Hasta La Ideas

Former Getty antiquities curator Marion True is now officially two for two in fighting off illegal buying/collecting/removing charges. Back in 2007, she won her freedom in Athens after authorities there had accused her of “knowingly purchasing looted antiquities,” something she continues to deny. Her escape route there? The judge threw the case out, saying the statute of limitations concerning the possible crimes had expired. Now the exact same thing has happened in Italy, where she was facing similar charges. The LA Times reports that “a three-judge panel halted the proceedings,” again stating that the limitations had expired and their hands were tied. Fortunate on both counts, yes, but the paper reminds that she once again had a Getty-funded legal team battling it out on her behalf. And while the five year-long True saga has finally come to an end, in its wake there’s been massive change within the American museum industry, with not just the Getty deciding that they might be in for a fight if they a) continued to purchase looted items or b) didn’t give back what had long ago been looted, something that now seems to happen so regularly that it’s almost an afterthought when you read about just a small handful of pieces getting sent back to from wherever it came. So in the end, maybe True’s alleged criminality actually wound up doing some good.

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