A self-congratulatory press release by troubled Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg describes his office's successful effort to return historical antiques to the "Italian people".
Bragg's small army of investigators, compensated by the taxpayers, has repatriated 142 items supposedly valued at $14 million dollars. As usual, there are many questions about this entire process.
Accepting the fact that US law enforcement has assumed the role of global policeman for any and all crimes anywhere, is it really the role of Bragg's crew to pursue people involved with historical artifacts when problems with more immediate and violent crime seem to be an increasing plague in the Big Apple? Do the recipients of the heirlooms, doubtlessly agencies of the Italian government, reimburse the Manhattan DA's office for the expense of the investigations and recoveries?
How are the actual values of these items calculated, since there isn't any real open market for them? The pots and frescoes are now curiosities having no practical use and a value predicated on their age rather than any artistic merit, which is purely subjective.
Furthermore, what is the criterion for collective ownership of ancient art or anything else? How do we know that the looters of these items, and their families, haven't lived for many generations in close proximity to them? Does an Italian from Genoa have the same claim on a fresco excavated from Herculaneum as a Neapolitan? Do Italians anywhere in the world also have a claim on these antiquities, which have since become scattered over the earth or is any person with a historical connection with Italy still an Italian?
If the provenance of an antiquity, its history of ownership, becomes disconnected, it apparently reverts back to, in this case, an Italian state that didn't exist until1861.
Finally, how much time must elapse before a potsherd or mosaic is considered to have historical importance that attracts the Manhattan DA's interest? If someone discovers a Basquiat painting hanging in a Norwegian restaurant without a bill of sale is it likely to be confiscated and returned to New York City?
Olive Oil, 1982 Jean-Michel Basquiat, Wikipedia Commons
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