The Guennol Stargazer is a nine-inch, 5,000-year-old marble idol from Anatolia.[1][2]
| Guennol Stargazer | |
|---|---|
| Location | Private collection |
The statue depicts a nude human figure, referred to as a "stargazer" as the figure appears to look upward.[3][4][5] Approximately fifteen intact stargazer statues exist, along with fragments of other stargazer figures. Like other stargazer figures, Guennol Stargazer has a mark on its neck indicating it may have been ritually "killed" before it was buried.[5]
When placed for auction in New York in 2017, the Turkish government sued, claiming it had been illegally exported. By 2023 this claim seemed to have failed.
History
editThe sculpture was possibly produced between 4800 and 4100 BCE in what is today Manisa Province in Turkey,[6] although Christie's dated it about a thousand years later. The piece was in the collection of Alastair and Edith Martin.[5] The couple purchased the piece from an art dealer, J.J. Klejman,[7] in 1961.[8] How Klejman came to own the sculpture has not been established.[7] Klejman was referred to by former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas Hoving, as one of his "favorite dealer-smugglers".[6] Klejman was implicated in the museum's purchase of the Lydian Hoard, which the museum acquired despite awareness that the artifacts were stolen.[9]
Ownership of the sculpture eventually passed from the Martins to their son, Robin Martin, and later to a gallery.[7] Michael Steinhardt, an American hedge fund manager, purchased the idol for $1.5 million in 1993.[7] The figure was displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on loan, at times between 1966 and 1993,[5] and was exhibited in the museum again from 1999 to 2007.[7]
Repatriation dispute
editThe Guennol Stargazer was placed for sale at auction by its owner, Michael Steinhardt, at Christie's in 2017.[6] Despite attempts to halt the sale by the Turkish government, including the filing of a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Steinhardt and Christie's, the auction occurred, and the sculpture sold for $14.4 million.[8][10] The buyer then rescinded their offer, and Christie's placed the statue in storage in a vault operated by the auction house.[5]
In 2021, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan presided over a bench trial, Republic of Turkey v. Christie’s, Inc., concerning the dispute over the ownership of the Guennol Stargazer.[6] Nathan rejected Turkey's ownership claim, which had been made pursuant to a 1906 Ottoman decree concerning the ownership of antiquities excavated in Turkey.[6] Nathan found that Turkey had failed to show, by a preponderance of the evidence,[8] that the Guennol Stargazer, which had been exhibited in the United States for decades, had been excavated after 1906.[6] Nathan also held that Turkey's claim was in any case barred by laches, since it had waited too long to pursue its claim.[6][11] This ruling was later upheld by Rosemary S. Pooler of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in March 2023.[12]
External links
edit- "Case Review: Republic of Turkey v. Christie's". Center for Art Law. 30 April 2020.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The Guennol Stargazer — an iconic work of art from the 3rd millennium BC". Christie's. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Christie's (April 7, 2017). "The Guennol Stargazer — Art From the 3rd Millennium BC". YouTube. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Moore, Susan (February 2014). "Idol pursuits". Apollo. 179 (617). Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ "The Guennol Stargazer — an iconic work of art from the 3rd millennium BC". Robb Report. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Moynihan, Colin (9 April 2021). "Turkey Fights for Return of a Work It Says Was Looted". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Moynihan, Colin (8 September 2021). "Judge Rejects Turkey's Claim That Ancient Sculpture Was Looted". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Ludel, Wallace (8 September 2021). "Stargazer idol will not be returned to Turkey, New York federal judge rules". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Who Owns the Guennol Stargazer? How a Turkish work of art from the 3rd millennium B.C.E. ended up in the Southern District of New York, ArcGIS (September 29, 2021).
- ^ Honan, William H. (20 July 1990). "Judge Clears Way for Trial Over Turkish Art at Met". The New York Times.
- ^ Packard, Cassie (12 October 2021). "A Turkish Idol Will Not Be Repatriated, New York Judge Rules". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ Republic of Turkey v. Christie's, Inc. (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 7, 2021).
- ^ Stempel, Jonathan (8 March 2023). "Turkey cannot recover ancient 'Stargazer' idol from Christie's -U.S. court". Reuters. Retrieved 22 March 2023.