Two Griffins Attacking a Fallen Doe
Object or Group Name
Two Griffins Attacking a Fallen Doe
Case Summary
In 1985, collector Maurice Tempelsman sold this remarkable sculpture to the J. Paul Getty Museum for USD $6,500,000. The museum acquired it along with two other objects (a ceremonial basin, or lekanis, and a marble statue of Apollo) for a total of USD $10,200,000.
The griffins were created by ancient Greek artisans living in Southern Italy as a trapezophoros, or table support, and bore dramatic traces of the original blue, red and yellow pigments that covered many ancient Greek sculptures.
In private correspondence from 1987, acting Getty antiquities curator Arthur Houghton said that Italian antiquities trafficker Giacomo Medici had confirmed he had purchased all three objects from looters in 1975 or 1976, adding that the griffins had been found in the ruins of a villa near Taranto, southern Italy, not far from the tomb in which the lekanis and statue of Apollo had been found. American dealer Robert Hecht confirmed Medici’s account for Houghton, further specifying that the objects had been looted from a "productive site" near Orta Nova, a town located northwest of Taranto, Italy.
The objects had been transferred from the looters to Medici, then to the Hecht and subsequently to the London dealer Robin Symes, who sold them to Tempelsman.
Years later, Houghton's description of his discussions about the griffins with antiquities traffickers was uncovered by Getty attorneys, who considered it "smoking gun" evidence that the Getty's curators knew many of the objects they were acquiring had been recently looted. The fact that this was openly discussed in internal museum correspondence showed the practice of buying looted antiquities was not seen as unusual at the time. The evidence was withheld from Italian authorities but later published by the Los Angeles Times.
During a raid of Medici's warehouse in Geneva in 1995, Italian authorities seized Polaroids showing the Griffins split into three pieces: the doe against a wall resting on sheets of newspaper and the griffins in a car trunk. When confronted with this evidence in 2006, the Getty agreed to return the griffins, along with dozens of other looted objects.
The griffins were created by ancient Greek artisans living in Southern Italy as a trapezophoros, or table support, and bore dramatic traces of the original blue, red and yellow pigments that covered many ancient Greek sculptures.
In private correspondence from 1987, acting Getty antiquities curator Arthur Houghton said that Italian antiquities trafficker Giacomo Medici had confirmed he had purchased all three objects from looters in 1975 or 1976, adding that the griffins had been found in the ruins of a villa near Taranto, southern Italy, not far from the tomb in which the lekanis and statue of Apollo had been found. American dealer Robert Hecht confirmed Medici’s account for Houghton, further specifying that the objects had been looted from a "productive site" near Orta Nova, a town located northwest of Taranto, Italy.
The objects had been transferred from the looters to Medici, then to the Hecht and subsequently to the London dealer Robin Symes, who sold them to Tempelsman.
Years later, Houghton's description of his discussions about the griffins with antiquities traffickers was uncovered by Getty attorneys, who considered it "smoking gun" evidence that the Getty's curators knew many of the objects they were acquiring had been recently looted. The fact that this was openly discussed in internal museum correspondence showed the practice of buying looted antiquities was not seen as unusual at the time. The evidence was withheld from Italian authorities but later published by the Los Angeles Times.
During a raid of Medici's warehouse in Geneva in 1995, Italian authorities seized Polaroids showing the Griffins split into three pieces: the doe against a wall resting on sheets of newspaper and the griffins in a car trunk. When confronted with this evidence in 2006, the Getty agreed to return the griffins, along with dozens of other looted objects.
Number of Objects
1
Object Type
Sculpture
Culture
Greek
Private Collector
Maurice Templesman
Museum Name
J. Paul Getty Museum
Museum Accession Number
85.AA.106
Receiving Country
Italy
Sources
Getty and Italian Ministry of Culture Sign Agreement in Rome for the Return of Objects
http://www.getty.edu/news/press/center/italy_getty_joint_statement_080107.html
Fourth-century BC sculptural group of two griffins attacking a fallen doe
https://traffickingculture.org/data/tracking-illicit-antiquities/fourth-century-bc-sculptural-group-of-two-griffins-attacking-a-fallen-doe/
Getty Had Signs It Was Acquiring Possibly Looted Art, Documents Show
https://web.archive.org/web/20240225155750/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-25-me-getty25-story.html
Greek Marble Trapezophoros https://illicitantiquities.net/artefact/greek-marble-trapezophoros
Images
Two Griffins Attacking a Fallen Doe: Courtesy of Italian Ministry of Culture. Contributed by Jason Felch.
Polaroids: Jason Felch's archives
MOLA Contributor(s)
Jason Felch
Peer Reviewed By
VG
Citation
“Two Griffins Attacking a Fallen Doe,” Museum of Looted Antiquities, accessed October 14, 2024, https://mola.omeka.net/items/show/951.