Italy court orders contested ancient bronze statue bought by Getty museum confiscated
By APThursday, February 11, 2010
Italy court orderes Getty’s bronze confiscated
ROME — An Italian court has ordered an ancient bronze statue bought by the J. Paul Getty Museum seized.
The Culture Ministry on Thursday hailed the verdict from the court in Pesaro, saying it hoped it would lead to a serious “reflection” from the Los Angeles museum about returning the Greek statue “Victorious Youth.”
The statue, nicknamed the “Getty Bronze,” was pulled from the sea by Italian fishermen in 1964 off the eastern town of Fano, near Pesaro.
The Italian government, which has been on an international campaign to reclaim looted antiquities, says it was brought into Italy and then exported illegally.
The Getty maintains Italy has no claim to the bronze and says it bought the statue in good faith in 1977 for $4 million.
