Marion True

Marion True (born November 5, 1948 in Tahlequah ) is an American classical archaeologist and was the curator of ancient art at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu , California ( Getty Villa ).

She studied at New York University and Harvard University , where she received her PhD in 1986 . At times she worked under Cornelius C. Vermeule III at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Since 1982 she worked at the antiquities department of the J. Paul Getty Museum, since 1986 as its director. In September 2005 she resigned from her position as curator for the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Marion True was indicted on November 16, 2005 in Rome together with the American antiquities dealer Robert E. Hecht on charges of "stealing and smuggling of national cultural goods, as well as indirectly supporting robbery excavations". Proceedings for other, less serious offenses are currently suspended, but can be resumed at any time.

The first clues in this case arose in 1995 when the Swiss judicial authorities searched a warehouse in Geneva, Switzerland, in which a depot of stolen works of art was found. The Italian art dealer Giacomo Medici was arrested in 1997 for running “one of the largest and best-organized networks for art dealers in the world. He was responsible for robbery excavations and the disappearance of thousands of first-class excavation finds, which he forwarded to renowned addresses on the international art market. "Medici was sentenced in Rome in 2004 to ten years' imprisonment and a fine of ten million euros," the largest fine that ever imposed for illegal art trade in Italy ”. The trials against True and Hecht are ongoing.

In a letter to the J. Paul Getty Trust dated December 18, 2006, True stated that it was given the burden of responsibility for procedures known and tacitly endorsed by the governing body of the institution, the Getty's Board of Directors. For the purchase of a grave goods, a golden wreath from Macedonia from the 4th century BC. BC, True was also charged in Greece. However, the process ended without result, as the offense has been statute-barred since 1996 under US law. In addition, another lawsuit was pending in Greece because of antiques that True had in her holiday home on the island of Paros without having declared them, as the law for the protection of cultural heritage in Greece provides for private collections. In this context, it also became known that True had financed her holiday home on the Greek island of Paros through a loan of € 400,000 that she had received from the London art dealer Christos Michailidis. She had previously purchased antiques from Michailidis for around thirty million dollars.

On November 20, 2006, Michael Brand , the museum's director, announced the return of 26 controversial works of art to Italy. On September 26, 2007, the J. Paul Getty Trust signed a contract with the Italian Ministry of Culture in Rome for the return of 40 stolen ancient works of art by 2010. These include a limestone and marble Aphrodite statue from the 5th century BC. BC, fresco paintings, marble and bronze sculptures and ancient Greek vases stolen from Pompeii .

She is a member of the German Archaeological Institute .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Suzanne Muchnic: A career in Roman art tangled in Italian law . In: Los Angeles Times . May 27, 2005; Christopher Reynolds: The puzzle of Marion True . In: Los Angeles Times . October 31, 2005
2. ^ Thomas W. Eller: Marion True and the robbery of antiquities . In: artnet . November 17, 2005
3. ↑ Johannes Saltzwedel: Venus on the wrong track . In: Der Spiegel . No. 31, August 1, 2005, p. 145; Christoph Spielberger: Getty in court ( Memento from March 10, 2006 in the Internet Archive ). In: today . November 16, 2005.
4. ↑ ^{a b} David Willey: Getty to hand back "looted art" . In: BBC News . September 25, 2007
5. ^ Stefan Ulrich : Art Smuggling - One for All . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . November 17, 2005
6. ↑ ^{a b} Men’s Vogue. Vol. 2, No. 3, November / December 2006, p. 46 (engl.)
7. ↑ Jason Felch & Ralph Frammolino: Getty lets her take fall, ex-curator says . In: Los Angeles Times . December 29, 2006
8. ↑ Niklas Maak: " Art theft and Terror: The Temple of ISIS ". In: FAZ of October 26, 2014.
9. ↑ German Archaeological Institute: Prof. Dr. Marion True  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   (accessed December 22, 2012).