April 21, 1999

CONTENTS:

2ND PROTOCOL DIPLOMATIC CONFERENCE

NEW INTERNATIONAL TREATY TO STRENGTHEN PROTECTION OF CULTURAL PROPERTY IN THE EVENT OF ARMED CONFLICT

A question of authenticity

(Museum Curator Is History - (JACKSONVILLE) -- The curator of a Jacksonville museum has been fired after expressing doubts about the authenticity of the sculptures in a highly-touted exhibit. Robert Torchia was axed from the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens just three days after he wrote a letter saying he was concerned about the way museums are presenting "Rodin's Monument to Victor Hugo." The sculptures in the exhibit were cast AFTER the death of Auguste Rodin, considered by many France's greatest sculptor. As such, critics say the pieces should be called reproductions... not original works of art. The museum director says the firing was a personal matter and had nothing to do with the letter. The 22-piece exhibit will be at the Cummer this summer before moving on to Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.)

[Fire Safe Heritage]: Historic House Fire - Snedens Landing, NY

SNEDENS LANDING, NY (341) A fire yesterday heavily damaged an historic house once home to actresses Ellen Burstyn and Dixie Carter. The two-story sandstone and wood-frame home, a short distance from the road, was unoccupied and under renovation when the blaze was first reported. The blaze at 25 Washington Springs Road may have been caused by a propane space heater used to dry wallboard. The fire was in the second floor and attic and through the roof when firefighters arrived. The building is about 75 feet from the Hudson River and faces it. Its nearest neighbor is the old Sneden House, from where a ferry once ran to Dobbs Ferry in the 1700s and 1800s. The stone house was built in 1908 on the ruins of the original ferry house office. Burstyn lived there in 1973, and Carter lived in the home in 1978. Snedens Landing has been home to many Hollywood and Broadway celebrities, including Glenn Close, Al Pacino and Bill Murray. Firefighters were hampered by the building's lack of fire-stopping construction in the walls, its old, 12-foot-high ceilings and a flat roof that was so heavily tarred and burning that firefighters could not get onto it. At first, firefighters had very low water pressure coming from the hydrant nearest the building. Sparkill firefighters were assisted by the Tappan Fire Department (NYJ)

S.T.O.P. & Farewell to the Getty Info Institute

2nd Museum Security Technique Congress. 1999

- "Work of Art Security: International Collaboration.Interpol S.B.A."
- "Do we have safe museums? Security Planning at Catalonian Museums" -
"Visitor's complaints and suggestions that have an effect on the Security Department."
- "Asymetrical Threats Management at Museums and Temporal Exhibitions Areas"
- "Library Security" -
"Contemporary Art Notion and its relation with Security". -
"Labour and Security Risks Prevention". - "Private Security Guidelines at Museums".
- "Security at a National Museum: El Greco House and Museum at Toledo".
- "Museums Vigilance as a way to prevent work of art preservation".
- "Museums and Fire Precautions at Madrid Council".
- "Reflections on a Museum Project. Architecture and Security Connections".
- "Prevention and Defense against vandalic acts".
- "Volunteers Firemen of Valparaiso. Actions against a fire at a Museum. Operative Method. Strike against fire preserving works of art".
The inscription fee costs 29.000 pesetas including Conference presence, meals, social events and guided visits. Housing at Beatriz Hotel, the same place where the Conference will be hold. More information about Conference and Hotel reservation please E-mail to: oficina@seguritecnia.com
Thanks

Canada returns smuggled ancient mosaics to Syria

MONTREAL, April 19 (Reuters) - Syria recovered a priceless part of its cultural heritage on Monday when the Canadian government returned 39 ancient mosaics seized when importers tried to smuggle them into Canada and the United States. In a ceremony coinciding with the opening of Syria's first embassy in Canada, nine of the mosaics, which are roughly 1,500 years old, were displayed at Montreal's Pointe-a-Calliere archaeological and history museum. A 10th mosaic available for display weighs 3,000 pounds (1,361-kg) and was too heavy for the museum. Most of the 86 mosaics seized from smugglers were already back in Syria, ending their long journey through the murky, lucrative world of illegal international trade in antiquities. Syrian officials were elated at recovering the colourful artworks, which were crafted centuries earlier by embedding flowing and intricate patterns of stone and glass pebbles in mortar. ``These mosaic panels are indeed part of our national treasure and heritage,'' Ahmad Arnous, charge d'affaires of Syria's embassy to Canada, told a gathering of dignitaries. ``We say thanks to the people of Quebec and to Canada,'' he added. According to archaeological experts and Canadian customs officials, the mosaics were robbed from the floors of ecclesiastical buildings such as churches and monastic complexes in the ancient bishoprics of Apaneia and Epiphaneia in northwestern Syria. Experts dated the works by comparing their styles and composition with other mosaics from the area. The artifacts included ``carpet'' mosaics featuring abstract geometric designs, and larger ones depicting scenes of animal life. The recovered artifacts had attributes that added to their rarity and value in the underworld market for antiquities, experts told Reuters. One depicted the head of Euterpe, the muse of the flute in Greek mythology. It was an unusual piece because Syrian mosaics from that period rarely depicted humans. John Fossey, a McGill University professor of art history and archaeology who helped identify and date the mosaics, said their recovery was a victory against those who illegally trade and collect cultural artifacts. ``Canada has been regarded in a certain sense as the back door to get things into the United States,'' he said. ``What I can say to the illegal antique traders is: 'watch it guys, we're after you.''' Fossey said the area from which the mosaics were removed is particularly rich in artifacts because it was a prosperous agricultural region during the fifth and sixth centuries AD. Canadian customs officials said the first 54 mosaics were imported into Canada in 1991 and declared as handicrafts from Lebanon with a value of only C$200,000. At that time, Lebanon had not signed a UNESCO convention prohibiting the illicit international transfer of cultural property such as antiquities and works of art. When a second batch of 32 mosaics arrived in Canada in 1996, archaeologists agreed they were authentic artifacts dating from the fifth and sixth centuries and originating in northern Syria. They also determined that the mosaics had been taken from the same archaeological sites as the 1991 shipment. In July 1998, U.S. customs officials seized five mosaics at the Champlain, New York, border post near Montreal. Experts determined they were from the original 1991 shipment. Canadian customs investigator Richard Boucher said there were no criminal arrests in the case as officials were able to proceed more quickly under civil law. ``Importers must assure that when they acquire cultural goods, it is done respecting international conventions and national laws. In any case, we will be there to keep watch,'' he said.
($1-$1.49 Canadian)
((Robert Melnbardis--Reuters Montreal bureau 514-985-2434,
E-mail: reuters-montreal+qc.aibn.com))

French auctions 'inflating bids'

AS THE French authorities drag their feet over opening the country's lucrative art market to international auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's, a well-known antiques dealer has accused auction houses here of inventing bids to inflate sale prices. The accusations appear in a book by Hubert Duez, who writes a weekly antiques column in the respected Catholic daily newspaper, La Croix. Entitled Secrets d' un Brocanteur, the book lifts the lid on the French antiques trade. M Duez reveals what he claims are widespread scams allegedly involving top French auctioneers, including Hôtel Drouot. According to M Duez, French auctioneers regularly pretend to take non-existent bids in crowded salerooms in order to force up the prices. Thus, a buyer who would otherwise have obtained a vase after bidding, say, Fr1,000 (UKP: 105), ends up paying twice that after bidding against a fictitious rival. Another trick allegedly in vogue is the removal of the most valuable item after the pre-sale viewing. A spokeswoman at Drouot dismissed the accusations. "The confidence of our clients is the best proof that these things happen only very rarely. We do not wish to enter into an argument with a person who obviously understands very little about how auction rooms function," she said.

Gettysburg National Military Park Makes "10 Most Endangered Parks" List;

WASHINGTON, April 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Damage to irreplaceable Civil War artifacts at Gettysburg National Military Park and attempts by economic and other special interests to halt an improvement project have placed the park on the National Parks and Conservation Association's (NPCA) list of 10 most endangered parks. The park watchdog group today released Parks in Jeopardy: NPCA's List of 10 Most Endangered National Parks. The report details problems at the 10 parks and proposes solutions and citizen involvement. "Just because a place is a national park doesn't mean it is automatically protected," said NPCA President Thomas C. Kiernan. "There are very real threats to all of our national parks, and not only to Gettysburg and the list's other parks. We hope that by providing this list, we can call attention to the neglect, misuse, and other problems that face our parks, and get individuals involved in conserving the natural, historic, and cultural treasures that are our national parks." More than 135 years after the most famous Civil War battle occurred, Gettysburg's collection of uniforms, guns, swords, saddles, and photographs are suffering from mold, mites, rust, and rot. Earlier this month, water leaks caused two chunks of asbestos-laden ceiling material to fall near the park's famous Cyclorama painting, which required closing the attraction to visitors. A new museum and visitor center to properly house and preserve the collection and the painting has been planned. This center is part of a draft National Park Service plan but a number of special interests oppose the plan for various reasons. "We need to preserve these rare and one-of-a-kind pieces of our national heritage for the American people and their children, both here at Gettysburg and throughout the nation," said John Latscher, superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park. "The current facilities are destroying this heritage. The new general management plan will fix these problems for generations to come while providing a world-class educational opportunity at no cost to taxpayers." The problems at Gettysburg reflect the growing backlog of neglected maintenance at parks throughout the National Park System. The National Park Service, which has an operational budget of about $1.4 billion, has a maintenance backlog estimated at more than $4 billion. Gettysburg's problems also reflect the difficulties faced by the Park Service when crafting private partnerships and dealing with a number of special interests. The National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA) is America's only private nonprofit citizen organization dedicated solely to protecting, preserving, and enhancing the U.S. National Park System. An association of "Citizens Protecting America's Parks," NPCA was founded in 1919 and today has nearly 400,000 members. A library of national park information, including fact sheets, congressional testimony, position statements, news releases and media alerts, can be found on NPCA's World Wide Web site at