Blog'Art

Compiled by STEVEN MCELROY

Published: July 28, 2006, The NY Times

The Italian Culture Ministry said yesterday that it was finalizing an agreement with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, that would call for the museum to return an unknown number of objects “of Italian origin” in exchange for loans of antiquities by Italy. In a statement the ministry said it was pursuing a partnership that would allow for future “collaboration in the areas of scholarship, conservation, archaeological investigation and exhibition planning.” The meetings between the two parties are taking place in Rome. Last month the Italian government announced that it had reached a similar agreement with the J. Paul Getty Trust, although many details remain to be ironed out. Italy has long argued that objects in the Getty Museum were looted from Italian soil in recent decades and sold to the museum by unscrupulous dealers. In February, Italy and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York came to an agreement that involved ceding title to 21 objects in exchange for loans. PETER KIEFER

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/28/arts/28arts.html?_r=1&ref=arts&oref=slogin