CHRONICLES CHRONICLES January 1, 2008–December 31, 2008 Kurt Siehr* 1 JANUARY 2008 The UNIDROIT Convention of 24 June 1995 on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cul- tural Objects entered into force for Greece. Available at �http://www.unidroit.org/�, on 31 August 2009. 1 JANUARY 2008 The Russian statute on the privatization of buildings of historical interest en- tered into force. Il Giornale dell’Arte, March 2008, p. 13. 1 JANUARY 2008 For 6 months some 40 national French museums were open to the public with- out entrance fees. Le Journal des Arts (2–15 November 2007): 3. 7 JANUARY 2008 The agency France–Museums signed a contract with the Tourism Development & Investment Company in the Emirate Abu Dhabi about cooperation in the field of museums. Le Journal des Arts (18–31 January 2008): 4. 7 JANUARY 2008 Philippe de Montebello, the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, gave a lecture at the American Academy in Berlin. He denounced the past as an “era of scrupulous acquisition policies.” Available at �http://lootingmatters. blogspot.com� on 8 January 2008. *University of Zürich Faculty of Law, Max-Planck Institute, Hamburg. Email: siehr@mpipriv.de International Journal of Cultural Property (2009) 16:447–520. Printed in the USA. Copyright © 2009 International Cultural Property Society doi:10.1017/S0940739109990269 447 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 9 JANUARY 2008 The Russian government gave permission for Russian art objects to be shown in an exhibition in the Royal Academy of Arts in London because the English gov- ernment granted the objects immunity from seizure. Il Giornale dell’Arte, March 2008, p. 37. 9 JANUARY 2008 The Egyptian and Swiss governments agreed to sign an agreement under article 7 of the Swiss Cultural Property Transfer Act of 2005 implementing the 1970 UNESCO Convention. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 10 January 2008, p. 34. 10 JANUARY 2008 Exhibition in the Berlin Gemäldegalerie, Cennino Cennini and the Tradition in Tuscan Painting from Giotto to Lorenzo Monaco. Cennini (born about 1370) is known as the author of Libro dell’Arte. But he also was an artist and a pupil of Taddeo Gaddi (ca. 1300–1366). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 19 January 2008, p. 31. 10 JANUARY 2008 Berlin recalls the 150th birthday of the Berlin artist Heinrich Zille (1858–1929). Zille was famous for his sketches, prints, paintings, and photographs of lower class Berlin people. International Herald Tribune, 29–30 March 2008, p. 7. 11 JANUARY 2008 In 1985 the County Court in Hannover decided that the Niedersächsische Landes- museum acquired bona fide the Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770) painting Il Miracolo di Sant’Antonio, which was stolen in 1979 in Paris from a noble Italian family Ferrari di Valbona. Available at �http://www.museum-security.org/?p�174�, visited on 28 October 2008. 13 JANUARY 2008 The National Gallery in London closed the exhibition, Renaissance Siena: Art for a City. This was a major exhibition of Tuscan city art in the shadow of the capital Florence. The New York Book Review, 18 December 2007–2008, p. 20. 448 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 15 JANUARY 2008 U.S. customs returned to the Algerian ambassador in Washington, DC, an an- cient marble sculpture, which the agency seized from Christie’s New York. The work is the head of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (a.d. 121–180), which was stolen from a Skikda museum in 1996. The Art Newspaper, March 2008, p. 63. 16 JANUARY 2008 Graziano Cecchino, an Italian action artist, put half a million plastic balls on the Spanish Stairs in Rome and let them roll down into the Barcaccia Fountain on the Piazza di Spagna as protest against the problems unsolved in Italy. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 17 January 2008, p. 9. 17 JANUARY 2008 The British Council closed its offices in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg after Duma Vice President Zhirinovsky declared that the British Council is destabiliz- ing the Russian Federation. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 18 January 2008, p. 33. 18 JANUARY 2008 The British government published plans declaring that nondomiciled persons (non-doms) who have been residents for seven years will have a choice of paying a £30,000 annual fee to continue claiming the remittance basis or paying normal U.K. tax on worldwide income and gains. This plan was opposed by museums and public collections, because non-doms contribute a lot to the economy and art funds. On 12 February 2008, the plan changed. Non-doms are not required to make any additional disclosure about income and gains falling outside the U.K. tax net. The Art Newspaper, March 2008, p. 48; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 15 March 2008, p. 47. 20 JANUARY 2008 The art treasures recovered in February 2006 from the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, as well as the krater of Euphronios, were exhibited in Rome in the exhibition, Nostoi: Capolavori ritrovati. Il Giornale dell’Arte, January 2008, p. 52; Le Journal des Arts (14–27 March 2008): 21; ARTnews, March 2008, p. 82; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 9–10 February 2008, p. 25. CHRONICLES 449 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 22 JANUARY 2008 According to a press releases of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, court proceed- ings started with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts asking for the restitution of the painting Two Nudes: Lovers of Oskar Kokoschka (1886– 1980) to the heirs of its former owner, Oskar Reichel. Kunstrechtsspiegel 2 (2008): 98; the Art Newspaper, March 2008, p. 12. 24 JANUARY 2008 The German railway Die Bahn and the architect Gerkan of Hamburg settled their copyright dispute concerning the Central Station Berlin originally decided in the County Court Berlin on 28 November 2006 in favor of Gerkan. Frankfurter Allge- meine Zeitung, 25 January 2008, p. 9. 24 JANUARY 2008 A report to the Berlin State Parliament concluded that the City of Berlin acted correctly when it returned Ernst-Ludwig Kirchner’s (1880–1938) Street Scene in Berlin to the heirs of the former owner, Hess. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 23 January 2008, p. 36. 26 JANUARY 2008 Opening of the exhibition in the Royal Academy of London, From Russia: French and Russian Master Paintings 1870–1925 from Moscow and St. Petersburg. This exhibition was possible because the British “immunity statute” (Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Part 6, Sections 134 et seq.) were already in force and gave security of safe return to the Russian museums. Akinsha and Kozlov, “Fight- ing for their Rights,” ARTnews, April 2008, p. 130; The Art Newspaper, February 2008, p. 7; March 2008, p. 49; Le Journal des Arts (1–14 February 2008): 10. 26 JANUARY 2008 The Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Italy, opened the exhibition, Roma e i Barbari. An- tiquariato, 2008, p. 6. 28 JANUARY 2008 Bolton Crown Court convicted George Greenhalgh of forging a statue of Gau- guin and other works of art. The Art Newspaper, February 2008, p. 7, and March 2008, p. 9. 450 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 28 JANUARY 2008 Halcyon Gallery of London Bruton Street secured an injunction from the High Court judge preventing the artist Sarah-Jane Szikora from opening her own ex- hibition and selling her own works to the public because she had a contract with the gallery and had agreed to offer all works made before 1 January 2008 to Halcyon. The Art Newspaper, March 2008, p. 62. 29 JANUARY 2008 Opening of the exhibition of Parmigianino’s (1503–1540) Antea from the Mu- seum of Capodimonte in Naples in the Frick Collection of New York. The Art Newspaper, January 2008, p. 10. 31 JANUARY 2008 The European Court of Justice handed down a judgment against Spain because of violation of the Rome Treaty for not implementing Directive No. 2001/84/EC on the droit de suite. ECJ 31.1.2008, Case C-32/07, Kunstrechtsspiegel 2 (2008): 102. 31 JANUARY 2008 Opening of the conference, Napoleon’s Legacy: the Development of the National Museum in Europe, c. 1794–1830. Organized by the Huizinga Institute of Amster- dam and the Institute für Museumsforschung in Berlin, the conference was held until 2 February 2008. Leaflet of the Conference. JANUARY 2008 The Dresden museums received Y15 million to promote provenance research. This will also help the museums protect their treasures against unfounded claims of the noble family Wettin, former kings of Saxony, to transfer art treasures to this family as their private property. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 24 April 2008, p. 35. JANUARY 2008 France is concerned about thefts in churches. Therefore, the French presidency of the European Union (EU) is used to fight thefts in holy places. France also fines the illegal entrance into churches. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 26 January 2008, p. 47. CHRONICLES 451 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core JANUARY 2008 A graffito of the graffiti artist Banksy was sold for £208,000 by eBay and removed from a wall in London. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 16 January 2008, p. 36. JANUARY 2008 Protests in Peru against the execution of Law No. 29164 on the Tourist Services of the Peruvian National Patrimony. Il Giornale dell’Arte, June 2008, p. 66. JANUARY 2008 The National Gallery in Washington acquired from the Jacques Goudstikker es- tate the painting River Landscape with Ferryboat by Salomon van Ruisdael (ca. 1600–1670). The gallery also acquired about 200 Italian and German drawings from the estate of Wolfgang Ratjen. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 26 January 2008, p. 47. JANUARY 2008 Five hundred years ago, Erasmus of Rotterdam (ca. 1466/69–1536) met Aldo Manuzio in Venice (ca. 1450–1515) to print his Adagia, a collection of ancient proverbs and sayings. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 24 September 2008, p. N3. JANUARY 2008 The most visited museums in 2007 were the Louvre with more than 8 million visitors and the Centre Pompidou with 5.5 million visitors. The Metropolitan Museum of Art with 4.5 million visitors ranked fifth after the British Museum and the Tate Modern. Il Giornale dell’Arte, May 2008, p. 54. JANUARY 2008 Battle between two Swiss small cities: The city of Rüti, Canton Zürich asked the city of Rapperswil-Jona, Canton St. Gallen, for the return of a crozier taken by the last abbot of the cloisters Rüti, who fled the Protestants of Zürich in 1525 and took refuge in the catholic city of Rapperswil. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internation- ale Ausgabe, 17 January 2008, p. 41. JANUARY 2008 Dozens of federal agents wielding search warrants simultaneously swooped down on four museums in California (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, and Mingei International 452 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core Museum in San Diego) to look for computer files related especially to antiquities from Southeast Asia. ARTnews, March 2008, p. 66. JANUARY 2008 An item cataloged by Lawrence auctioneers in Somerset, Great Britain, as a nineteenth-century French claret jug with an estimate of £100 to £200 was sold at auction to an anonymous buyer for £220,000. The purchaser believed the jug to be an eleventh-century Fatimid ewer with a market value significantly greater than the hammer price. New Law Journal, 2008, p. 1661. JANUARY 2008 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) filed a lawsuit against the ar- chitect Frank Gehry for negligence in his design of the $300 million Ray and Maria Stata Center. ARTnews, January 2008, p. 50. JANUARY 2008 Greece dismissed criminal charges against Marion True, the former antiquities curator at the Getty Museum, for allegedly receiving stolen goods. The Art News- paper, January 2008, p. 11. JANUARY 2008 The Italian Culture Ministry agreed to return 41 stolen Middle Eastern artifacts to Iran seized in 2005 by Italian police at a flea market in Milan. The Art News- paper, January 2008, p. 11. 3 FEBRUARY 2008 Opening of the exhibition, Cameroon—Art of the Kings in the Museum Riet- berg, Zürich. With loans from European museums and Africa, Lorenz Homberger curated this first exhibition of Cameroon art in the new wing of the Museum Rietberg, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 26–27 January 2008, p. 11; 5 February 2008, 43. 5 FEBRUARY 2008 Two hundred years ago, the painter Carl Spitzweg (1808–1885) was born in the vicinity of Munich. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 2–3 February 2008, p. 29. CHRONICLES 453 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 5 FEBRUARY 2008 Sotheby’s in London sold Franz Marc’s (1880–1916) Grazing Hordes for more than £12 million. Le Journal des Arts (5–18 September 2008): XIV. 6 FEBRUARY 2008 Theft of two Picasso paintings in the Kulturzentrum of Pfäffikon, Switzerland. The paintings were lent by the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, Germany. art, April 2008, p. 111; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 6 February 2008, p. 37; 9–10 February 2008, p. 41. 6 FEBRUARY 2008 New Zealand celebrated Waitangi Day and recalled the Waitangi Treaty of 6 Feb- ruary 1840, with which the British settlers and the indigenous Māori regulated their relations. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 26 February 2008, p. 5. 6 FEBRUARY 2008 The report of the French ministry of cultural affairs on the change of inalienabil- ity of artworks of public collections was revealed. The French museums favor this unmerchantabilty and oppose any change by statute. Le Journal des Arts (1–14 Feb- ruary 2008): 3. Later the French minister of cultural affairs confirmed that national treasures of the Fonds nationaux d’art contemporain (FNAC) and of the Fonds ré- gionaux d’art contemporain (FRAC) remain unmerchantable (inaliénables). Le Journal des Arts (15–28 February 2008): 5. 8 FEBRUARY 2008 The Ethnological Museum in Berlin opened the exhibition, Benin—600 Jahre höfische Kunst aus Nigeria. Loans from Nigeria, Vienna, Paris, and Chicago sup- plemented the big Berlin collection of Benin art. Museums Journal 1 (2008): 64. 8–9 FEBRUARY 2008 Harvard Law School cosponsored a conference, Spoils of War v. Cultural Heri- tage, about the Russian cultural property law in historical context. It was agreed that international law does not recognize Russia’s legal argument for keeping art- works seized as “restitution in kind.” ARTnews, April 2008, p. 80. 454 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 10 FEBRUARY 2008 Four paintings by Cézanne, Degas, Monet, and van Gogh were stolen from the Collection Bührle in Zürich. Two paintings were soon recovered, but the other two (including Cézanne’s Boy in the Red Vest) are still missing. Esterow and Granek, ARTnews, April 2008, p. 76; Il Giornale dell’Arte, March 2008, p. 4; art, April 2008, p. 111; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 12 February 2008, p. 37, 13 February 2008, p. 37, 14 February 2008, pp. 25, 38, 19 February 2008, p. 37, 20 February 2008, p. 37, 21 February 2008, p. 37; Die Zeit, 14 February 2008, p. 18; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 12 February 2008, p. 7; The Art Newspaper, March 2008, p. 19. 13 FEBRUARY 2008 Prime Minister Rudd in the Australian Parliament apologized to the Aborigines for the injustice done to them by the former Australian government. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 14 February 2008, p. 3. 13 FEBRUARY 2008 Renaissance Siena exhibit in the National Gallery London closed. When the ex- hibited paintings were uninstalled, the panel painting of Domenico Beccafumi (ca. 1484–1551) was dropped and broke in half. This was one of the most serious handling accidents known to have occurred in a U.K. museum in living memory. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 16. 14 FEBRUARY 2008 Robert Rauschenberg sued the artist Robert Francis Montgomery in Florida, claim- ing violation of his rights under the U.S. Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA). Montgomery sold works purportedly by Rauschenberg, which Rauschenberg did not create, with certification of authenticity. The Art Newspaper, April 2008, p. 5. 15 FEBRUARY 2008 An exhibition devoted to the Austrian painter Albin Egger-Lienz (1868–1926) with the Museum Leopold in Vienna opened. It is said that among the exhibited works there are more than 20 works expropriated from Jews during the Nazi period. Le Journal des Arts (11–24 April 2008): 7; Albin Egger-Lienz 1868–1926, Wien: Brand- stätter Verlag, 2008; ARTnews, Summer 2008, p. 86; The Art Newspaper, April 2008, p. 12; May 2008, p. 21. CHRONICLES 455 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 15 FEBRUARY 2008 Theft of a child mummy from a museum in Buenos Aires was noticed by the guards. Also coins valuing approximately 100,000 Swiss francs were stolen from a Buenos Aires exhibition. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 18 Febru- ary 2008, p. 7. 15–20 FEBRUARY 2008 The latest hearing in the trial of former Getty antiquities curator, Marion True, and dealer Robert Hecht, both charged with conspiring to receive illegally exca- vated antiquities, took place in Rome. The Art Newspaper, April 2008, p. 7; Il Gior- nale dell’Arte, March 2008, p. 6; Le Journal des Arts (15–28 March 2008): 7. 18 FEBRUARY 2008 France opened the exhibition, Looking for Owners: French Policy for Provenance Research, Restitution and Custody of Art Stolen in France during World War Two in Jerusalem. This exhibition displayed artworks of unknown provenance and closed on 3 June 2008. Le Journal des Arts (29 February–13 March 2008): 3. 18 FEBRUARY 2008 Theft of a cross (more than 800 years old) from the Cathedral of Tournai, Bel- gium, was committed during the daytime and in the presence of visitors. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 20 February 2008, p. 7. 19 FEBRUARY 2008 The Cour d’appel des Paris decided that a British person applying to be admit- ted to auction in France must prove his knowledge of French law or to adjust to his profession for a certain time (18 months). Le Journal des Arts (23 May–5 June 2008): 29. 19 FEBRUARY 2008 The U.S. government brought a civil lawsuit seeking the return of three stolen paintings to their owner: either the heirs of the former owner, the socialite Mrs. Persky of Massachusetts, or to her insurance company, which already paid $45,000 for the loss. The Art Newspaper, April 2008, p. 51. 456 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 19 FEBRUARY 2008 The art collector Friedrich Christian Flick donated 166 artworks of 44 different artists to the Foundation of Prussian Cultural Heritage. Il Giornale dell’Arte, March 2008, p. 5. 21 FEBRUARY 2008 The German minister for cultural affairs announced that 10 years after the Wash- ington Conference Principles (1998) provenance research will be strengthened in Germany. Press release, 21 February 2008. He also announced this to the Ger- man parliament (Bundestag). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 23 February 2008, p. 35. 21 FEBRUARY 2008 UNESCO launched the United Nations International Year of Mother Languages with the “Standard-Setting Instruments Promoting Multilingualism.” International Journal of Cultural Property 15 (2008): 433. 22 FEBRUARY 2008 The Swabian noble family Waldburg-Wolfegg wanted to sell the illuminated manuscript of the “Hausbuchmeister” for Y20 million. The family did not sell it. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 13 February 2008, p. 31, 15 February 2008, p. 35, 25 February 2008, p. 37. 22–23 FEBRUARY 2008 The Musée du Quay Branly in Paris held an international symposium, From An- atomic Collections to Objects of Worship: Conservation and Exhibition of Human Remains in Museums. International Journal of Cultural Property 15 (2008): 437. 25 FEBRUARY 2008 Ancient pieces of Morgantina, Sicily (acroliti di Morgantina), arrived in Italy from the United States. Il Giornale dell’Arte, March 2008, p. 13. 26 FEBRUARY 2008 Exhibition of Ferdinand Hodler’s painting Waldinneres in Reichenbach in the Kunst- museum Winterthur, Switzerland, as a long-term loan of the Canton of Zürich. The painting was stolen in 1945 in Berlin and afterward acquired bona fide by the CHRONICLES 457 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core Canton. The owner, Mr. Henry Newman of Hamburg, asked in vain for return. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 2–3 February 2008, p. 37. 26 FEBRUARY 2008 The French painter Honoré Daumier (1808–1879) was born 200 years ago, and several museums celebrated this anniversary. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internation- ale Ausgabe, 23–24 February 2008, p. 28; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 26 Feb- ruary 2008, p. 36. 27 FEBRUARY 2008 The Solomon Guggenheim Foundation announced that Thomas Krens, the di- rector of the foundation was stepping down but would remain as director until a successor was hired. International Herald Tribune, 28 February 2008, p. 10; The Art Newspaper, April 2008, p. 20. 27 FEBRUARY 2008 Anthony d’Offay, the London gallerist retired and donated his art collection to the Tate and the National Gallery of Scotland. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 15 March 2008, p. Z4. 29 FEBRUARY 2008 The 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property entered into force in Germany and at the same time the German statute implementing the convention became effective. Bundesgesetzblatt 2008, part II, p. 233. 29 FEBRUARY 2008 The Berlin Alte Nationalgalerie opened an exhibit of the painting, Ruth and Naemi, by Julius Hübner (1806–1882). The painting was thought lost in 1945 but sur- faced in 2005 at a Berlin flea market. Museums Journal 1 (2008): 38; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 29 February 2008, p. 37. FEBRUARY 2008 Norway’s Supreme Court has increased the sentences for two men convicted of the theft of Edvard Munch’s (1863–1944) The Scream and Madonna in 2004. The Court also decided that evidence against a third man was unsound and ordered a retrial. All three men had appealed against their original sentences. The Art News- paper, March 2008, p. 8. 458 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core FEBRUARY 2008 The granddaughter of Victor von Klemperer asked the Berlin art gallery and auc- tion house Grisebach, which sold her grandfather’s Max Liebermann (1847– 1935) painting Kohlfeld im Wannseegarten nach Westen on 23 November 2005, to forward her return claim to the person who sold the painting as well as its buyer. Grisebach declined to do it. Timm, “Die Angst der Händler vor der Wahrheit,” Die Zeit, 24 April 2008, p. 53. FEBRUARY 2008 Treasure hunters hunted for the Bernstein-Zimmer (missing since World War II) in the Erzgebirge, East Germany. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung 24 Feb- ruary 2008, p. 62. FEBRUARY 2008 Certain U.S. banks and finance companies requested that clients purchase title insurance before agreeing to arrange bank loans secured against art. The insur- ance company Chubb also added title defense coverage offering $100,000 toward litigation fees. The Art Newspaper, March 2008, p. 63. FEBRUARY 2008 Operation Ghelas, which dismantled a major Italian antiquities smuggling oper- ation stretching across Western Europe, came to a climax when 70 defendants were brought before a judge for preliminary hearing in Gela, southwest Sicily. The ac- cused were engaged in tomb raiding. The Art Newspaper, January 2008, p. 11. FEBRUARY 2008 China pressured the United States for an import ban on cultural goods from China. The director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage told that they want the United States to sign such an agreement quickly. The Art Newspaper, April 2008, p. 7. FEBRUARY 2008 The album Hitler’s Library, stored in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, was discovered. It contains a photo album with photos of the private art gallery of Adolf Hitler, formerly displayed in his private collection in Munich and Ober- salzberg, Bavaria. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 25 February 2008, p. 39. CHRONICLES 459 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core FEBRUARY 2008 The museum Moritzburg in Halle, Germany, restituted the painting Light House by Marsden Hartley (1877–1943) to the heirs of the former owner Baron von Veltheim. The painting will be auctioned in New York. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 18 May 2008, p. 63. FEBRUARY 2008 The family of Nathan Katz (1893–1949), the Jewish art dealer of The Hague, con- sidered reclaiming from the Dutch government important artworks confiscated during Nazi period and given back to the Netherlands. Il Giornale dell’Arte, March 2008, p. 8. 1 MARCH 2008 Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, the head of the Prussian Heritage Foundation, retired and was replaced by Hermann Parzinger, the former director of the German Archae- ological Institute. Il Giornale dell’Arte, February 2008, p. 37; Die Zeit, 21 February 2008, p. 49; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 28 February 2008, p. 33, 29 February 2008, p. 44. 4–5 MARCH 2008 The fifth meeting of the Interpol Expert Group (IEG) on Stolen Cultural Prop- erty was held in Lyon, France, and passed a recommendation on a close cooper- ation between Interpol, UNESCO, and International Council of Museums (ICOM) on their fight against art robbery. Press release, 5 March 2008. 7 MARCH 2008 The Bavarian State Library celebrated its 450th anniversary. In 1558 it was founded by count Albrecht V of Bavaria (1528–1579) as a royal library in Munich. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 8 March 2008, p. 48. 7–16 MARCH 2008 The European Fine Art Fair (Tefaf ) opened in Maastricht, Netherlands. Le Jour- nal des Arts (29 February–13 March 2008): 15. 7 MARCH 2008 Sergé Lemoine left the Musée d’Orsay as president. He retired and gave an inter- view. Le Journal des Arts (14–27 March 2008): 4. 460 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 7 MARCH 2008 A contract was signed between the governments of Abu Dhabi and France for the creation of a Louvre Abu Dhabi. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 13. 9 MARCH 2008 The Vatican decided to erect a more than life-sized statue of Galileo Galilei (1564– 1642), who was rehabilitated in 1992, 359 years after his revocation his discover- ies. Spiegel Online, 9 March 2008, visited 4 September 2009. 11 MARCH 2008 The Neue Pinakothek in Munich cancelled the exhibition, Viennese Biedermeier Paintings from the Liechtenstein Collection, when Prince Hans Adam II of Liecht- enstein withdrew loans because of the dispute over leaked bank details of Liecht- enstein bank accounts of German customers used by German tax authorities. The Art Newspaper, April 2008, p. 3; Le Journal des Arts (25 April–8 May 2008): 6); Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 13 March 2008, p. 33. 13 MARCH 2008 The exhibition, Macht und Freundschaft, Berlin–St. Petersburg 1800–1860, opened in the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin. Featuring loans from St. Peters- burg, Pawlowsk, and Zarskoje Selo the exhibition focused on the German-Russian relations in post-Napoleonic Europe. Close family relations between the Prussian king and the Russian Tsar made this a fruitful time for cultural and scientific ex- changes. Museums Journal 1 (2008): 59. 13 MARCH 2008 The French Cour de cassation decided that the author of a catalog raisonné must include an authentic work of Jean-Michel Atlan (1913–1960) in the next edition of the catalog or in a supplement to the yet existing one. Le Journal des Arts (4 July–4 September 2008): 38. 13 MARCH 2008 The exhibition in Berlin’s Ägyptisches Museum, Artemidor-Papyrus, includes drawings of a strange faces that may or may not be fakes. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 15 March 2008, p. 39; Il Giornale dell’Arte, February 2008, p. 9; Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 16 March 2008, p. 69. CHRONICLES 461 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 19 MARCH 2008 The German Bundesgerichtshof (highest federal court for civil and criminal mat- ters) decided that the artist holding a copyright in the interior of a church build- ing cannot object to alteration of the altar space. The right of self-determination of the church is stronger than the copyright of the artist. Zeitschrift für Urheber- und Medienrecht, 2008 p. 862. 19 MARCH 2008 The San Francisco Art Institute opened an exhibition of the Algerian, Paris-based artist Adel Abdessemed, which included a video installation depicting the killing of six animals. The show was seen in France but cancelled by curators in Glasgow. Also animal rights groups forced the closure of the San Francisco exhibition. The Art Newspaper, May 2008, pp. 3, 38. 19 MARCH 2008 Kassel, Germany, exhibited King Lustik? Jérôme Bonaparte and the Model State Kingdom Westphalia. The paintings of the Kassel Gallery were taken to Paris but returned later in 1815. The exhibition recalls the time of Napoleon’s brother Jérôme, the most educated member of his family. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 22 April 2008, p. 36; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 24–25 May 2008, p. 25. 20 MARCH 2008 The Les Parisiens sous l’Occupation exhibition opened, showing photographs of André Zucca (1897–1973) in the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris. Of- ficials turned against the photography show and demanded that leaflets be dis- tributed to the visitors stating that the pictures on show avoid the “reality of the occupation and its tragic aspects.” The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 9. 22 MARCH 2008 The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, opened its doors to the public. The museum is a work of the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei. The Art News- paper, March 2008. p. 38. 23 MARCH 2008 The exhibition Praxiteles opened in Paris. Greece refrained from lending the Ephebe of Marathon because of the fragility of the statue. Il Giornale dell’Arte, March 2008, p. 54. 462 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 24 MARCH 2008 A $50 million lawsuit was filed in Connecticut District Court against Yale Uni- versity for wrongly confirming that former South Korean art history professor and chief curator at the Sungkok Art Museum, Shin Jeong-ah, had earned a Yale doctorate. The Art Newspaper, May 2008, p. 2. MARCH 2008 Scotland Yard of London seized two Francesco Guardi (1712–1793) paintings that were illegally removed from Italy with an Italian licence given on an incorrect ascription as works of an unknown eighteenth-century artist. The London dealer was granted a licence for export to a foreign country and correctly ascribed them to Guardi. Before the export took place, the paintings were seized. The Art News- paper, April 2008, p. 1. MARCH 2008 The government of Ethiopia made a formal request for the return of treasures (approximately 500 items) seized by Britons during the battle Maqdala in 1868. These treasures are held by the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Library, Cambridge University Library, and Oxford’s Bodleian Library. The Art Newspaper, November 2008, p. 26. 1 APRIL 2008 The Austrian Supreme Court [Oberste Gerichtshof] declined to review the ar- bitral award of 7 May 2006 concerning the painting Amalie Zuckerkandl by Gustav Klimt to Maria Altmann. Hence, the painting stays in the Obere Belvedere in Vi- enna. Ecolex: Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsrecht (2008): 433. 1 APRIL 2008 At auction in Amsterdam, the House of Liechtenstein sold more than 100 lots. The Czech Republic bought most of the items originating in three Moravian cas- tles formerly owned by the Liechtenstein family. The Art Newspaper, May 2008, p. 71. 1 APRIL 2008 The new director of the Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany announced that the paint- ing Self Portrait by August Macke (1887–1914) was given as a long-term loan to the Museum. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 17 January 2008, p. 31. CHRONICLES 463 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 2–4 APRIL 2008 American Law Institute-American Bar Association (ALI-ABA) held its 36th an- nual conference on Legal Issues in Museum Administration Scottsdale, Arizona. The Art Newspaper, May 2008, p. 16. 2–4 APRIL 2008 At the NATO Summit meeting in Bucharest, Romania, the Greek delegation ve- toed Macedonia’s bid to join the alliance and said it will do the same when Mac- edonia tries to join the European Union unless Macedonia changes the name “Macedonia”. International Herald Tribune, 2 October 2008, p. 3. 4 APRIL 2008 Decision of the Landgericht München (County Court Munich) stated that a work of art produced for an exhibition does not pass the title to the museum. Also there is no prescription if the work of art is not entered into the inventory of the museum. Failing to do so may be a breach of duty, which must be compensated if the painting is the artwork and cannot be found in the museum any longer. Kunst und Recht (2009): 17, with article by Benjamin Raue. 9 APRIL 2008 Return of the statue of Duke Heinrich Julius von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (1564– 1613) to the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum in Braunschweig, Germany, after 60 years. The plinth of the statue bears the name of Adriaen de Vries (ca. 1545– 1626). Available at �http://www.museum-braunschweig.de�, visited on 21 May 2008. 9 APRIL 2008 Islamic art was sold at auction at Sotheby’s in London. Also sold was an iron key purportedly for the Holy Kaaba in Mecca. It was later returned to the original owner. The Art Newspaper, March 2009, p. 1; Il Giornale dell’Arte, March 2009, p. 58. 10–12 APRIL 2008 Five years ago the Baghdad National Museum was raided and looted. Looting has decreased, but the situation in the museum remains bleak. The Art Newspaper, March 2008, p, 6. 464 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 11 APRIL 2008 The Tribunal correctionnel de Paris sentenced the Modigliani specialist Chris- tian Parisot to two years in jail and a fine of Y8000 for exhibiting forged drawings attributed to the artist’s common-law wife, Jeanne Hébuterne, in Spain in 2002. Parisot appealed this decision. ARTnews, Summer 2008, p. 98. 15 APRIL 2008 Christie’s of New York sold the painting Hercules and Achelous by Cornelis Cor- nelisz van Haarlem (1562–1638), which was confiscated by the East German State Police (Stasi), for $8.1 million. The Art Newspaper, May 2008, p. 66; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 12 April 2008, p. 45. 15–16 APRIL 2008 Sotheby’s Russian art auction in New York achieved respectable totals largely be- cause of nineteenth-century paintings that did well. Of 539 lots 72% were sold for a total of $46.5 million. The Art Newspaper, May 2008, p. 71; Il Giornale dell’Arte, May 2008, p. 85. 16 APRRIL 2008 Opening of an exhibition of the work of Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1658–1755) in the Art Museum of Schwerin, Germany. The center of the exhibition is the portrait of the “Rhinozeros” Clara painted in 1749 and restored by the Getty Conservation Center in Los Angeles. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 16 June 2008, p. 25. 17 APRIL 2008 The International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR) Evening on the Cultural Property Advisory Committee was held at the National Academy in New York, and several speeches were delivered. IFAR Journal 3 & 4 (2008–2009): 24 et seq. 18–19 APRIL 2008 Conference in Darmstadt, Germany, discussed the future of Joseph Beuys’ (1921– 1986) Block Beuys in the State Museum Darmstadt. The Block Beuys consists of a room with jute tapestries and a decorated floor. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 26 February 2008, p. 42. CHRONICLES 465 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 20 APRIL 2008 Annual exhibition in the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome opened, showing the art objects seized by the special Italian art police, the Comando Carabinieri Patri- monio Culturale. Il Giornale dell’Arte, May 2008, p. 18. 24 APRIL 2008 The City of Amsterdam and the 37 heirs of Kasimir Malevich (1878–1935) set- tled their dispute concerning the works by Malevich on loan by the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam to the New York Guggenheim Museum and the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas. The Amsterdam Museum bought the works of Ma- levich in 1958 from a friend of Malevich with whom Malevich left the works when he had to leave Germany in 1937. The settlement provides that the heirs get back five important works and the rest of them (79) stay with the Amster- dam Museum. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 10 May 2008, p. 48; 10 IFAR Jour- nal 1 (2008): 5; The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 18, Il Giornale dell’Arte, July/ August 2008, p. 33; ARTnews June 2008, p. 80. 25 APRIL 2008 Christie’s King Street, London, sold the painting A Boy in Profile, Singing, in a Feigned Oval by Pieter de Grebber (1600–1653) looted in 1942 in Poland, was consigned by a Latvian owner to Christie’s South Kensington and returned to the heirs of the former Polish owner. The Art Newspaper, June 2008. p. 63; Il Giornale dell’Arte, May 2008, p. 84. 25 APRIL 2008 The Burgunderbeute (booty of Burgundy) taken by the Swiss army in 1476 from Count Charles the Bold of Burgundy, is exhibited in Berne, Switzerland, in the exhibition Karl der Kühne (1433–1477). Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Aus- gabe, 2 May 2008, p. 25; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 26 April 2008, p. 39. 27 APRIL 2008 Greece passed a new Statute on Measures for the Protection of Cultural Objects. Available at �www.law-archaeology.gr�. 27 APRIL 2008 The first bilateral agreement between Switzerland and Italy entered into force. The agreement is necessary under the Cultural Property Transfer Art of 2003 466 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core implementing the 1970 UNESCO Convention. Under the agreement with Italy, only archaeological objects are protected. Systematische Sammlung des Bundesre- chts (SR) 0.444.145.41. 28 APRIL 2008 Gianni Alemanno, the new mayor of Rome, said in his press conference that Rich- ard Meier’s building around the Ara pacis should be torn down. The Art News- paper, June 2008, p. 7. 29 APRIL 2008 The book collection of Paola and Bertrand Lazard consisting of books and manu- scripts on the Holy land was sold by Pierre Bergé in the Hotel Drouot, Paris. Le Journal des Arts (25 April–8 May 2008): 24. 30 APRIL 2008 The Prince of Liechtenstein sold many antiquities at auction with Christie’s in London. The Art Newspaper, March 2008, p. 66. APRIL 2008 New details about Schiele’s Dead City painting were revealed, raising questions about the legitimate owner. Although returned to Austria in 1999, doubts have been raised whether it was correct to do so. Putative heirs of Mr. Grünbaum sold the painting to Mr. Kornfeld, Berne, Switzerland. Cohan, “Unraveling the Mystery of “Dead City.” ARTnews, April 2008, p. 114. APRIL 2008 Silvio Berlusconi threatened to withdraw planning permission for a new contem- porary art museum and commercial development in Milan designed by Daniel Libeskind after the U.S.-based architect described the Italian prime minister as a “xenophobe” and called his policies “repulsive.” The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 5. APRIL 2008 The heirs of the late art dealer Ileana Sonnabend sold nearly $600 million worth of art in two private transactions to pay estate taxes. The Art Newspaper, May 2008, p. 62. CHRONICLES 467 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core APRIL 2008 Swedish entrepreneur and art collector Gerard De Geer filed a complaint against the authentication committee for the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960– 1988). The complaint, filed in New York, alleges that the committee and its mem- bers breached its contract in 2005 by refusing to offer an opinion on the authenticity of Basquiat’s Fuego Flores (1983). The painting cannot be sold as a Basquiat with- out the committee’s authenticity. The value without authentication will be $5000 and at least $3 million with authentication. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 59. APRIL 2008 The Sunday Times revealed that Dennis Buggins, a restorer of old furniture, sold his furniture to the London dealer John Hobbs, who sold them as original old furniture. There is a dispute now in London in which Buggins is claiming money against Hobbs. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 10–11 May 2008, p. 27; The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 50. 5–8 MAY 2008 The Sixth International Congress of Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (ICAANE) met in Rome and—like an UNO of Archaeology—discussed the prob- lems of the Near East. Il Giornale dell’Arte, June 2008, p. 64. 8 MAY 2008 The Deutsche Literaturarchiv Marbach, Germany, received the manuscript of Walter Benjamin’s Berliner Kindheit um neunzehnhundert [Berlin Youth around Nineteen Hundred] . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 9 May 2008, p. 40. 9–13 MAY 2008 Salzburg Global Seminar, Achieving the Freer Circulation of Cultural Artefacts, took place at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. There, Kavita Singh, as- sociate professor of that university, said, “Despite that, I feel the universal mu- seum is worth preserving, not because this kind of museum is essential for us to get to know one another, but because it is a significant cultural phenomenon in itself.” The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 29. 10 MAY 2008 The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, opened a show of 38 of works of the Goudstikker collection under the title Reclaimed: Paintings from the Collec- tion of Jacques Goudstikker. The Art Newspaper, January 2008, p. 49. 468 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 10 MAY 2008 Germany thought of the burning of books 75 years ago. On 10 May 1933 books of Jewish and modern authors were burned because they did not represent the Nazi doctrine. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 10–12 May 2008, p. 17; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 9–10 August 2008, pp. 30, 31. 12 MAY 2008 The American artist Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008) passed away. art, July 2008, p. 115. 13 MAY 2008 Lucian Freud’s Benefits Supervisor Sleeping sold with Christie’s in New York for $33.6 million. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 4. 14 MAY 2008 Sotheby’s of New York sold the Triptych by Francis Bacon (1902–1992) for $86.3 million. This was the most expensive painting sold in 2008. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 4. 15 MAY 2008 A county court in Philadelphia dismissed petitions from two organizations hop- ing to keep the Barnes Collection in Merion County, a suburb of Philadelphia. If there will be no successful appeal, the Barnes Collection will move to a planned museum in the city center of Philadelphia. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 24. In June both sides decided not to appeal. The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 13. 15 MAY 2008 A fundraising reception took place in London for the rebuilding of the Monas- tery on Mount Athos, which was severely damaged in the disastrous fire of 3 March 2004. The completion of the work is scheduled for 2014. The Art Newspaper, July/ August 2008, p. 29. 16 MAY 2008 Deadline for the submission of Canadian cities ready to build a home for the Por- trait Gallery of Canada. Ottawa, Edmonton, and Calgary submitted proposals. CHRONICLES 469 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core Senator Jerry Grafstein wants to keep the gallery in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 24. 17 MAY 2008 International Museums Day: Swiss museums gratuitously opened to the public, and there was a general discussion about their mission and problems. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 14 May 2008, p. 35. 17 MAY 2008 The Italian Budget Law (Decreto legislativo) no. 112/2008 provided for cultural property for 2009 25.8% less than the year before. Gazzetta ufficiale 124 (28 May 2008). Also Italian regions had difficulties meeting the needs to maintain their cultural activities and preservation obligations. Il Giornale dell’Arte, June 2008, p. 1, and November 2008, p. 20. 18 MAY 2008 Closing of Tokyo’s exhibition, Myth and Images of a Goddess from Antiquity to the Renaissance. Several paintings (including Titian’s fragile Venus) were loaned by Italian museums despite the protests of museum curators and directors. They call for stricter government guidelines to be drawn up on the loan of works of art from Italian museums. The Art Newspaper, May 2008, p. 28. 18 MAY 2008 The directive council of ICOM Italia urged the cessation of blockbuster exhibi- tions (like Turner and the Impressionists or Mondrian), which are likely to go to the expense of normal exhibitions and museums. Il Giornale dell’Arte, July/August 2008, p. 3. 20 MAY 2008 The new German Guidelines for Handling Nazi-expropriated Art has been pub- lished with the web page of �www.lostart.de�. Press release, 19 May 2008. 21 May 2008 Sotheby’s of Paris sold at auction the manuscript Manifeste du Surrealisme by André Breton (1867–1966) for Y3.2 million to the Paris-based private museum, 470 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 24 May 2008, p. 35. 22 MAY 2008 Australian police seized nearly 30 works of Bill Henson just before his solo ex- hibition at the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Sydney was about to open to the public. The show included photographs of naked adolescents, which some people con- sidered offensive. The works were returned on 10 June and the show reopened to collectors by appointment afterwards. The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 50. 22 MAY 2008 At the Sotheby’s New York auction, Halsey Minor bought paintings of Edward Hicks (1780–1849), Peaceable Kingdom with Leopard of Serenity from the Ameri- can Folk Art Museum, and Childe Hassan (1859–1935), Paris, Winter Day. Be- cause he did not pay, Sotheby’s sued him for $16.9 million in fees and damages. The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 59; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Aus- gabe, 16 October 2009. p. 35. 23 MAY 2008 Opening of the permanent exhibition of the Sky Disc of Nebra in the Museum of Halle, Germany. The Sky Disc is one of the most important archaeological finds in Germany in some time. Die Zeit, 21 May 2008, p. 37. 23 MAY 2008 The exhibition, Il Louvre. Capolavori a Verona, which was to open from 19 Sep- tember 2008 until 15 February 2009, was cancelled because the Louvre declined to lend the promised loans to the agency, Linea d’ombra. Il Giornale dell’Arte, June 2008, pp. 1, 11. 27 MAY 2008 The Tribunal de grande instance de Paris decided that Argentina has no legal claim whatsoever to ask for the return of a Tafi mask allegedly created in north- western part of Argentina at a.d. 100–300. On 27 May 2008, the mask was sold at auction for Y150,000, with indications that Argentina wants it back. It was owned by an Argentine collector, who sold it to a French diplomat in 1950. Le Journal des Arts (20 June–3 July 2008): 36. CHRONICLES 471 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 27 MAY 2008 Sotheby’s of Zürich auctioned Die Kartenlegerin by Albert Anker (1831–1910) for 2.2.Swiss Francs (about $1.5 million). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 3 Janu- ary 2009, p. 39. 28 MAY 2008 Conference in Zürich on Art and Law—Switzerland: A Paradise for Museums, Collectors and Art Trade. The conference was arranged by Kurt Siehr, and the pa- pers were published in the journal Kunst und Recht (2008): 61 et seq.; Kunstre- chtsspiegel 3 (2008): 155. 28 MAY 2008 A collection of 53 pictures by Burne-Jones and his contemporaries were saved for the public and exhibited for a week at Fulham Palace in London. The Art News- paper, July/August 2008, p. 6. 28 MAY 2008 Germany entered into a collection-sharing agreement with the government of Dubai. Under the terms of the arrangement, the State Museum Associations of Berlin, Munich, and Dresden will play a key role in Dubai’s Universal Museums project, which aims to bring together collections and expertise from leading arts institutions around the world. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 13; ARTnews, Sum- mer 2008, p. 102; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 29 May 2008, p. 11. 29 MAY 2008 The National Museum in Krakow opened a new department of contemporary Western art. Fifty works loaned by the Cologne-based Polish-born art dealer Rafael Jablonka will go on public view. The Art Newspaper, May 2008, p. 30. 29 MAY 2008 The Kunsthistorische Museum in Rostock, Germany, opened the exhibition, Masterworks of Modern Art. From the Stock of Works Expropriated by the Nazis in 1937/38 as Degenerate Art. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 11 May 2008, p. 7; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 4 June 2008, p. 14; art, August 2008, p. 104. 472 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 29 MAY 2008 András Riedlmayer, a specialist in Islamic architecture at Harvard University, gave his testimony to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague where the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Se- selj was on trial. The accused was charged with a systematic levelling of Muslim and Catholic religious buildings by Serbian Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina dur- ing the Balkan wars in the early 1990s. The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 4. 29–31 MAY 2008 Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, on war booty in European collections. Kun- strechtsspiegel 2 (2008): 108. MAY 2008 Carl Djerassi (born 1923 in Vienna), the inventor of the contraceptive pill, do- nated his art collection (mainly works of Paul Klee) to the Albertina in Vienna. The works had to be withdrawn from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where they were on long-term loan. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 14. MAY 2008 Cultural property displaced during World War II was exchanged between Ger- many and Poland. Archaeological objects have been transferred to the Muzeum Narodowe and to the Schloss Wiligrad in Schwerin, Germany. Frankfurter Allge- meine Zeitung, 31 May 2008, p. 4. MAY 2008 The Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan returned two fourteenth-century altarpiece panels to the National Museum of Abruzzo in Aquila, Italy. The Amer- ican Museum discovered that the panels were stolen in 1902 and acquired by the American museum in 1947. ARTnews, June 2008, p. 60. MAY 2008 The British Army planned to develop a Cultural Heritage Initiative to assist with archaeological sites and museums to southern Iraq. The Art Newspaper, March 2008, p. 1. CHRONICLES 473 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core MAY 2008 After restoration the Cloisters Admont, Austria, opened the restored biggest clois- ters library of the world. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 23 June 2008, p. 12. MAY 2008 Friedrich Schiller’s skull, supposedly buried in the Weimar crypt of princes, was tested by DNA and found as not to be the skull of the German playwright (i.e., Wilhelm Tell and Maria Stuart), poet (i.e., Die Glocke), and historian. Jungen, “Schill- ers Gebein ist es nicht,” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 5 May 2008, p. 35. MAY 2008 The Hausbuch of 1480, formerly owned by the noble family Waldburg-Wolfegg, was sold to a person in the German state of Bavaria, where the treasure will be exhibited. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 7 May 2008, p. 33. See also supra 22 February 2008. MAY 2008 The art dealer Armand Torossian of Grenoble, France, opened the database �www. stolen-and-wanted.com� for stolen art objects. The data may be filed by the vic- tims of art theft themselves. Torossian wants to be recognized by UNIDROIT as exercise of due diligence in art trade. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 17 May 2008, p. 49. 1 JUNE 2008 Anne d’Harnoncourt (1943–2008), director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, passed away. The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 30. 2 JUNE 2008 The gallerist, scholar, and connoisseur Klaus G. Perls passed away in New York. IFAR Journal 10 (2008) 1: 7. 2 JUNE 2008 In the lawsuit of the Museum of Modern Art and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts against Julius Schoeps and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy family heirs, Schoeps filed his counterclaim concerning Picasso’s (1881–1973) painting Boy Leading a Horse. The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 13. 474 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 3 JUNE 2008 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, opened a new Museum of Islamic Art with a loan show of artifacts from the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin. The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 15. 3 JUNE 2008 Ethiopia began reerecting the antique stele of Axum returned by Italy. Il Giornale dell’Arte, June 2008, p. 64. 3 JUNE 2008 The Art Basel opened until 8 June 2009 for the 39th time. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 4 June 2008, p. 25. 4 JUNE 2008 The Guidelines for Acquisition of Archaeological Materials and Ancient Art have been revised and published by the Association of American Museum Directors. IFAR Journal 10 (2008) 1: 4; International Herald Tribune, 6 June 2008, p. 9; The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 9; Yearbook of Cultural Property Law, 2009, pp. 9, 249. 5 JUNE 2008 The Munich auction house Ketterer Kunst withdrew from sale at auction the large painting Café de Flore by Jörg Immendorff (1946–2007) because the late artist’s primary agent for 30 years raised doubts about the work’s authenticity. The Art Newspaper, September 2008, p. 49. Now the County Court Düsseldorf must de- cide whether or not the painting is a fake. Die Welt, 31 July 2008, p. 24; Süd- deutsche Zeitung, 2–3 August 2008, p. 13. 7 JUNE 2008 A baroque cabinet that sold for £1.1million with Sotheby’s in December 2007 must stay in England because the owner declined a matching offer. The Art News- paper, January 2009, p. 8. 9–13 JUNE 2008 Four London auction houses made £68.9 million in their Russian works of art sales, well below expectations and a sign that the market for Russian art is losing momentum. The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 51. CHRONICLES 475 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 11 JUNE 2008 The Swedish Moderna Museet in Stockholm refused the return the painting Blu- mengarten by Emil Nolde (1867–1956) to Otto Nathan Deutsch. Nazis looted the painting from him in the 1940s. Available at �www.museum-security-network/ browse_thread/thread/f7a6�, 15 December 2008. 11 JUNE 2008 A Picasso painting was stolen from a museum in São Paulo, Brazil. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 14 June 2008, p. 39. 12 JUNE 2008 The German Commission for the Restitution of Cultural Property taken in Nazi- Persecution advised the Art Collection of Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe to pay Y10,000 for the painting Portrait of Family Dithfurth by Johann August von der Embde (1780–1862), which was taken from the Jewish owner Laura Baumann and later sold to the museum. The commission advised Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe to leave the painting with the museum and to compensate the heirs of Mrs. Baumann. Kun- strechtsspiegel 3 (2008): 166; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 16 June 2008, p. 38. 14 JUNE 2008 The Italian section of ICOM passed recommendations on loan fees to be paid for loans necessary for exhibitions in public museums. Loan fees amount sometimes up to millions of dollars should not be paid. They are bad. Insurance and trans- portation costs are high enough to deter museums from thoughtlessly asking for loans. The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 30. 15 JUNE 2008 The obelisk of Axum looted by Mussolini in 1937 was returned to and reerected in Ethiopia. The Art Newspaper, May 2008, p. 8. 16 JUNE 2008 The Pierre Gianadda Foundation in Martigny, Switzerland, opened an exhibition of works of Balthus who was born 100 years ago as Count Balthasar Klossowski (1908–2001). The Art Newspaper, November 2008, p. 44. 476 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 17 JUNE 2008 France passed the Loi no 2008–561 du 17 juin 2008 portant réforme de la prescrip- tion en matière civile [Act on the Reform of Statute of Limitations in Civil Mat- ters] . According to Art. 2 I 2o lit. c of the Act Art 2279 and 2280 Code civil on good faith, a purchase becomes now—unchanged—Art. 2276 and 2277 Code civil the new version. The act entered into force on 19 June 2008. Journal officiel de la République française du 18 June 2008, p. 9856; commentaries in Recueil Dalloz, 2008, p. 2511 et seq. 17–19 JUNE 2008 The seventh International Symposium on the Theft of and Illicit Traffic in Works of Art, Cultural Property and Antiquities in Lyon was organized by Interpol. The chairman of the Art Loss Register strongly opposed the granting of free access to database information on stolen works of art and supported his company’s policy of having all checks conducted by its staff and thus maintaining full control of the searches. In their conclusions the participants recommended that member states . . . (4) monitor land and underwater archaeological sites and tackle the illegal traffic which follows looting by adopting ap- propriate legislation in compliance with existing international instru- ments; (5) in the event of a seizure of Iraqi cultural property, contact the experts on the list drawn up by UNESCO, available on the General Secretariat’s website. Minutes of the Symposium, September 2008, reference PV/WOA/SYM/2008. 18 JUNE 2008 The County Court Munich decided that an auction house is not responsible to the owner of the pastel of Ury Lesser (1861–1931) for auctioning it for Y250.00 if there is an expertise stating that it is not by Ury Lesser. Landgericht München I File 15 O 19503/07. The decision is not yet final. 18 JUNE 2008 A large treaty settlement package was introduced into the New Zealand Parlia- ment as the Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill giving effect to the agreement between Central North Island Iwi (representing more than 100,000 people of various Māori tribes) and the Crown for vesting of the Central North Island Crown Forest rental land to the Central North Island Iwi Collective. New Zealand Law Review (2008): 609. CHRONICLES 477 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 20 JUNE 2008 The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, reopened one of its original entrances after nearly 30 years. The Fenway entrance leading into the Evans Wing has been closed since the early 1980s. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 24. 20 JUNE 2008 The Florence and the Old Low Lands—A Dialog of Artists exhibition opened in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence celebrating Jan van Eyck (active 1432–1441), Hans Memling (ca. 1440–1494), and Rogier van der Weyden (ca. 1399–1464) as models for Florentine painting during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 30 September 2008, p. 40. 24 JUNE 2008 The Jewish Museum in Paris [Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaisme] opened A qui appartenaient ces tableaux? an exhibition of paintings looted by the Nazis in France and not yet returned their unknown owners. The exhibition was shown in Jerusalem, Israel, from 18 February to 3 June 2008. Die Welt, 24 October 2008, p. 26; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 25 September 2008, p. 25. 24 JUNE 2008 Christie’s of London sold Le bassin aux nymphéas (1919) by Claude Monet (1840– 1926) for £40.9 million (ca. $70,776 million). This is the second expensive paint- ing sold in 2008. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe 28–29 June 2008, p. 26; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 28 June 2008, p. 49; ARTnewsletter, 8 July 2008, p. 2; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 28 June 2008, p. 15. . 25 JUNE 2008 The Italian parliament passed the Decreto-legge n. 112, considerably reducing the budget for cultural activities. Gazzetta Ufficiale 147 (25 June 2008), Suppl. Or- dinario n. 152/L. This legislative decree has been criticized by the art historian and former minister Salvatore Settis. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Aus- gabe, 5 September 2008, p. 26; Il Giornale dell’Arte, September 2008, p. 1; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 11 August 2008, p. 40. 26 JUNE 2008 Opening of the exhibition on Babylon in Berlin, coming from Paris and going to London. Il Giornale dell’Arte, March 2008, p. 53. 478 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 27 JUNE 2008 The Commercial Court of the English High Court of Justice decided that the Dr. Metzger Egg Clock is not a Fabergé egg, and therefore the owner is only entitled to less compensation than demanded for damages to the egg shipped to the United States. Kamidian v. Holt & others, 2008, EWHC 1483 (Comm). 27 JUNE 2008 The Court of Appeals of Paris declared the statues of Greek gods as fakes and held the French antique dealer liable and awarded damages to be paid to the pur- chaser Sir Elton John. The Art Newspaper, September 2008, p. 56. 28 JUNE 2008 The Midland arts center known as The Public opened in London. It cost the tax- payer £57 million, but there is hardly any art to see. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 6. 29 JUNE 2008 The Art Institute of Chicago is lending 90 of its Impressionist and Post- Impressionist paintings to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, to help raise money for its new $283 million wing designed by Renzo Piano. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 20. JUNE 2008 Christian Boros opened a gallery in the Berlin bunker. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zei- tung, 19 April 2008, p. 37. JUNE 2008 Sotheby’s withdrew from auctioning precious lithographs, which had been stolen from the Landesbibliothek of the German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern dur- ing or after World War II. Museum Security Network, 23 October 2008, p. 1. JUNE 2008 The German authority of provenance research started research in Berlin and Mu- nich. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 5 September 2008, p. 13; The Art Newspaper, July/ August 2008, p. 15. CHRONICLES 479 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core JUNE 2008 After organizing the exhibition, Sots Art: Political Art in Russia from 1972 to Today, the Tretyakov Gallery curator in Moscow is fired and charged with inciting reli- gious hatred. ARTnews, September 2008, p. 98. JUNE 2008 A team of 65 researchers commenced in Dresden to spend Y15 million on the biggest provenance study ever taken. The Art Newspaper, June 2008, p. 13. JUNE 2008 The statue Sandalenbinder by Fritz Röll (1879–1956), formerly owned by Adolf Hitler, could not be sold at the Olympia International Art & Antiques Fair. The government of Bavaria, which administers the estate of Hitler, did not raise a claim for return. The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 49. JUNE 2008 An international mission finds that archaeological sites in South Iraq have not been looted. The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, pp. 1, 4; Die Zeit, 16 July 2008, p. 42. JUNE 2008 The Bavarian State Art Collection in Munich returned the Still Life with Porce- lain Pot by Willem Kalf (1619–1693) to the heir of the former owner Josef Block (1863–1943). In 1940 it was expropriated and later exchanged against another paint- ing from the state collection. The painting was bought by the Friends of the State Collection and given to the State Collection on long-term loan. Kunstrechtsspiegel 3 (2008): 168. 3 JULY 2008 A court in Istanbul decided that the Hagia Sophia of Istanbul should not be turned into a mosque but should stay a monument open to the public as a “treasure common to mankind.” Süddeutsche Zeitung, 4 July 2008, p. 15. 3 JULY 2008 Chris Decron (director of the Munich House of Art since 2003) gave the Helmholtz-Lecture in the Humboldt University Berlin, advocating a closer col- 480 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core laboration between private collectors and public museums to avoid private mu- seums and their fragile construction. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 4 July 2008, p. 13. 4 JULY 2008 The exhibition of the works of Sebastiano del Piombo (ca. 1485–1547) opened in the Picture Gallery in Berlin after having been shown in Rome. Frankfurter Allge- meine Zeitung, 5 July 2008, p. 35. 9 JULY 2008 Sotheby’s of London sold 10 paintings of the Rau collection (paintings by Pierre Patel, Balthasar van der Ast, Jean-Marc Nattier, Albert Rigaux, Francesco Guardi, and Jacopo Tintoretto) at its Old Masters Auction. The proceeds will subsidize a hospital in Congo. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 26–27 April 2008, p. 20; Frankfurter Al- lgemeine Zeitung, 5 July 2008, p. 45, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 13 July 2008, p. 6. 9 JULY 2008 Christie’s of London sold paintings from the Prince of Liechtenstein art collec- tion. The Art Newspaper, March 2008, p. 66. 9 JULY 2008 Sherman Lee (1918–2008), director of the Cleveland Museum of Art from 1958 to 1983, passed away. ARTnews, September 2008, p. 88. 9 JULY 2008 A German General Consul of Izmir was arrested in Turkey because he and his Turkish wife (an archaeologist) tried to smuggle archaeological objects out of the country. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 16 July 2008, p. 10. 9 JULY 2008 The Ottheinrich Bible was exhibited in Munich. The Bible was acquired from private owners who wanted to sell it in London. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 31 July 2008, p. 33. CHRONICLES 481 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 10 JULY 2008 The collection Scharf-Gerstenberg, mainly consisting of French surrealists, opened in the Stüler-Bau in Berlin-Charlottenburg opposite the collection Berggruen and in front of the Castle Charlottenburg. Tagesspiegel, 11 July 2008, p. 21; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 26 April 2008, p. 41. 11 JULY 2008 The Museum of Visual Arts in Leipzig opened the exhibition, Lovis Corinth and the Birth of Modern Art, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Lovis Corinth’s birth (1858–1925). Süddeutsche Zeitung, 14 July 2008, p. 9; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Inter- nationale Ausgabe, 17 September 2008, p. 25. 11–14 JULY 2008 The 10th International Seminary of European Doctorate Candidates on “Art & Law” in Berlin. Under the supervision of Kerstin Odendahl, St. Gallen, and Kurt Siehr, Hamburg and Zürich, European candidates met in Berlin, talked about their projects, and visited the Berlin Museums guided by the museum directors An- dreas Scholl and Wolf-Dieter Heilmeyer. Kunstrechtsspiegel 1 (2009): 30. 16 JULY 2008 Switzerland ratified the convention of 17 October 2003 on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the convention of 20 October 2005 on the Protection and the Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. These instruments entered into force for Switzerland on 16 October 2008. Tractatenblad van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, Maandbericht Augustus, 2008, pp. 14, 16. 17 JULY 2008 The German Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court for Civil and Criminal Matters) handed down the judgment in the case of the collection Ahlers concern- ing the droit de suite or resale right. The claim was brought by the collecting society Bild-Kunst against a counsel of collectors and the agent of sales of art. The Court held that German law applies as soon as one of the activities for a transfer of title takes place in Germany. One of such activities is the contract for sale in Germany even if the artworks are located in another country without such droit de suite (i.e., Switzerland). BGH, Kunst und Recht (2008): 133; Zeitschrift für Urheber-und Medienrecht, 2008, p. 773; Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberre- cht, 2008, p. 989; Entscheidungen des Bundesgerichtshofs in Zivilsachen 177 (2008), 482 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core p. 319; International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, 2009, p. 604 (English translation of the judgment). 18 JULY 2008 Agnew’s of London sold its traditional seat in London to a Milanese fashion com- pany and concentrates now on modern and contemporary art. Il Giornale dell’Arte, June 2008, p. 76. 24 JULY 2008 The British Museum opened the exhibition, Hadrian: Empire and Conflict. The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 61; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 31 July 2008, p. 31. 24 JULY 2008 The Cour d’appel de Douai, France, confirmed the judgment of the lower court, which decided that the City of Rouen cannot return a Māori skull without a gov- ernment decision to delete the object from items that cannot be sold or exported. La semaine juridique—édition générale, 2008, II, no. 10181. 28 JULY 2008 The art critic Robert Hughes celebrated his 70th birthday. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 28 July 2008, p. 36. 31 JULY 2008 The Deutsche Historische Museum (German Historical Museum) prepared data about the Collection of the Special Agency Linz, the museum in Linz that Adolf Hitler planned to be the greatest art museum. The collected data can be consulted at �www.dhm.de/datenbank/linzdb�, 1 August 2008. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zei- tung, 31 July 2008, p. 33. JULY 2008 The excavated city of Pompeji, Italy, lacked funds for coping with 2.5 million vis- itors per year and deteriorated because of lack of money, while neighboring Er- colaneo was excavated with money of patrons. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 19 July 2008, p. Z1; and 31 December 2008, p. 36. CHRONICLES 483 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core JULY 2008 The Board of Directors of the American Association of Museums approved the Standards Regarding Archaeological Material and Ancient Art. International Jour- nal of Cultural Property 15 (2008): 301. JULY 2008 The Dionysos Mosaic of the Roman-Germanic Museum in Cologne, Germany, was finally restored with the assistance of the Italian Istituto Superiore per la Con- servazione ed il Restauro. The mosaic was severely damaged on 18 January 2007 when hurricane Kyrill also hit Germany. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 29 July 2008, p. 38. JULY 2008 A painting of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) was stolen from the Museum of Occidental and Oriental Art in Odessa, Ukraine. The painting was discovered in December 2008. Museum Security Network, 6 December 2008, p. 1. JULY 2008 The Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne returned to the family of Herbert von Klemperer the painting Bagpiper by Hendrick ter Bruggen (1588–1629). This paint- ing was sold in January 2009 for $9 million. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 31 January 2009, p. 40. JULY 2008 Raymond Scott was arrested when he asked the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, to check whether a folio copy of Shakespeare’s works was an original folio. The copy was stolen in 1998 from the Dublin University Library Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 15 July 2008, p. 33. 1 AUGUST 2008 Italy’s minister of culture, Francesco Rutelli, and the director of the Getty Mu- seum, Michael Brand, announced that they reached an agreement about the re- turn of 40 antiquities in exchange for important loans and scholarly collaboration. The Art Newspaper, September 2008, p. 16; Il Giornale dell’Arte, September 2008, p. 16. To celebrate this, the Bernini, the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture exhi- 484 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core bition opened on August 5 and lasted until 26 October 2008 in the Getty Mu- seum. Il Giornale dell’Arte, July/August 2008, p. 16. 2 AUGUST 2008 Thomas Eakins’ The Gross Clinic did not leave the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, because $68 million was collected. The painting can be seen in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 14 May 2008, p. 35. 3 AUGUST 2008 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Strassenscene in Berlin, returned by the Brücke Museum in Berlin, was exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 25 July 2008, p. 38. 7 AUGUST 2008 The Art Institute of Chicago, while exhibiting Benin Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria, disagreed with the opinions James Cuno expressed in his book, Who Owns Antiquity. Cuno refuses to give back illegally exported art objects to the countries of origin. Press release of the Art Institute of Chicago by Robert O’Connor. 7 AUGUST 2008 The Grecian Taste and Roman Spirit: The Society of Dilettanti exhibition opened at the Getty Museum in Malibu. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 10 October 2008, p. 39. 11 AUGUST 2008 The Commission of the European Communities informed the other EU branches about Europe’s cultural heritage at the click of a mouse and the progress on the digitalization and the click online accessibility of cultural material and digital pres- ervation across the EU by the Europeana. Available at �http://www.europeana.eu� on 15 August 2008. COM (2008) 5123 final. 12 AUGUST 2008 The probate court in Konstanz, Germany, decided that the beneficiary of the will of the late collector Gustav Rau was UNICEF, the International Children’s Fund. This organization will receive the vast collection of Mr. Rau to be sold for the benefit of the Fund. The Art Newspaper, November 2008. p. 4; Frankfurter Allge- CHRONICLES 485 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core meine Zeitung, 13 August 2008, p. 37; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Aus- gabe, 13 August 2008, p. 27. 12 AUGUST 2008 Michael Baxendall (born 1934) passed away in Manchester. The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 4. 13 AUGUST 2008 The Sanssouci Galleries in Potsdam, Germany, and the Castle Friedenstein in Gotha exhibited artworks returned 50 years ago from Russia. Die Welt, 15 August 2008, p. 19. 13 AUGUST 2008 A state court judge decided that the lawsuit of Gerald Malaga, former chief silk- screen painting assistant to Andy Warhol, against John Chamberlain, leader of the Warhol authentication board, on the authenticity of the painting 315 Johns cannot be decided without a trial. The Art Newspaper, September 2008, p. 8; XXXIV ARTnewsletter 1 (2008): 5. 14 AUGUST 2008 The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Norway descended into chaos following the resignation of director Allis Hellebrand. The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 20. 15 AUGUST 2008 The Römer Museum in Xanten, Germany, opened to the public. It houses the Roman history of the region and town Colonia Ulpia Traiana (now Xanten). Die Zeit, 4 September 2008, p. 65; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 2 Sep- tember 2008, p. 26. 19 AUGUST 2008 The Swiss national sausage cervelat has been saved. The skin of cows of Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentine may substitute the skins of Brazilian cows, which were no longer available because of epidemic cattle disease. NZZ Chronik, 2008, p. 88. 486 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 21 AUGUST 2008 During its session in Rio de Janeiro, the International Law Association approved the work of the Cultural Heritage Law Commission and the Guidelines for the Establishment and Conduct of Safe Havens for Cultural Material. The Inter- national Law Association, Report of the Seventy-Third Conference, Rio de Janeiro, London, 2008, pp. 379, 380–388; Archäologisches Nachrichtenblatt, 2008, p. 320. 23–24 AUGUST 2008 The Junteido-Kannondo Hall was destroyed by fire. The hall was part of the Daigoij-Temple in Kyoto and part of the World Heritage of UNESCO. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 26 August 2008, p. 25. 25–26 AUGUST 2008 The Dead Sea Scrolls became available on the web. International Herald Tribune, 27 August 2008, p. 2. 30 AUGUST 2008 The ancient sculpture La Venere di Tripoli was returned to Tripolis, Libya, where it was found during Italian occupation. Il Giornale dell’Arte, October 2008, p. 10. AUGUST 2008 Lord Sutherland, having loaned two Titian paintings Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto to the National Gallery in London and Edinburgh, terminated the loan and tried to sell the paintings for £100 million. Export licence was not given until 31 December 2008. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 29 August 2008, p. 37; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 30–31 August 2008, p. 16; The Art Newspaper, September 2008, p. 1; Le Journal des Arts (19 September–2 October 2008): 7. AUGUST 2008 Igor and Tatjana Preobraschenski were convicted in Moscow for having sold a painting of a European landscape as a Russian painting. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 28 August 2008, p. 34. AUGUST 2008 When a Muslim woman in a niqab visited the Venetian Museum Ca’Rezzonico in her veil covering the whole body except the eyes, she was asked to unveil and CHRONICLES 487 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core enter the museum without it. This aroused problems in Italy where, according to law, it is forbidden to cover the face in public. The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 26. 2 SEPTEMBER 2008 The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided the case Bakalar v. Vavra and Fischer. The court decided the previous sale to the gallery Kornfeld, according to Swiss law, held that the gallery acquired the drawing Seated Woman with Bent Left Leg by Egon Schiele (1890–1918) bona fide, and therefore rejected the recovery claim of the original owners, the Viennese family Grun- baum. News of the Art-Law Centre 18 (June 2009): 2. 2 SEPTEMBER 2008 Sotheby’s New York filed a lawsuit against Halsey Minor for more than $13 mil- lion in fees and damages for failing to pay for three works of art on which he successfully bid at sales in May 2008. The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 59; XXXIV ARTnewsletter 2 (2008): 4. See also supra 22 May 2008. 3 SEPTEMBER 2008 The French art historian Alexandre Gady complained that the modern museums suffer from their battle between unfettered liberalism and political instrumental- ism. Museums must now try to find foreign branches and earn money. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 3 September 2008, p. 25. 4 SEPTEMBER 2008 The Kulturkreis of the German Economy within the Society of German Econ- omy awarded the German Prize for Promoting Culture to Nina Diefenbach and Wolfram Koeppe of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 5 September 2008, p. 28. 5 SEPTEMBER 2008 The Albertina in Vienna opened the Drawn Pictures of Vincent van Gogh (1853– 1890) exhibition. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 25–26 October 2008, p. 25; Le Journal des Arts (3–16 October 2008): 12; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 6–7 Sep- tember 2008, p. 1. 488 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 5 SEPTEMBER 2008 Richard Baron Cohen invited guests to his house in Long Island to collect money to help rebuild the Castle in Berlin. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 5 September 2008, p. 38. 5–6 SEPTEMBER 2008 Second Heidelberg Kunstrechtstag took place with the Institute for Art and Law in Heidelberg. Main subjects of the papers and discussion were the 1970 UNESCO Convention and its German and Swiss implementation statute, matters of copy- right, cases of the German Federal Court for Civil and Criminal Matters, and the catalogues raisonnés. Kunstrechtsspiegel 3 (2008): 120. 6 SEPTEMBER 2008 Opening of the exhibition Schattengalerie in Aachen, Germany, at the Suermondt- Ludwig-Museum showing the losses of the museum during and after World War II with copies. After the opening the original paintings were discovered in the art museum of Simferopol, Ukraine. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 23 September 2008, p. 42 7 November 2008, p. 36, and 29 December 2008, p. 34; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 8–9 November 2008, p. 1; The Art Newspaper, December 2008, p. 13; 6 SEPTEMBER 2008 Dina Babbitt, the Jewish artist of the concentration camp Theresienstadt, learned that her paintings are still in the Concentration Camp Museum in Poland. She demanded them back, but the Polish museum declined. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 6–7 September 2008, p. 15. 6 SEPTEMBER 2008 On 6 September 1908, the Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria gave the regulation installing a committee responsible for the protection of Bavarian monuments. This was the birth date of Bavarian monuments protection. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, In- ternationale Ausgabe, 2 June 2008, p. 8. 7 SEPTEMBER 2008 In Münster, Germany, archivists, librarians, and restorers meet with the aim to save scores from being eaten by deterioration of paper. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 6–7 September 2008, p, 14. CHRONICLES 489 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 9 SEPTEMBER 2008 The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that Thomas P. Campbell has been elected its next director and CEO, succeeding Philippe de Montebello. Press re- lease, 9 September 2008. 10 SEPTEMBER 2008 Jeff Koons (born 1955) exhibited his works of art in Versailles, France. Le Journal des Arts (5–18 September 2008): 8, 31; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 11 Septem- ber 2008, p. 35; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 13–14 September 2008, p. 16; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 12 September 2008, p. 25. The Prince Charles- Emmanuel de Bourbon-Parme filed a lawsuit against the exhibition, but the court declined to order the closing because there was no desecration. Frankfurter Allge- meine Zeitung, 27 December 2008, p. 29. 10 SEPTEMBER 2008 Celebration of the return and reinstallment of the obelisk of Axum in Ethiopia. Il Giornale dell’Arte, July/August 2008. p. 41, and September 2008, p. 58; The Art Newspaper, September 2008, p. 6. 10 SEPTEMBER 2008 Opening of the exhibition, Academia: Qui es-tu? in the Chapelle de l’École Na- tionale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The exhibition showed how to exhibit art objects. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 18 September 2008, p. 35. 12 SEPTEMBER 2008 French auctioneers Binoche-Renaud-Giquello were arrested in Paris before the auction scheduled for this date, because Mexico claims that pre-Columbian arti- facts were illegally exported from Mexico. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 3 Oc- tober 2008, p. 41. 13–14 SEPTEMBER 2008 European Day of Monuments [Europäischers Tag des Denkmals] is celebrated all over Europe. In Switzerland the annual focus lay on old hotels and restaurants. Brochure of the Swiss Journées européennes du patrimoine, 2008; Nike 6 (2008): 47. 490 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 15 SEPTEMBER 2008 The United States government handed over 1000 antiquities to Iraqi officials. The works were seized by Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs En- forcement agency in four separate investigations starting in 2001. The Art News- paper, October 2008, p. 6. 15 SEPTEMBER 2008 Bernard Schnapper (1927–2008), the French professor of history and geogra- phy as well of art history, passed away in Paris. Revue historique de droit, 2009, p. 135. 15–16 SEPTEMBER 2008 Daniel Hirst sold his works of art in London for net record $200.7 million. In- ternational Herald Tribune, 17 September 2008, p. 12, and 19 September 2008, p. 9; ARTnews, November 2008, p. 102; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 12 September 2008, p. 25, and 13–14 September 2008, p. 27; The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 31, September 2008, pp. 1, 3, and October 2008, p. 63, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 11 September 2008, p. 31, 17 September 2008, p. 37, and 20 September 2008, p. 41; Il Giornale dell’Arte, October 2008, pp. 1, 4; Il Gior- nale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 90; Le Journal des Arts (3–16 October 2008): 27; Die Zeit, 11 September 2008, p. 55. 15 SEPTEMBER 2008 The American Investment Bank Lehman Brothers broke down and filed for bank- ruptcy. The Art Newspaper, January 2009, p. 4. The financial crisis will also affect cultural institutions. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 26 September 2008, p. 26. New York art market shows evidence of weakness. The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 1; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 7 October 2008, p. 28, and 13 December 2008, p. 43; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 27–28 September 2008, p. 20. 15 SEPTEMBER 2008 New documents submitted by the Leopold Museum blocked the trial of the Por- trait of Wally case, which had been pending since 1997. ARTnews, September 2008, p. 74, and November 2008, p. 92; The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 9. CHRONICLES 491 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 18 SEPTEMBER 2008 The Hungarian Museum of Fine Arts returned to Greece 22 ancient Greek ob- jects that proved to have been stolen from Greek sites. Kunstrechtsspiegel 1 (2009): 45. 19 SEPTEMBER 2008 Opening of the exhibition, Raub und Restitution. Kulturgut aus jüdischem Besitz von 1933 bis heute [Looting and Restitution. Cultural Objects of Jewish Posses- sion from 1933 until Today] , in the Jewish Museum in Berlin. The exhibition showed in the Frankfurt Jewish Museum from 22 April to 2 August 2009. The exhibition and the catalog presented the acting persons and 15 case studies and the background of Nazi looting. Museums Journal (September–December 2008): 78; Bertz and Dorrmann (eds.), Raub und Restitution, Göttingen 2008; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 30 December 2008, p. 23; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 19 September 2008, p. 35. Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein declined to lend the painting Portrait of a Gentleman by Frans Hals (1581/85–1666), formerly owned by Louis Baron von Rothschild, to this exhibition because he felt badly treated by the Federal Republic of Germany (use of bank data by the German revenue offices and the decline to return to him a Peter van Laer (ca. 1591–1642) painting lent by the Czech Re- public). Landgericht Köln, 10 October 1995; Oberlandesgericht Köln, 9 July 1996; Bundesgerichtshof, 25 September 1997; Bundesverfassungsgericht, 28 January 1998; European Court of Human Rights, 12 July 2001, no. 42527/98, ECHR 2001-VIII, 1; International Herald Tribune, 12 September 2008, p. 3. He said, “I will also sur- vive the Fourth Reich.” Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 12 Septem- ber 2008, p. 33; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 12 September 2008, pp. 1, 37; Kunstrechtsspiegel, 4 (2008): 198. 19 SEPTEMBER 2008 An exhibition of 130 old masters to be loaned from the Louvre to the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona, Italy, should have opened, but was cancelled for “bureaucratic reasons.” The Art Newspaper, July/August 2008, p. 9. See also supra 23 May 2008. 20 SEPTEMBER 2008 Opening of the exhibition, Palladio 500 anni, in Vicenza, Italy, to celebrate 500 years since the birth of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). Il Gior- nale dell’Arte, September 2008, p. 24. Many Palladio villas were in a bad shape. The 492 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core Art Newspaper, November 2008, p. 39; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 18 October 2008, p. 37. Cp. also infra 30 November 2008. 22 SEPTEMBER 2008 Reinhold Würth, a German industrialist and art collector, exhibited parts of his collection in the Picasso Museum in Malaga, Spain, until 2 Mach 2009. The Art Newspaper, January 2009, p. 34. 25 SEPTEMBER 2008 The United States Senate voted to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention. The Art Newspaper, November 2008, p. 7; Le Journal des Arts (14–27 November 2008): 6. 25 SEPTEMBER 2008 The German expressionist Emil Nolde (1867–1956) exhibited for the first time in France in the Paris Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. Le Journal des Arts (3–16 October 2008): 20; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 7 October 2008, p. 39. 26 SEPTEMBER 2008 In a press conference the French ministry of cultural affairs announced a decline of budget for culture the next years. Le Journal des Arts (3–16 October 2008): 3. 26 SEPTEMBER 2008 Opening of an exhibition of Andrea Mantegna (1430/31–1506) in the Louvre of Paris. Le Journal des Arts (3–16 October 2008): 19; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 9 October 2008, p. 33. 26 SEPTEMBER 2008 Retrospective exhibition of Mark Rothko’s (1903–1970) work in the London Tate Gallery. This gallery declined to accept a gift of 30 canvasses of Rothko in the 1960s, and only accepted nine. Le Journal des Arts (28 November–11 December 2008): 6. 28 SEPTEMBER 2008 Opening of the exhibition, Orte der Sehnsucht [Places of Nostalgia] , in Münster, Germany, showing how artists were inspired by their travels and stays in foreign countries. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 30 October 2008, p. V2/6; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 9 October 2008, p. R 8, CHRONICLES 493 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 30 SEPTEMBER 2008 1500 antiquities were looted from Afghanistan and seized in Britain since 2005 were returned to Afghanistan. The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 6. 30 SEPTEMBER 2008 The exhibition, Giovanni Bellini, opened in Rome at the Scuderie del Quirinale. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 6 October 2008, p. 33. SEPTEMBER 2008 Two fifteenth-century Sienese panel paintings were discovered in an English par- ish church in a Yorkshire mining village, outside Sheffield. They had hung unrec- ognized in the Church of St. John and St. Mary Magdalene in Goldthorpe. The paintings were identified as painted by Sano di Pietro of Siena (1405–1481). The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 4; Il Giornale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 18. SEPTEMBER 2008 The Italian Cultural Property Police (Carabinieri per la Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale) published its report on 2008. It recovered many archaeological items and other cultural objects. Il Giornale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 25. SEPTEMBER 2008 Close to the place where the Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed some years ago, a new Buddha and antiquities were found. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 9 September 2008, p. 7. SEPTEMBER 2008 Werner Schmidt, former director of the Collection of Prints of the State Art Col- lection of Dresden donated his own collection of prints to the City of Pirna, the city where Schmidt was born. art, October 2008, p. 124. SEPTEMBER 2008 The Greek Ministry of Culture inquired into the provenance of three antiquities in the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta. The may have been illegally exported. The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 26. 494 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core SEPTEMBER 2008 The London Value Added Tax (VAT) and Duties Tribunal ruled that six disas- sembled video installations by Bill Viola and a light sculpture by Dan Flavin could be imported from the U.S.-based Haunch of Venison gallery into the United King- dom as pieces of art (with a reduced level of VAT of 5%) and not as merchandise (with a higher level of VAT of 15%). The Art Newspaper, February 2009, p. 29. SEPTEMBER 2008 In Venice the Canale Grande has a new bridge built by the Spanish architect San- tiago Calatrava connecting the Station Santa Lucia with the Piazzale Roma. Süd- deutsche Zeitung, 6–7 September 2008, p. 12. SEPTEMBER 2008 In Moscow the Garage, an exhibition hall for modern art was opened by the pa- tron Darja Schukowa, daughter of a rich Russian citizen. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 22 October 2008, p. 25. SEPTEMBER 2008 The Portland Art Museum acquired from Christie’s a 36-inch stone sculpture of Ganesha, a revered deity in South and Southeast Asia. Because the museum does not know the work’s ownership history, it decided to place it on the web site of the Association of Art Museum Directors. Museum Security Network, message, 2 November 2008. SEPTEMBER 2008 The new Museum of Art & Design (MAD) on Columbus Circle in New York opened to the public. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 14 October 2008, p. 38. SEPTEMBER 2008 Georgia and Russia claim the other of having damaged dozens of churches, mon- asteries and museums during the war in Georgia in August 2008. The Art News- paper, November 2008, p. 5. SEPTEMBER 2008 Kate Clark published the Review of the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Available at �http://www.finds.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/pas-fina� on 30 September 2008. CHRONICLES 495 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core SEPTEMBER 2008 The painting El Mulino de los Dioses. Muele Lento [The Moon of Yare] by Vene- zuelan President Hugo Chávez was sold for Y180,000 in Caracas. He painted the work in 1992 while in a Yare jail for trying to overthrow the government. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 19 September 2008, p. 7; Die Welt, 19 September 2008, p. 6. SEPTEMBER 2008 Christie’s of London asked the George Grosz (1893–1959) administrator about the provenance of a gouache to be sold at auction by Christie’s, which eventually revealed that the gouache was stolen in 1936 from the Berlin National Gallery. The administrator could be persuaded to return the gouache for payment of some reward for the finder. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 13–14 September 2008, p. 18. SEPTEMBER 2008 The Munich Art Gallery Bernheimer filed a suit against the German City of Pir- masens and asked for a declaratory judgment stating that Bernheimer validly sold a painting by Heinrich Bürkel (1802–1869), which the city of Pirmasens attached because the city claims to have lost the painting during World War II. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 19 September 2008, p. 15. 1 OCTOBER 2008 The Supreme Court of Russia decided to rehabilitate the last emperor of Russia, Tsar Nicholas II, and his family for having been executed without motives by the revolutionary army in 1918. Il Corriere della Sera, 2 October 2008, p. 15; Bulletin of International Legal Developments (2008): 231; International Herald Tribune, 2 October 2008, p. 2. 1 OCTOBER 2008 Two hundred years ago, Carl Gotthard Langhans (1732–1808) passed away. He designed the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (1788–1791) and built many other im- portant buildings in classical style. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 22 October 2008, p. 26. 1 OCTOBER 2008 A mural painting of Max Ernst (1891–1976), executed for the Zürich bar Corso Dancing Mascotte, has been detached, saved, restored, and finally shown to the 496 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core public in the Kunsthaus Zürich. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 26 September 2008, p. 43; Nike 3 (2008): 26. 1 OCTOBER 2008 The Deutsche Bank gave its collection of 600 works of art of approximately Y20 million to the Städel Art Museum in Frankfurt, Main, as a long-term loan. Il Gior- nale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 4. 2 OCTOBER 2008 At the International Conference on the Restitution of Artworks in Dresden it was announced that the Free State of Saxony will spend YYY15 million in provenance research over the next years. Il Giornale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 18; Die Welt, 4 October 2008, p. 23; Koldehoff and others (eds.), Kunst-Transfers, 2009 (papers of the conference). 3 OCTOBER 2008 The Dallas Museum of Art opened the exhibition, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. The New York Review of Books, 25 September 2008, p. 75. 3 OCTOBER 2008 In the Chancery Court for Davidson County of the State of Tennessee, the heirs of the former art dealer Walter Westfeld of Wuppertal, Germany, filed a lawsuit against the Federal Republic of Germany. The heirs claimed that Germany or- dered the sale at auction of Westfeld’s art treasures in 1939 before he was killed at Auschwitz around 1943. The case is Westfield v. Federal Republic of Germany. ART- news, January 2009, p. 48; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 8–9 November 2008, p. 22. 3 OCTOBER 2008 Opening of the exhibition, Stimmungslandschaften, in the Bröhan-Museum in Ber- lin, exhibiting the work of Walter Leistikow (1865–1908). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 21 October 2008, p. 35. 4 OCTOBER 2008 The 16th General Assembly of International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) ratified the ICOMOS Charter for the Interpretation and Presenta- tion of Cultural Heritage Sites as well as the ICOMOS Charter on Cultural Routes. CHRONICLES 497 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core The Québec Declaration on the Preservation of the Spirit of Place was adopted. International Journal of Cultural Property 15 (2008): 377, 385, 393. 5 OCTOBER 2008 Ten years ago, on 5 October 1998, Federico Zeri passed away. In memoriam of his death, the Fondazione “Prospettiva Zeri” in Bologna held a conference on 10 and 14 October in the Milano based Museo Poldi Pezzoli. Il Giornale dell’Arte, Octo- ber 2008, p. 57. 5 OCTOBER 2008 The Knesset agreed to hand over the “Sergel Courtyard” to Russia. This area of Jerusalem once accommodated Russian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. Inter- national Herald Tribune, 8 October 2008, p. 4. 7 OCTOBER 2008 An old jug that was sold at for £220,000 in January 2008 was for sale at auction with Christie’s of London. It was offered by Christie’s for £3 million after discov- ering that the jug was a carved rock crystal ewer made for the court of the Fatimid rulers of Cairo in the tenth or eleventh century. This sleeper was finally sold for £3.18 million to the Keir Collection. The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 35; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 18–19 October 2008, p. 27. 8 OCTOBER 2008 The exhibition, Bunte Götter. Die Farbigkeit antiker Skulptur [Colourful Gods. The Colours of Antique Sculpture] , opened at the Liebig House in Frankfurt, Main, and put forward the theory of Vinzenz Brinkmann that antique sculptures have been painted colorfully. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 11 October 2008, p. 33; Die Welt, 9 October 2008, p. 27. 8 OCTOBER 2008 Opening of three exhibitions in Paris showing works of Pablo Picasso (1881– 1973) and of ancient artworks, which inspired the Spanish artist. Le Monde, 5–6 October 2008, p. 3; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 28 October 2008, p. 39; Inter- national Herald Tribune, 11–12 October 2008, p. 11. 498 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 8 OCTOBER 2008 The city of Freiburg, Germany, offered to pay the heirs of collector Fritz Glaser, who was expropriated by the Nazis and had to sell the painting Max John by Otto Dix (1891–1969) now held by the Freiburg Museum für Neue Kunst. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 9 October 2008, p. 13. 8 OCTOBER 2008 The Tate Gallery in London, having acquired the draft design of Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) for the ceiling of Banqueting House in Whitehall, London, exposed the draft in the gallery. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 11–12 October 2008, p. 15. 9 OCTOBER 2008 Charles Saatchi opened his new gallery in London’s Duke of York HQ with The Revolution Continues exhibition. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 8 October 2008, p. 14; art, October 2008, p. 125; The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 11; Frankfurter Allge- meine Zeitung, 9 October 2008, p. 35; International Herald Tribune, 8 October 2008, p. 20. 10 OCTOBER 2008 The artist Wolfram Kastner sued the city of Mönchengladbach for allegedly de- stroying his piece of art consisting of hundred white suitcases in memory of the deportation and killing of Jews. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 9 October 2008, p. 13. 11 OCTOBER 2008 Fifty years ago Max J. Friedländer (1867–1958) passed away in Amsterdam. From 1896 to 1933 he served in the Berlin museums as specialist for Dutch art. Since 1929 he was the successor of Wilhelm von Bode (1845–1929) as director of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin. In memory of this great scholar, the Kupferstichkabinett Berlin organized an exhibition on Max Friedländer. Museums Journal (October– December 2008): 86. 11 OCTOBER 2008 Nicolas Sarkozy, president of the French Republic, and Angela Merkel, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, inaugurated the Memorial Charles de Gaulle in Colombey-les-Deux-Église, the place where Charles de Gaulle died in 1972. Le Journal des Arts (16 October 2008): 9. CHRONICLES 499 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 13 OCTOBER 2008 Opening of the Nostoi exhibition in Athens with the Greek and Italian presidents of state with the returned Parthenon fragment from Italy as a long-term loan. museum-security network, 14 October 2008, p. 3. 14 OCTOBER 2008 Opening of the exhibition, Bonaparte et l’Egypte, in the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. This exhibition is devoted to French engagements in Egypt, starting with Napoleon’s invasion in 1798, his defeat at Abukir, the scientific expedition with art historians and scientists, the creation of the Institut d’Egypte, and the dona- tion of the obelisk on the Place de la Concorde by Mohammed Ali in 1834. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 16 December 2008, p. 36. 15 OCTOBER 2008 The Vienna auction house Dorotheum sold the painting Mädchen mit Strohhut (Girl with Straw Hat) by Friedrich von Amerling (1803–1887) for YYY1.5 million to the Liechtenstein Museum Vienna. This is the highest price ever paid in an Austria auction. The painting is an icon of Biedermeier. The painting was formerly owned by Ernst von Gotthilf and was returned by the Österre- ichische Galerie to the heirs of the Austrian Jew. A Self Portrait by the same artist was sold for Y55,200. Der Standard, 9 October 2008, p. 31; Dorotheum press release, 15 October 2008; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 1 November 2008, p. 44. 15 OCTOBER 2008 Germany passed the Verordnung über das Verzeichnis wertvollen Kulturgutes nach dem Kulturgüterrückgabegesetz ( Kulturgüterverzeichnis-Verordnung–KultgVV ) [Regulation on the List of Precious Cultural Property according to the Act on the Return of Cultural Property] , providing some guidance for the listing of precious cultural property of foreign states to be listed in Germany. Bundesgesetzblatt, 2008, part I, p. 2002. 16 OCTOBER 2008 A person was arrested in Leeds for suspicion of having stolen 69 miniatures (value approximately £200,000) on exhibition in Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Cumbria. The Art Newspaper, November 2008, p. 2. 500 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 16 OCTOBER 2008 Frieze Week, an art fair of contemporary art, started in London. International Her- ald Tribune, 11–12 October 2008, p. 19. 16 OCTOBER 2008 The French Cour de Cassation handed down a judgment confirming the decision of the Cour d’appel that a painting of the time of Mazzola, that is Parmigianino (1503–1540), cannot be called a fake because it is a painting of this time, but not a Mazzola. La Semaine Juridique, 2009, II no. 10015. 17 OCTOBER 2008 Symposium devoted to Kirchner & the Berlin Street was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 2006 the Street Scene of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880– 1938) was returned to the former owners and then acquired by the Neue Galerie in New York. The New York Review of the Books, 25 September 2008, p. 63. 17 OCTOBER 2008 The British Council and its branch in Russia accused of defrauding tax payments won the trial in a Russian court, which held the indictment as an act of “political discretion.” Süddeutsche Zeitung, 18–19 October 2008, p. 14. 18–19 OCTOBER 2008 Marco Parini, vice president of Italia Nostra, voted at the National Congress of Italia Nostra for restoration and money for this job of restoration in times of limited budgets. Il Giornale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 11. 19 OCTOBER 2008 Painter and artist Anselm Kiefer (born 1945) was awarded the Peace Price of Ger- man Book Sellers (Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels). Frankfurter Allge- meine Zeitung, 20 October 2008, pp. 1, 33; art, September 2008, p. 20. 20 OCTOBER 2008 Opening of the Terra Mineralia exhibition of the mineral collection Erika Pohl- Ströher in Castle Freudenstein in Freiberg, Saxony. Mrs. Pohl-Ströher donated her collection of 5000 pieces to the city of Freiberg with the oldest mineral acad- emy in the world. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 21 October 2008, p. 9. CHRONICLES 501 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 20 OCTOBER 2008 The London Metropolitan Police’s new team ArtBeat Special Constables were de- ployed for the first time as part of Operation Syenite. The operation aims to raise awareness among London’s art world about antiquities looted from the Afghan- istan National Museum in Kabul during the 1990s. Museum Security Network, 27 October 2008, p. 1. 23 OCTOBER 2008 In Treviso, Italy, the Canaletto, Venezia e i Suoi Splendori [Canaletto, Venice and Her Beauties] exhibition opened at the Casa dei Carraresi. Il Giornale dell’Arte, October 2008, p. 46. 23 OCTOBER 2008 The French Presidency of the European Union convened the persons of the 27 member states responsible for the security of museums to improve museum se- curity. Museum Security Network, 28 October 2008, p. 1 23 OCTOBER 2008 The Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain (FIAC) opened its doors in Paris and offered contemporary art until 26 October 2008. Le Journal des Arts (27–30 October 2008): 15 et seq. 24 OCTOBER 2008 The 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict entered into force in New Zealand. Tractatenblad van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, Maandbericht, November 2008, p. 3. 24 OCTOBER 2008 Once given up as lost, 280 ancient bronze sculptures, carvings, glass objects, pre- cious gold jewelry, and other artifacts, were triumphantly displayed in the travel- ling exhibit, Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul. Museum Security Network, 28 October 2008, p. 1. 25 OCTOBER 2008 The Byzantium 330 to 1453 exhibition opened at the London Royal Academy of Arts. Objects from more than 100 institutions exhibited in London, and later they 502 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core were no longer loaned because of their fragility. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internatio- nale Ausgabe, 30 January 2009, p. 25. 25 OCTOBER 2008 The Munich Lenbach-Haus showed a complete exhibition of paintings by Wass- ily Kandinsky (1866–1944). The next year the museum will get an additional build- ing at the same site. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 24 October 2008, p. 13; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 7 January 2009, p. 33; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 29 January 2009, p. 23. 25 OCTOBEDR 2008 Régine Elkan, the great-granddaughter of Adolphe Fraenkel, raised a claim against the city of Paris on the basis that the Bouvier-Collection, acquired by the Car- navalet Museum in Paris, was taken by the Nazis in World War II and should be given back to her. The Art Newspaper, December 2008, p. 9. 26 OCTOBER 2008 Beginning of the 28th edition of the São Paulo Bienal. This year it was less an art exhibition than a colloquy on the biennial and its future. The Art Newspaper, No- vember 2008, p. 11. 27 OCTOBER 2008 The government of Spain returned 45 allegedly contraband pre-Columbian arti- facts to Peru during a visit by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. Museum Secu- rity Network, 28 October 2008, p. 1. 28 OCTOBER 2008 Lebanese customs agents seized dozens of stolen Iraqi antiquities, including stat- ues, pottery, and stone carvings, from two smugglers along the Syrian-Lebanese border. Museum Security Network, 31 October 2008, p. 1. 29 OCTOBER 2008 The collection Rau was exhibited in the Arp Museum in Remagen, Germany. UNICEF Paris, to whom the collection was given, signed a contract with the mu- seum. Die Welt, 29 October 2008, p. 23, and 30 October 2008, p. 24; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 29 October 2008, p. 40. CHRONICLES 503 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 29 OCTOBER 2008 The Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Alphonse Kann association announced the museum’s plan to restitute the painting Smoke Over Rooftops by Fernand Leger (1881–1955). Provenance research proved that the work was stolen during the Nazi occupation of France. The Art Newspaper, December 2008, p. 9. 29 OCTOBER 2008 The Lions Club of Gela, Italy, held a conference in Gela with the Museo Archeo- logico Regionale di Gela on The Recovered Art. Protection of the Cultural Patri- mony and Recovery of Art Objects. Museum Security Network, 1 November 2008, p. 1. 30 OCTOBER 2008 The German-Russian Museums Dialogue performed a gala meeting Verlust + Rückgabe in the Berlin Pergamon Museum, celebrating 50 years of the return of removed German art objects to Germany. Flyer of the meeting. 30 OCTOBER 2008 The French Cour de Cassation in the case of the table Boulle quashed the deci- sion of the Cour d’appel de Paris and annulled the sale because of a mistake. The table was considerably restored during the nineteenth century. Le Journal des Arts (14–22 November 2008): 40; Il Giornale dell’Arte, January 2009, p. 57. 31 OCTOBER 2008 The director general of the Berlin Museums, Peter-Klaus Schuster, retired and Michael Eissenhauer and Udo Kittelmann took over his job. The Alte National- galerie received the painting Jugendbildnis von Jean-Baptiste Vermay by Gottlieb Schick (1776–1812) as a present. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 29 October 2008, p. 13, and 3 November 2008, p. 13; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 7 November 2008, p. 40; Il Giornale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 48; The Art Newspaper, October 2008, p. 24, and June 2009, p. 18; arsprototo 1 (2009): 14. OCTOBER 2008 When Philippine police confiscated 22 bags of broken pottery from antiquities smugglers near an area where Muslim rebels operated, little did they know that they may have uncovered the remnants of a long-lost tribe. Now, experts at the National Museum in the capital Manila are studying the burial urns from a tribe 504 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core that lived in the Philippines more than 2000 years ago, in what could be a major archaeological discovery. Museum Security Network, 24 October 2008, p. 1. OCTOBER 2008 The German Archaeological Institute, digging in Hattuscha, Turkey since 1931, discovered two big jars dated the fourteenth century B.C., when the empire of the Hittites still flourished. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 9 October 2008, p. 35. OCTOBER 2008 The London auction house Bonhams withdrew 10 art objects commissioned by Robin Symes that were allegedly illegally excavated in Italy and, on Italian re- quest, given back to Italy. Il Giornale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 24. OCTOBER 2008 A working group of the Austrian government declared that a Lex Leopold has no chance, The Leopold Museum is a private foundation, and therefore it cannot be obliged to return paintings of obscure provenance. Kunstrechtsspiegel 1 (2009): 48. OCTOBER 2008 The Italians agreed to help the Egyptians modernize the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Il Giornale dell’Arte, October 2008, p. 47. OCTOBER 2008 The German city of Weimar will sell the house of Charlotte von Stein to the Span- ish patron Joan Xavier Bofill, who will show in the house his collection of Salva- tore Dalí(1904–1989) works. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 17 October 2008, p. 26. OCTOBER 2008 Five paintings (by Adrian Ostade and Jan Steen) stolen in 2002 from the Frans- Hals-Museum in Haarlem, Netherlands, were recovered in the Netherlands. art, November 2008, p. 120. 1 NOVEMBER 2008 The Russian violinist Sergei Dyachenko, accused by the Italian prosecutor of hav- ing sold fake eighteenth-century violins to his students for sky-high prices, was CHRONICLES 505 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core found hanged in his Rome apartment. Museum Security Network, 3 November 2008. 3 NOVEMBER 2008 Sotheby’s of New York sold the Suprematistic Composition of Kasimir Malevich (1878–1935) for $60 million. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 8–9 November 2008, p. 27; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 31 October–2 November 2008, p. 21. The painting Arlequin by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) was withdrawn from auc- tion. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 1–2 November 2008, p. 27. 4 NOVEMBER 2008 Richard Armstrong became director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Il Giornale dell’Arte, October 2008, p. 8; Le Journal des Arts (3–16 October 2008): 7; ARTnews, November 2008, p. 139. 4 NOVEMBER 2008 Conference on cultural property and the German implementation statute of the 1970 UNESCO Convention in the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Minutes of the con- ference, p. 1. 4 NOVEMBER 2008 The German state Baden-Württemberg acquired from the House Baden (for- merly the Grand Duke of Baden) for Y60 million the Castle Salem and art ob- jects, thereby ending a dispute dating back to 1918. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 5 November 2008, p. 3, 33; Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 26 October 2008, p. 4; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 5 November 2008, p. 4. 5 NOVEMBER 2008 German television showed a documentary about 434 paintings (i.e., by van Dyck, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Rubens) stored in 1945 in the Berlin bunker but vanished. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 5 November 2008, p. 40. 5 NOVEMBER 2008 Regina Mönch published an article reporting on the Bundesamt für zentrale Di- enste und offene Vermögensfragen [Federal Office for Central Services and Open Property Questions] in Berlin where about 13,000 artworks of unknown prov- 506 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core enance are stored and researched to decide on their provenance. Frankfurter Al- lgemeine Zeitung, 5 November 2008, p. 42. 6–9 NOVEMBER 2008 The German Kunsthistorische Institut in Florence organized a Piazza e monu- mento [Place and Monument] conference during which the researchers want to find out the social function of marketplaces in social life and politics. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 25 November 2008, p. 12. 6 NOVEMBER 2008 The Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin returned to the library of Tel Aviv the Talmud commentary Sefer Avodat ha-Levi of Israel ben Uri Segal Reis (1793). It was stolen in Tel Aviv 10 years ago. Kunstrechtsspiegel 1 (2009): 53. 7 NOVEMBER 2008 Opening of the Hamburg exhibition, Looted Books, NS-Booty in the State and University Library Hamburg Carl von Ossietzky. Provenance research has re- vealed that many books formerly owned by Jewish people [Prof-Edit38]are still in public libraries. Auskunft, 2008, p. 331. 8 NOVEMBER 2008 At its meeting in Rome, the Research Institutes in the History of Art (RIHA) General Assembly passed a resolution on copyright recommending that research should be treated as noncommercial where the taking of copyright material is fair and where any charge to the user would only cover production and distribution of a publication. Kunstchronik, 2008, p. 620. 9 NOVEMBER 2008 The exhibition, Nuit de Cristal, in the Jewish museum Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris recalls the events of 9 November 1938 when all synagogues in Germany were destroyed. Le Journal des Arts (23 January–5 February 2009): 9. 9 NOVEMBER 2008 At the anniversary of the Kristallnacht (1938), members of the Jewish Commu- nity of Vienna protested in front of the Leopold Museum, attaching yellow signs CHRONICLES 507 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core marked “Art Crime Scene” to the building. The protest is a political campaign against the museum’s holdings of allegedly Nazi-looted art. The Art Newspaper, December 2008, p. 9; Il Giornale dell’Arte, December 2008, p. 14. 11 NOVEMBER 2008 The Museo del Corso in Rome opened the Da Rembrandt a Vermeer exhibition with paintings from the Berlin Gemäldesammlung. This is an exchange for the exhibition of Sebastiano del Piombo, which went from Rome (Palazzo Venezia) to Berlin. Il Giornale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 28. 11–12 NOVEMBER 2008 Sotheby’s and Christie’s suffered losses in their auctions of contemporary art be- cause they had guaranteed the sale of commissioned works but did not meet the guaranteed sum. The Art Newspaper, December 2008, p. 55. Christie’s sold also artworks of Richard Fuld, the director of the investment bank Lehman Brothers. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 27 September 2008, p. 41. 13–15 NOVEMBER 2008 The International Academy of Comparative Law held a conference in Mexico City and also dealt with the protection of cultural objects in various countries. Leaflet of the conference. 13 NOVEMBER 2008 The French Cour de Cassation decided that Jakob Gautel has a copyright in “l’œuvre de l’esprit” by fixing the word “paradis” above the door of a toilet of an old dormitory for drunken people. Le Journal des Arts (12 December 2008–8 Jan- uary 2009): 27. 14 NOVEMBER 2008 Jan Krugier (born 1928 in Radom, Poland), the gallery owner of Geneva and survivor of Treblinka and Auschwitz, passed away in Geneva. Il Giornale dell’Arte, December 2008, p. 82; Le Journal des Arts (28 November–11 December 2008): 3; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 17 November 2008, p. 25; ARTnews, January 2009, p. 50; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 22–23 November 2008, p. 20. 508 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 15 NOVEMBER 2008 The Feria de Arte y Antigüedades in Madrid opened. It had only 27,690 visitors (35,000 in 2007) who bought 3143 works of art (4966 for Y13 million in 2007). Die Welt, 29 November 2008, p. 31. 17 NOVEMBER 2008 The Geneva-based Art-Law Centre organized the conference, The Battle against Illicit Trade in Cultural Objects by Internet. News of the Art-Law Centre 18 (June 2009): 1. 18 NOVEMBER 2008 Inauguration of the renovated hall of the United Nations in Geneva. Spanish art- ist Miquel Barceló painted the ceiling as a gift to Spain. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 19 November 2008, p. 7; ARTnews, February 2009, p. 52. The hall had to be closed in December 2008, because of the danger of ceiling plasters falling down and injuring people. art, January 2009, p. 9. 19 NOVEMBER 2008 In the decision Robert S. Vineberg and others v. Maria-Louise Bissonnette, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the District Court of Rhode Island and obliged the defendant to return the painting Girl from the Sabine Mountains by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805– 1873) to the heirs of the late German art dealer Max Stern, who was deprived of his art objects by confiscation by the Nazis in 1937. ARTnews, March 2008, p. 78, and February 2009, p. 56; Rhode Island News, 20 November 2008, �www.projo.com/ news�, visited on 10 January 2009. 19 NOVEMBER 2008 The Cleveland Museum of Art returned 14 ancient artworks to Italy as looted, stolen, and illegally exported cultural property. Available at �www.cleveland.com/ arts�, visited 24 November 2008. 19 NOVEMBER 2008 The Bavarian State Library returned 75 books of Thomas Mann (1875–1955), which were confiscated in 1933 by the Nazis in Munich, and gave them to the Thomas-Mann-Archive in Zürich. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 20 November 2008, p. 39; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 13 November 2008, p. 33. CHRONICLES 509 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 19 NOVEMBER 2008 Italy passed the Legge-quadro sulla qualità architettonica on the amelioration of architecture in Italy and more competition in this respect. Consiglio dei Ministri, 19 November 2008, p. 1. 21 NOVEMBER 2008 At the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, Main, the Der Meister von Flémalle und Ro- gier van der Weyden exhibition tried to solve the question relating to the work- shop of Robert Campin (ca. 1375–1444) of Tournai, France. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 29 November 2008, p. 33; Il Giornale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 37. 21 NOVEMBER 2008 The renovated Museum of American History was inaugurated in Washington, DC. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 24 November 2008, p. 7. 22 NOVEMBER 2008 Inauguration of the Museum of Islamic Art built by the architect I. M. Pei in Doha, Qatar. International Herald Tribune, 24 November 2008, p. 1; The Art News- paper, December 2008, p. 24; Il Giornale dell’Arte, December 2008, p. 25; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 29 November 2008, p. Z3; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internation- ale Ausgabe, 27 November 2008, p. 25. 25 NOVEMBER 2008 Helmut Friedlaender (1913–2008) passed away in New York. Friedlaender was an investment banker and a book collector. The Art Newspaper, January 2009, p. 4. 26 NOVEMBER 2008 Terrorist attacks in Mumbai (Bombay), India, destroyed old hotels and houses. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 4–5 July 2009, p. 14; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 3 December 2008, p. 25, and 6–7 December 2008, p. 6; Die Zeit, 4 De- cember 2008, p. 66. 26 NOVEMBER 2008 For Bahrain the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Objects in Times of Armed Conflict and the two Protocols of 1954 and 1999 entered into force. Tractatenblad van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, Maandbericht, September 2008, p. 5. 510 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 26 NOVEMBER 2008 Seven German enterprises and some individuals spent Y40 million to renew the Deutsche Museum in Munich. The remainder, for restoration of the museum, was paid by the Land Bavaria and the federal government. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 27 November 2008, p. 37. 26 NOVEMBER 2008 More than 100 looted Iraqi antiquities and artifacts were seized in Dubai as they were smuggled through the Emirate. Available at �http://www.museum-security- network�, 28 November 2008. 27 NOVEMBER 2008 The Collection of Antiquities in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin inaugurated the exhibition, The Return of Gods—Berlin’s Hidden Olympus, mainly displaying antiquities of Berlin and loans from other museums. The Berlin antiquities re- turned 50 years ago from the Soviet Union and this year from a presentation of the Berlin treasures in Brasilia. Museums Journal (October/December 2008): 68. 27 NOVEMBER 2008 The Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaisme in Paris returned the painting Paysage—Le Mur Rose by Henri Matisse (1869–1954) to the heirs of the former owner Harry Herz Salomon Fuld (1879–1932). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 27 November 2008, p. 28. 28 NOVEMBER 2008 It was decided that the Berlin City Castle will be rebuilt by the Italian architect Francesco Stella. This Süddeutsche Zeitung, 29–30 November 2008, pp. 1, 15; Die Welt, 29 November 2008, p. 27; Il Giornale dell’Arte, January 2009, p. 39; Die Zeit, 23 December 2008, p. 49; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 4 December 2008, p. 44, and 24 December 2008, p. 34; Die Zeit, 4 December 2008, p. 49; Süddeutsche Zei- tung, 4 December 2008, p. 11. 28 NOVEMBER 2008 The French ethnologist Claude Lévi-Strauss turned 100 years of age. Le Monde, 26 November 2008, Supplement p. 1; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 22 Novem- ber 2008, p. Z1; 27 November 2008, p. 39; Die Zeit, 20 November 2008, p. 65. CHRONICLES 511 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 30 NOVEMBER 2008 Celebration of the Return of German Treasures from the Soviet Union to Ger- many in 1958. In the Pergamon Museum, in front of the Pergamon Altar, 28 Ger- man museums and more than 500 guests recalled the return 50 years ago, but also expressed their concern that German treasures remain in Russian museums as well as museums of other successor states of the Soviet Union. arsprototo 4 (2008): 6–11. 30 NOVEMBER 2008 Andrea Palladio (1508–1580) was born 500 years ago and was celebrated in sev- eral exhibitions. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 7 November 2008, p. 25, and 29–30 November 2008, p. 28. art, February 2009, p. 110; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 29 November 2008, p. 35; Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszei- tung, 2 November 2008, p. 29. See also supra 20 September 2008. NOVEMBER 2008 The Antikensammlung of the University of Bonn exhibited 800 Etruscan arti- facts that were never shown for a long time. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 4 No- vember 2008, p. 39. NOVEMBER 2008 Switzerland returned to Italy thousands of cultural objects illegally exported from Italy and held by art traders in Basel or attached by the Swiss customs officers. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 7 November 2008, p. 7. NOVEMBER 2008 The Vatican returns to Greece a part of the Parthenon frieze held by the Vatican museums. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 26 November 2008, p. 26. NOVEMBER 2008 The Fürstenberg Collection, acquired by the industrialist and art collector Rein- hold Würth, will be exhibited in the Johanniter Hall in Schwäbisch Hall, Ger- many. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 28 November 2008, p. 41; Die Zeit, 20 November 2008, p. 69. 512 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core NOVEMBER 2008 The Tretjakov Museum in Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church disputed over lending three icons for next Pentecost to the cloisters Sergijew Possad near Moscow. The Museum refused because of the fragility of the icons. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 22–23 November 2008, p. 15. NOVEMBER 2008 Mario Resca, the former head of McDonald Italia, became the director general of Italy’s 4000 state museums. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2 December 2008, p. 13; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 11 February 2009, p. 23. NOVEMBER 2008 A painting St. Mark by Frans Hals (1581/5–1666), given by Tsarina Catherine the Great to decorate churches in the Crimea and allegedly looted during the Crimean War (1853–1856), surfaced and was shown with Colnaghi’s London gallery. The Art Newspaper, December 2008, p. 52. NOVEMBER 2008 The French newspaper Libération revealed that seven people were taken in for questioning, including the antiquarian Michel Cohen; the archaeology, antiques, and Islamic art expert Chakib Slitine; and Doctor K himself, a Nice-based doctor named Marc Keucker. They are suspected of engaging in art frauds. The Art News- paper, January 2009, p. 47. NOVEMBER 2008 The Bargello in Florence exhibited David by Donatello (ca. 1386–1466) after the statue was restored and given back its original splendor. Il Giornale dell’Arte, No- vember 2008, p. 83. 2 DECEMBER 2008 Old Masters Auction with Christie’s in London. The veduta of Canaletto (1697– 1768), Canale Grande, sold for £3.85 million. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 6–7 January 2009, p. 27; The Art Newspaper, January 2009, p. 50; Il Gior- nale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 108. CHRONICLES 513 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 3 DECEMBER 2008 The exhibition, Recollecting. Raub und Restitution, recollecting the expropria- tion of Jews with respect to their art treasures, opened in Vienna. Lucas Cranach’s Madonna with Child in a Landscape, on loan from the North Carolina Museum of Art and restituted to the former owners and acquired anew by the museum, was also exhibited. Museum Catalogue, Vienna, 2008; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zei- tung, 7 January 2009, p. 29; ARTnews, February 2009, p. 92. 4 DECEMBER 2008 After theft of jewelry from a Paris jeweler worth about Y85 million, a reward was promised by the insurers. International Herald Tribune, 13–14 December 2008, pp. 1, 8; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 10 December 2008, p. 7. 4–7 DECEMBER 2008 The Art Basel Miami Beach took place and offered modern art. It was a successful art fair. Il Giornale dell’Arte, January 2009, p. 54; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 9 December 2008, p. 20. 5 DECEMBER 2008 In Torino, Italy, the long-awaited Museum of Oriental Art opened after a reno- vation by Andrea Bruno. The Art Newspaper, December 2008, p. 20; Il Giornale dell’Arte, November 2008, p. 66; Le Journal des Arts (9–23 January 2009): 6. 6 DECEMBER 2008 The German auction house Lempertz in Cologne sold 65 works of the estate of Oskar Schlemmer (1888–1943). Süddeutsche Zeitung, 22–23 November 2008, p. 20; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 22 November 2008, p. 43; International Herald Tri- bune, 12–14 December 2008, p. K1. The sale of the estate of Schlemmer was stopped by the Court of Appeal in Cologne at the request of the Schlemmer daughter Ute Jaina. art, February 2009, p. 101; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 6 December 2008, p. 43. 6 DECEMBER 2008 The Italian city of Lucca celebrated the 300th birthday of painter Pompeo Giro- lamo Batoni (1708–1787), who was a famous portraitist and paved the way to painting in classical style. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 9 Febru- ary 2009, p. 21. 514 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 7 DECEMBER 2008 Opening of the exhibition, The Hidden Track. Jewish Ways through the Modern, in Osnabrück at the Nussbaum House. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Aus- gabe, 12 March 2009, p. 23. 7–9 DECEMBER 2008 The Founding Conference of the Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield (ANCBS) is held in The Hague and mainly discussed the future plans and recent emergency situations and projects. Flyer of the Founding Conference, p. 3. 9 DECEMBER 2008 Before they were sold by Christie’s, a pair of ancient earrings were withdrawn from auction because the earrings were suspected to have been stolen in Iraq. The Art Newspaper, January 2009, p. 45. 10 DECEMBER 2008 The French General Directorate for Public Finances published a financial instruc- tion about art collections for which there is a reduced rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) in case of importation. Le Journal des Arts (23 January–5 February 2009): 27. 10 DECEMBER 2008 The museum Moritzburg in Halle, Germany, opened the newly modern wings added to the old castle and forming a interesting mix of ancient and modern ar- chitecture. The Moritzburg lost many modern paintings from its collection dur- ing the Nazi policy against “degenerate art.” arsprototo 4 (2008): 40–43; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 12 December 2008, p. 26. 10 DECEMBER 2008 With Christie’s of London, the Wittelsbach Diamond was sold for $23.3 million to Laurence Graff of London. The 35.56-carat diamond was once owned by the Habsburg and Wittelsbach families. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 11 December 2008, p. 7; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 10 December 2008, pp. 1, 42, and 11 December 2008, p. 42, and 22 December 2008, p. 38; Il Giornale dell’Arte, December 2008, p. 88. CHRONICLES 515 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 10 DECEMBER 2008 The winner of the Kandinsky Prize of 2008, Alexey Bellayev-Guintovt, was heav- ily criticized by other artists for being a fascist and ultranationalist. The Art News- paper, January 2009, p. 9. 11 DECEMBER 2008 For Chile the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Objects in Times of Armed Conflict and the two Protocols of 1954 and 1999 entered into force. Tractatenblad van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, Maandbericht, September 2008. p. 5. 11–12 DECEMBER 2008 Symposium on Verantwortung wahrnehmen: NS-Raubkunst—Eine Heraus- forderung an Museen, Bibliotheken und Archive [Responsibility to be Accepted: NS—Looted Art—A Challenge for Museums, Libraries and Archives] took place in Berlin. Based on the Washington Conference Principles of 1998, fair and just solutions must be achieved without being statutorily obliged to do so. German public museums engage in provenance research and return looted art to the for- mer owners or their heirs. Franz, Kunst und Recht (2008): 138; Kramer and von Klitzing, Kunst und Recht (2009): 7–12; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 13 De- cember 2008, pp. 5, 35; Kunstrechtsspiegel 1 (2009): 32. 12 DECEMBER 2008 The New York Board of Regents set new rules for deaccessioning of art object of New York museums. The Art Newspaper, February 2009, p. 13. 12 DECEMBER 2008 Turkey failed to meet the deadline for compliance with a list of World Bank– defined conditions relating to the effect of the Ilisu dam on the environment, cul- tural heritage sites, neighboring states, and the relocation of up to 65,000 Kurdish people in the flood zones. The Art Newspaper, February 2009, p. 9. The Chinese may invest money. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 17 December 2008, p. 34, and 24 December 2008, p. 34; Germany stopped the guarantee. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 23 December 2008, p. 5; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 23 December 2008, p. 33. 516 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 17 DECEMBER 2008 Russia returned six stained-glass windows of St. Mary in Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany. Along with 111 already returned glass windows, they were taken by Rus- sian Forces after World War II. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 19 November 2008, p. 37; The Art Newspaper, January 2009, p. 9. 17–18 DECEMBER 2008 The Interpol Tracking Task Force (ITTF) held its sixth meeting in Lyon and dis- cussed the fight of illicit trafficking of cultural property stolen in Iraq. Recom- mendation of ITTF, p. 1. 18 DECEMBER 2008 The EU passed a codified version of the Regulation (EC) No. 116/2009 on the export of cultural goods. This regulation lays down the authority competent to issue an export licence for the export of any cultural objects protected by any member state against export outside the territory of the community. This regu- lation is repealing the Regulation (EEC) No. 1911/92 of 9 December 1992 on the export of cultural goods. Official Journal of the European Community L 39 (10 February 2009): 1. 18 DECEMBER 2008 Spain removed the last equestrian statue of General Franco in the city of Santander. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Internationale Ausgabe, 19 December 2008, pp. 2, 48. 19 DECEMBER 2008 A head of Amenhotep III, smuggled out of Egypt 18 years ago and subject matter of criminal proceedings in the USA (U.S. v. Schultz) and in England (against Jonathan Tokeley-Parry), was finally returned to Egypt. It was handed over to the Egyptian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Hatem Seif El-Nasr. The Art News- paper, February 2009, p. 5. 19 DECEMBER 2008 Restitution of a painting of Sisto Badalocchio (ca. 1585–1621) seized on 4 No- vember with the former person in possession. Il Giornale dell’Arte, January 2009, p. 52. CHRONICLES 517 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core 21 DECEMBER 2008 Germany passed a statute on the establishment of a foundation German Histor- ical Museum responsible for the Deutsche Historische Museum in Berlin. Bundes- gesetzblatt, 2008, part I, p. 2891. 23 DECEMBER 2008 The Italian Parliament exhibited in the Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome the newly discovered crucifix of the young Michelangelo (1475–1564). Il Giornale dell’Arte, January 2009, pp. 8, 58. 30 DECEMBER 2008 In the trial of Marion True in Rome, the public prosecutor commenced his inter- rogation with questions put to the archaeologist Daniela Rizzo. The Art News- paper, March 2009, p. 8. 31 DECEMBER 2008 The deadline elapsed for buying two Titian paintings, Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto, from the Duke of Sutherland for approximately £50 million each. The Art Newspaper, September 2008, p. 11, and January 2009, p. 31; Inter- national Herald Tribune, 10 December 2008, p. 7; Die Zeit, 8 January 2009, p. 16; Il Giornale dell’Arte, September 2008, p. 78. DECEMBER 2008 The Australian Federal Minister of Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Gar- ret, released the draft of an Indigenous Art Code of Commercial Conduct, which is expected to protect indigenous artists. The Art Newspaper. February 2009, p. 48. DECEMBER 2008 For the first time in its 92-year history, the Association of Art Museum Directors publicly censured a member institution. It censured the New York’s Academy Mu- seum and School of Fine Arts for selling Frederick Edwin Church’s (1826–1900) Scene on the Magdalene and Sanford Robinson Gifford’s (1823–1880) Mount Mans- field, Vermont for $13 million for operations and not for the acquisition to en- hance the collection. The Art Newspaper, January 2009, p. 15; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 20 December 2008, p. 43, and 23 December 2008, p, 33; ARTnews, Feb- ruary 2009, p. 38. 518 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core DECEMBER 2008 In Venice the Palazzo Grimani opened after 20 years of restoration. The Art News- paper, January 2009, p. 16. DECEMBER 2008 The National Portrait Gallery opened its new $87 million home in Canberra. The Art Newspaper, January 2009, p. 22. DECEMBER 2008 It was decided with the artist’s heirs that the estate of Wilhelm Lehmbruck (1881– 1919) will stay in Duisburg. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 12 December 2008, p. 33. DECEMBER 2008 The Biblioteca Zeri in the convent of Santa Cristina in Bologna opened for free consultation of art books. Il Giornale dell’Arte, October 2008, p. 22. DECEMBER 2008 Germany returned to the heirs of Max Stern the painting Flight into Egypt of Jan Wellens de Cock (recorded from 1503–1526). The painting was once in the pos- session of Konrad Adenauer. Max Stern was an art dealer in Düsseldorf, who was forced to sell the painting. Museum Security Network, 17 December 2008, p. 1. DECEMBER 2008 Sir Norman Rosenthal (exhibition secretary of the Royal Academy of Arts from 1977–2008), in an article published in The Art Newspaper, argued, “The time has come for a statute of limitations” for return claims and recovery proceedings. The Art Newspaper, December 2008, p. 30; art, March 2009, p. 114. DECEMBER 2008 The Carlsberg Glyptothek in Copenhagen still refused to return the art objects allegedly smuggled out of Italy and held by the art gallery. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 27–28 December 2008, p. 13. CHRONICLES 519 https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core DECEMBER 2008 The Louvre of Paris, with more than 8 million visitors in 2008, ranks first of all French museums. Le Journal des Arts, 12–25 June 2009, p. 20. DECEMBER 2008 The Albertina in Vienna expected a “catastrophe” by getting less money (approx- imately Y2 million) from sponsors. The Art Newspaper, January 2009, p. 6. DECEMBER 2008 Peru brought a lawsuit against Yale University, asking for the return of many an- tiquities transferred to New Haven by Hiram Bing in 1911. ARTnews, February 2009, p. 53; The Art Newspaper, May 2009, p. 16. 520 KURT SIEHR https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 14:31:16, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739109990269 https:/www.cambridge.org/core