Getty to Return Two Artifacts to Greece

The J. Paul Getty Trust has agreed to return two antiquities that Greek authorities claim were illegally removed from their country, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The move to repatriate an inscribed fourth-century B.C. tombstone and a fifth-century B.C. marble relief comes two months after museum director Michael Brand visited Athens and promised to address a decade-old request by the Greek government for the return of four disputed objects in the Getty's collection. However, it leaves unresolved the fate of the other two artifacts, which are of greater archeological significance and value.

According to a Greek law enforcement source, an investigation of the Getty's acquisition of one of the items, a gold funerary wreath, could lead to criminal charges targeting Marion True, the Getty's former antiquities curator who recommended acquiring the artifact, and board members who approved the acquisition. True is now being tried in Italy on charges of conspiracy to traffic in looted art.

Getty spokesman Ron Hartwig dismissed the possibility of criminal charges as speculation. "We don't think the Greek government — and certainly not the Getty — would find it productive to do anything that would dampen the positive relationship we've begun to build."

Ralph Frammolino. "Getty Will Return 2 Greek Artifacts." Los Angeles Times 07/11/2006.