February 22, 2008 9:31

Antiquities — The Next Chapter

Victorious Youth/ J. Paul Getty Museum — Villa Collection

The disputed Greek boy up there seems to be puzzling over where he's headed next. With the return of scores of antiquities from U.S. museums, the Italian campaign to retrieve smuggled artifacts may have reached, to use an Italian word, its crescendo. But the wider struggle among source nations, archaeologists and museums goes on. Just this week the Italians showed off about 400 more looted artifacts that they've recovered. And Greece announced that it finally has a rough opening date — this fall — for the New Acropolis Museum that I previewed in Athens last October, the latest bid in its effort to retrieve the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum.

The whole fight is also evolving, as museums try to formulate new responses to a bristling new world. So this seemed to me like a good time to review where things stand now, and to synthesize some of the conversations I've had over the past year with various players. Here's a link to my piece in the new issue of Time.