Italian Restitution and the Australian National University's Classics Museum: Realities and Opportunities

Abstract

In 2023 the Australian National University (ANU) announced that it was in the process of returning ancient artefacts to Italian ownership – the first large-scale announcement of a public restitution from a university collection in Australasia. Since 2022, the ANU has been working with Italian authorities, through the Embassy of Italy in Canberra, to resolve three cases of illicit antiquities currently in the possession of the ANU and on display in the Classics Museum. One, an Attic black-figure amphora, was brought to the attention of the ANU as a part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the organized illicit antiquities market in Italy. A second object, an Apulian fish-plate, was discovered after the ANU made its archival information available to the Italian authorities. A third piece, a Roman marble portrait head of a young man, was brought to the attention of the Italian authorities by the ANU, which through archival research by ANU staff was identified as having been stolen from a collection owned by the Vatican. This chapter will provide an overview of the three cases, the collaborative process with the Italian Government through their Embassy in Canberra, the management of public announcements and media engagement, and the ramifications for the Classics Museum and the ANU, including both challenges and opportunities for its collections, students, staff, and the wider community. The intent of this chapter is to share, in detail, the processes of restitution in a way that might be of benefit to other institutions, with a view to encouraging, where appropriate, a wider dialogue around restitution that focuses on the realities and opportunities that can arise. Show more