Getty May Surrender 21 Works to Italy

The J. Paul Getty Trust is prepared to return as many as 21 contested antiquities to Italy, its most significant concession to date, to settle a long-standing dispute with Italian authorities over allegedly looted art, according to sources familiar with the strategy.

Getty negotiators could formally offer to return the objects, which include at least three masterpieces on display at the Getty Villa, as early as today in talks with Italian cultural officials, the sources said.

Negotiations between the Getty and the Italians resumed Monday, with both sides reporting progress and hope that a settlement could soon be reached.

Getty trustees authorized the offer last week after a presentation by museum director Michael Brand, the sources said. It includes a marble statue of two mythical griffins, a statue of Apollo and a 2,600-year-old cup made by the Greek artist Euphronios, all prominently displayed at the newly renovated Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades.

Trustees considered offering the Getty’s limestone and marble statue of the goddess Aphrodite, one of the most prized antiquities in the collection, but decided that they would need more evidence about the statue’s origins first.

The talks began in January, when Italian Cultural Ministry officials presented evidence that 52 Getty objects were looted from Italy and trafficked by a convicted Italian dealer.

Getty board chairman John Biggs said Monday that an internal review of the legal status of the objects found “nothing that’s black and there is very little that is white.... It’s all shades of gray.”

He added, however: “Some of them are sufficiently dark gray that I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of discussions about them.”

After daylong meetings Monday in which the parties discussed five of the contested objects, Maurizio Fiorilli, the lead Italian negotiator, said the talks stood in sharp contrast to a previous meeting between the two sides.

In the previous talks, an “old spirit” of the museum’s sense of entitlement undermined serious negotiations. Monday, Fiorilli said, he found a “new spirit” of willingness, understanding and cooperation.

“There is a fundamental difference in today’s approach,” Fiorilli said. “You can see they are prepared ... and there is greater awareness.”

A second round of more technical talks is scheduled for today, and several participants said a tentative agreement at the end of the day was possible.

But that could be optimistic.

The Times revealed on Sunday that an internal Getty review last year found that 350 objects had been acquired from dealers either convicted or implicated in the trafficking of looted antiquities. The number was far greater than publicly known and had not been disclosed to Italian authorities.

Italian Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli asked the Getty delegation Monday to produce a list of the newly identified objects, according to a source familiar with the talks.

The 350 are in addition to the 52 contested objects identified by Italy.

Getty officials replied that they did not have a copy of the review and needed more time to assess its accuracy. The Getty would not comment on that aspect of the negotiations, other than to confirm the issue had come up.

Finding common ground on the initially contested 52 objects could also prove difficult.

Italian authorities have repeatedly insisted they will accept only the return of all 52 marble statues, vases and other pieces of ancient art that they contend were excavated and removed illegally from the country.

The Getty bought the objects for more than $48 million, and many are prominently displayed in the Getty Villa. Trust officials are hoping to limit the number of returned objects by offering other services to Italy, such as support from the Getty’s conservation, research and education efforts around the globe.

Any accord between the Getty and Italy will probably follow the lines of an agreement earlier this year that Rome reached with the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York, in which 21 disputed items were returned to Italy in exchange for long-term loans of objects of equal beauty and importance.

If the Italians were to accept a Getty offer to return 21 objects, it would match the Met’s groundbreaking agreement in number. But until a full list of Getty offerings is made public, the artistic significance of those items won’t be known.

Biggs said from New York that he had high hopes the talks would create a template for other museums facing similar demands from the Italians.

“What we’d like to have is a protocol for working out agreements on disputed items,” said Biggs. “If that can come out of the Getty discussions, that could be a great addition for all of the museums of the U.S. And for the Italians.”

A Getty negotiator, Los Angeles attorney Ronald Olson, said from Rome that Monday’s meetings were marked by “mutual goodwill” and a “positive spirit.”

“We can say that the first day has been a very positive start to what we think will be a productive and long-term relationship” between Getty and Italy, Olson said. “We think our shared interests will overwhelm any differences.”

“We’ve had good meetings,” Getty director Brand said.

The parties were to continue reviewing the evidence about the contested objects. With five objects covered Monday, negotiations could take several days or longer, said the source familiar with Monday’s talks.

The two sides met for approximately six hours around a large oval table in a high-ceilinged salon at the Ministry of Culture in Rome’s historic center.

About 20 people participated, including Italian archeologists and paramilitary police who pursue art smugglers.

Giuseppe Proietti, a senior Culture Ministry official who is also participating in the talks, said he believed the two sides were moving closer together.

Rutelli, the culture minister, declined to discuss details but said a “very concrete basis” was on the table.

“We are giving opportunities to the new Getty to show they want to close an era, and it lets us give recognition to that,” Rutelli said.

He and Ronald Spogli, U.S. ambassador to Italy and a Los Angeles native, joined the negotiators for about half an hour.

Separately, the Getty’s former antiquities curator, Marion True, is standing trial in Rome on charges of conspiring with smugglers to acquire ancient treasures for the museum. If the Getty reaches a deal with the Italian authorities, it could undermine True’s defense.

Felch and Frammolino reported from Los Angeles. Wilkinson and special correspondent Livia Borghese contributed from Rome.