The NY Times reports on a farewell of sorts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this weekend. The Euphronios krater, a 2,500-year old vessel, will depart its home for nearly 30 years on Sunday and make a trip to Italy, where that country's government has been vying for the piece.
The krater, a Greek bowl for mixing water and wine, will be sent to Italy as part of an agreement reached nearly two years ago with that country’s government, which has long contended that the artifact was illegally excavated from a tomb in Cerveteri, near Rome. The Met bought the krater in 1972 for $1 million from Robert Hecht, an antiquities dealer who is now on trial in Rome on charges of conspiring to traffic in looted artifacts. (Mr. Hecht denies the charges.)
The agreement also requires 20 other (apparently looted) objects be returned to Italy, and in return Italy is lending the Met some rare ceramics, which have been brought in slowly over the past two years. A few of these pieces have ties to the krater and its artist, Euphronios, though none are on par with the 515 BC-dated piece, which is considered one of the finest Greek vases in existence.
Soon to be retired Met director, Philippe de Montebello, told The Times that when "negotiations were under way, I brought a list prepared by the curators of the kinds of things we considered equivalents. We expected one object, but got three very beautiful objects. It shows on what a firm footing our future collaborations with Italy will be.” And upon not wanting to answer any more questions, he told them “I can’t hear you anymore," a response they say is not rare for de Montebello, even when speaking on a land line. Both he and the krater wil be missed!
Photo via ElissaSCA's Flickr.
