. Can you please confirm information contained in an article which appeared in The Art Newspaper in Dec 2001, p.1, col.1 concerning a change in the German statute of limitations which initially barred as untimely claims for return of Nazi-looted art. There is some question whether an amendment exempting such claims from the mandatory statute has indeed passed the German Parliament. Thank you for any light you can shed on the above subject. I have been unable to obtain any additional information.
Sincerely, Geri J. Yonover, Professor of Law
P.S. I found your site extremely helpful in writing an article on Nazi-looted Art for the Remembering for the Future Conference in Oxford, England, July 2000.
Archaeologists to survey condition of Afghanistan antiquities
Greek archaeologists are to travel to Afghanistan as soon as it is feasible to check on the condition of antiquities stored in Kabul. The Greek government has long been concerned about the state of antiquities in Afghanistan dating to the time of Alexander the Great. Greece has already said it is prepared to contribute to the reconstruction and repair of Afghanistan's museum and to temporarily house antiquities. When the Taliban, the radical Muslims who then ruled most of Afghanistan, ordered the destruction of all pre-Islamic statues in early 2001, Greece offered to purchase and host some of the endangered remains in order to save them. http://www.ananova.com/
Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 14:48:25 EST
Subject: RE: Permanent Observatory - Nations in Crisis
To: osservatoriobc@tin.it (Professor Maniscalco)
Dear Professor Maniscalco,
I have just read with great interest your news bulletin to the Museum Security Network (of which I am a member) regarding your new Permanent Observatory for the Protection of Cultural and Environmental Objects of the Nations in Crisis. I notice that one of the aims is to set up a database - to be accessible globally via an Internet website - to deal with the cultural heritage of the countries under examination. This database is of particular interest to me since my company, 365 Publications Ltd, is in the final stages of developing a database software programme which will give art galleries and similar organisations from all over the world the facility to store details of their collections (including photographs) on a very secure website. Not only will this database service act as an archive for the member collections it will also provide invaluable assistance in cases of theft. Law enforcement agencies internationally will be able to search across the database to identify stolen items and so aid their return to their rightful owners. It is important to note that there will be no need for the agencies to make a written request by post or fax to 365 Publications; and neither will they have to wait for somebody else to do the search for them. On the contrary, they will be able to do their own searches electronically and as many times as they want - and always free of charge. As I said before, the database is not quite ready for general release (the target date is March 2002, once testing has been completed) but it may be that this programme would be of interest to your Observatory. Certainly I can say that your project has a great deal to commend it, and we would like to help you if we can.
Please feel free to contact me so we can discuss the idea in more detail. My address and contact numbers are as follows:
Mr. Andrew J. Farrall Managing Director 365 Publications Ltd 6, Briar Mead Yatton North Somerset BS49 4RE England
Telephone: +44 (0) 1934 832 590 Fax: +44 (0) 1934 832 590
E-mail: afoxsys@aol.com
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely, Andrew J. Farrall
More dances with tomb robbers
By Zahi Hawass
The judge in the courtroom (known to the ancient Egyptians as Knbt) asked the thief, "Why did you steal from the tomb of the Pharaoh?" and the thief replied, "Everyone says that the Pharaoh is a god, so why didn't he stop me?"
This remarkable record of a cross- examination provides evidence of tomb- robbing in ancient times, and there are many interesting stories of how the desecrators of sacred burial grounds operated over thousands of years. They would hide between the hills on the Theban necropolis, make their way secretly to the tombs in the dead of night, and somehow gain an entrance, holding a lantern which reflected on the gold and silver treasures they had come to appropriate. They were always afraid of being caught by the police in the cemetery -- and there were police, even in ancient times. One of the most interesting cases of tomb robbery was recorded in what is known as the Abbott and Amherst Papyri. This famous tomb robbery took place more than 2,700 years ago, during the 20th Dynasty at the end of the New Kingdom. The story relates a conflict between an honest man, Paser, the mayor of the East Bank of Thebes (Luxor), and a corrupt man with no conscience called Pawera, who was mayor of the West Bank. Pawera was responsible for protecting the tombs of the Pharaohs, queens, nobles and officials. Pawera and the chief of police were involved in a conspiracy to steal treasures from royal and private tombs. They bribed everyone on the necropolis, buying their silence so that none would incriminate them. But Paser, a pious man and loyal official, heard of their plans and reported them to the authorities. He declared to the vizier that Pawera was involved in tomb robberies and disturbing the peace of their illustrious ancestors. The vizier forthwith appointed a committee to investigate. Unfortunately, it was made up of men who were loyal to the Mayor of the West Bank and, not surprisingly, a false report was presented to the vizier stating that the tombs were in good condition, all the seals intact, and that nothing had been stolen. The mayor of the West Bank and those loyal to him crossed the river and marched along the East Bank in a victory celebration, shouting and laughing, delighted that he had been exonerated. Paser was understandably upset. He could not believe that the committee had lied and written a false report. He took action. He first reported to the vizier that the guilty Pawera had taken part in the celebration march, and then he wrote to the Pharaoh insisting that the committee was dishonest and had been bribed. The Pharaoh forthwith appointed a new committee with no connection to Pawera, and which could not be bribed by him or his lackeys. They went to the Valley of the Kings and other sites on the Theban necropolis, opened many of the tombs and were horrified to find that most had been robbed. It is interesting to note that this ancient committee actually published a list itemising the robbed tombs. The Knbt looked into the case and ordered an investigation. The court received confessions from the thieves, and three men were found guilty of stealing from the tomb of Pharaoh Sobekemsaf II; they were handed over to the high priest of Amun. He forthwith issued a decree that the tomb robbers who had escaped should be pursued and, when captured, imprisoned in the temple of Amun until the Pharaoh decided on their punishment. One thief related how he found the mummy of a Pharaoh. He described him as equipped with a sword and a set of amulets, with golden ornaments around his neck. His crown and diadems of gold were upon his head, and the mummy of the Pharaoh was overlaid with gold. His coffins were wrought with gold and silver "within and without and inlaid with every splendid costly stone ... We stole the furniture which we found with them, consisting of vases of gold, silver and bronze." Just imagine: had the tomb of Ramses VI been found intact, what unimaginable treasures it must have contained. But, unfortunately, the tomb and so many others were ruthlessly robbed in antiquity. We are lucky that the tomb of the Golden Pharaoh, Tutankhamun, survived intact. It was saved by a miracle; when the Egyptians were building the tomb of Ramses VI just above it, stone rubble toppled down the hill and completely obscured the tomb. It was undetected until Howard Carter discovered it on 4 November, 1922.
We still dance with tomb robbers; the heirs of the ancient thieves are alive and kicking today. Al-Ahram Weekly.