Banjo giving you her best come hither look.

... had "received no legal challenges to its ownership until 2023." But in fact, Turkiye has been asking for the statue's return since 2012. The implication of the museum's statement is that requests from sovereign nations for the return of their stolen ... (9/12) www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

... for acquisition," that only reveals how out of step the CMA's standards were compared to all the other museums that took Inan's work seriously and said no to documented plunder. The "legal and ethical aspects" panel also states that the museum ... (8/12) hyperallergic.com/862516/cleve...

... starting in 1979, that tied the thefts at Bubon to the statues that were circulating on the American market, including this Philosopher statue. Yes, for the 19 years that the statue was on the market, it had been "publicly exhibited in several other institutions," but there's a reason ... (6/12)

... the CMA recognizes Inan's work, noting that it "remains fundamental to understanding Bubon and its statues" and even including a photo of her in the panel on the ancient city. But her research wasn't just about "how the statues were arranged atop the bases." It was her publications, ... (5/12)

... quite unusual for how well-documented its illegal origins were. Unlike most looters, the ones at Bubon in 1967 had failed to keep their activities a secret, attracting the immediate attention of both Turkish police and Turkish archaeologists such as Jale Inan. It is lovely that ... (4/12)

... in the United States, the seller claimed to be its rightful owner, and the reported modern history of the sculpture met the CMA standards for acquisition." This implies that there was nothing remarkable or questionable about this acquisition at the time. In fact, this statue was ... (3/12)

and arranging for the fragments' purchase, exchange, & donation over a period of years until voila, whole vases were magically reconstructed in the collections of museums like the Met, @gettymuseum.bsky.social, the Carlos Museum at Emory Univ, and the Princeton Univ Art Museum. Kudos to ... 2/3

Just dropped: major article on the outrageous "fragments scheme" whereby (evidence suggests) D. von Bothmer, curator @metmuseum1870.bsky.social conspired with antiquities traffickers like Giacomo Medici & Robert Hecht to get around export laws by BREAKING INTACT ANCIENT VASES INTO FRAGMENTS ... 1/3

As soon as the Manhattan DA requested the piece's return, Cleveland CHANGED ITS LABEL & WEBPAGE, deleting all refs to Bubon & denying the long-standing identification as Marcus Aurelius. That info had to go, because there is an empty pedestal at Bubon with Marcus' name on it. Cf old & new labels:

Gorgeous, new-to-me, 3rd- century gold glass family portrait in the Vatican.

Here's a detail of the thick impasto he used to create the boats. These photos don't capture the royal blue depth of the water.

I bought this painting at a flea market in Berkeley in 2000. It is called "Water Dwellers." The artist is Chui Faising, who died in 2022. He painted it in 1970. Just sharing because I think it's beautiful.