So ... last week I pondered how long it would be before we see demands being made for the return of the Pergamon Altar ... check out the conclusion of an Op-Ed piece about the Euphronios Krater in the Turkish Daily News:
... perhaps things are 'heating up'? (There are scattered mentions on the web here and there that Turkey has been demanding return of same, but we don't get many details)
Every year over 10,000 works of art are reported stolen around the world, adding to a total that hovers around the 100,000 mark. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that the market in stolen art is worth around $5 billion. The biggest profits, which reach up to a 98 percent markup, are made by the intermediaries -- a lot of whom are respectable art dealers all over the world. The big museum lobby does not want to return ancient artifacts to their countries of origin. They claim that universal museums are for the good of the world. They protect and disseminate culture. At the same time, though, in their pursuit for enriching their collections they have frequently found themselves succumbing to illegal practices.
Maybe the deal with the Euphronios vase will give impetus to finding a way to repatriate some important pieces of cultural heritage and keep the world museums happy. The Euphronios vase case may show the way back home for the Parthenon marbles from London or the Pergamon Altar from Berlin.
... perhaps things are 'heating up'? (There are scattered mentions on the web here and there that Turkey has been demanding return of same, but we don't get many details)