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Volute krater

Volute krater
Date: 4th century B.C.
Artist: Underworld Painter (Greek, active Apulia, 330–c. 310 B.C.)
Dimensions: Overall: 36 x 22 x 17 1/4 in. (91.44 x 55.88 x 43.82 cm)
Medium: Ceramic
Credit Line: Lent by the Republic of Italy
Culture: South Italy; Apulia, Greek
Object Number: 135.2012.4

Deaccession Criteria: Restitution/Returned to rightful owner: the work has been legally requested for restitution.

Edoardo Almagià, a former New York antiquities dealer, is currently named in a criminal case for conspiracy to commit the illegal export and smuggling of cultural property pending before the Public Prosecutor of Rome. Almagià has been under investigation since at least 2006, when U.S. Customs officials raided his New York apartment, confiscating photographs, documents, and archaeological material. He was also the subject of a New York Times story in 2010 that revealed he was the focus of an investigation of the illegal export and laundering of Italian archaeological objects. The Italian government named Almagià in the criminal case for having “sold, donated, or lent” nearly two dozen works looted from Italian sites.

PURCHASE INFORMATION: Dealer: Edoardo Almagià, New York (May 15, 1998)

PROVENANCE SUPPLIED: English collection

PUBLISHED REFERENCES:

  • Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection. Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 2012, p. 133 (ill.).
  • Dallas Museum of Art, 1903–2003: Celebrating 100 Years. Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 2003, sec. 25, p. 4.
  • Dallas Museum of Art: Year in Review 1997–1998, annual report (listed but not illustrated).
  • DMA Agenda, members' newsletter, August–September 1998, p. 2.
  • Trendall, A.D., and Alexander Cambitoglou. Second Supplement to The Red Figure Vases of Apulia. London: University of London, Institute of Classical Studies, 1991, p. 162, no. 283c, pl. XLI, 2.
  • Trendall, A.D. Red Figure Vases of South Italy and Sicily: A Handbook. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1989, pp. 90–91.
  • Schauenburg, K. von. "Herakles Bei Atlas." In Archaeologischer Anzeiger. Berlin: Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut, 1989, p.24, figs. 1–2.

EXHIBITION HISTORY:

  • DMA collection galleries, June 1998–August 29, 2009
  • All the World's a Stage: Celebrating Performance in the Visual Arts, Dallas Museum of Art, August 30, 2009–February 28, 2010
  • DMA collection galleries, March 8, 2010–present

PROPOSED METHOD OF DISPOSAL: Long-term loan to DMA, if approved by Italian government; eventual return to Italy

CRITERIA FOR DEACCESSIONING: A request from the Italian government for restitution, with compelling evidence, including photographs, that object was looted and/or illegally exported

EVIDENCE:
Archival evidence seized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, including records of sales and correspondence currently serving as evidence in the criminal investigation and court case.