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US and France compete to show Bactrian gold
The
National Geographic Society and the Musée Guimet both want to be the first to
exhibit the cache of 20,000 gold objects
LONDON. The US and France are competing to organise the first exhibition of Afghanistan’s greatest treasure, the Bactrian gold. Representatives from the National Geographic Society and the Musée Guimet have both put forward proposals to tour the finds excavated at Tillya Tepe, thereby raising money for Afghanistan. The Art Newspaper recently reported that the Bactrian gold had been found in vaults beneath the presidential compound in Kabul, where it had been deposited in 1989, when the Afghan government was still backed by the Soviet Union (No. 140, October 2003, p. 3). The finds from Tillya Tepe, in northern Afghanistan, date from a 2,000-year-old tomb which was discovered in 1978, but they have never been on display for security reasons. The gold alone numbers 20,000 items. Afghanistan still has nowhere with sufficient security to exhibit the material, since the bombed and looted Kabul Museum on the outskirts of town is an extremely damaged building. A touring exhibition would raise money, at least part of which would go to rebuild the museum or establish a new purpose-built museum in the city centre. The National Geographic Society in Washington confirmed the proposal. “There have been very preliminary discussions on this idea, but it is too early to announce details,” a spokesperson explained. The project is now being pursued by Frederik Hiebert of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. He has recently returned from Kabul, where he proposed a touring show to a number of American venues, as well as possibly to other major world museums on behalf of the National Geographic Society. On virtually the same day as Dr Hiebert’s arrival in Kabul, French specialists also came with a very similar proposal. Pierre Cambon of the Musée Guimet has confirmed to The Art Newspaper that he too would like to show the Tillya Tepe treasures in Paris. Dr Hiebert has now suggested to the French that they should together form a “coalition”, to put forward a joint proposal, although this has not yet been agreed. He has also been in touch with the British Museum to propose its participation in the touring show. One of Dr Hiebert’s colleagues is currently visiting Athens to discuss an exhibition of the Tillya Tepe treasures to be held during the Olympics. Everyone involved stresses that the decision on touring the Bactrian gold lies entirely with the Afghan authorities, but they are said to be keen on the idea. If the plan is agreed, the exhibition might take a year or so to organise. In a separate move, the National Geographic Society has made a proposal to the Iraqi authorities, to exhibit the Nimrud Gold in the United States. This gold treasure was also held in a government bank vault and survived the recent war.-By Martin Bailey
US Supreme Court hears the Austria Klimt case
The Bush administration argues that Austria cannot be sued in a US court because it would interfere with foreign relations.
Photo:
Maria V. Altmann leaving the US Supreme Court with her lawyer.
On 25 February, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Maria V. Altmann who is attempting to sue Austria and the Austrian National Gallery (ANG) in the US for the return of six paintings by Gustav Klimt which Nazis stole from her uncle in Vienna. The court will issue a ruling by the end of June.A yes vote from the court is vital to the continuation of the lawsuit, which Austria has unsuccessfully sought to dismiss as impermissible in two lower federal courts. If the Supreme Court accepts Austria’s final appeal, Mrs Altmann’s claim, which has focused an international spotlight on Austria and the Klimt paintings, will be over forever in US courts. The justices will not decide who owns the Klimt paintings. Indeed, it was almost 53 minutes into the one-hour argument before the words “property taken from a Jewish family” were even heard in the courtroom. Instead, the question is whether Austria, a sovereign nation, can be sued in US courts over events that predate 1976, when the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) was enacted, newly permitting lawsuits against foreign nations in certain specified cases. Austria says the statute cannot be “retroactively applied” to permit lawsuits based on pre-1976 events. The actions surrounding the paintings took place in and before 1948 (see below). However, the plaintiff, Maria V. Altmann, says that the suit is permitted because the paintings have been wrongly withheld by the ANG “in violation of international law,” one of the exceptions to immunity contained in the FSIA.
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