I was reading some stupid online news article, and it made me think of who owned all of those Renaissance pieces of art.
Are the Medicis even still around?
At any rate, when I collect my big bucks from my memoirs, who do I contact to buy the statue of David?
Thanks,
hh
These guys have it
Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze - Wikipedia
But I doubt they will sell it for any price
Mm, hmm. What if I wave a crisp $100 dollar bill under their noses? I bet they’d be singing a different song, then!
hh
You probably will need to get a new house. It is a big statue. So factor that expense in.
No – it’s in the Euro zone, so you need to wave a crisp 100 Euro bill under their noses. Better still, if you want to really impress them, wave a 500,000₤ bill (worth about 250 Euro) at them.
I can’t help you out. How many do you want?
It’s housed there, but I’ll bet that the academy doesn’t own the piece. In any case, most countries recognize the idea of “national patrimony”; that there are certain things that belong to the country as a whole and should not leave it. So even if such a piece were in private hands, the government would stop you from exporting it. (I think in a couple of cases where something of importance in private hands was being sold to a foreigner, the government has stepped in and found a domestic buyer.)
Are your funds unlimited? You might want to set up a new, state-of-the-art tourist-friendly climate-controlled museum for Florentine sculpture in your home territory. Bide your time, establishing your credentials and acquiring quality pieces. Eventually, you’ll get David on loan. Then, pounce: you can vanish into the mists while your hired thugs remove it in the middle of the night and ship it to your tropical island. Morning comes with the ensuing scandal, but the figurehead you’ve set up as head of the foundation knows nothing about it and you can’t be traced. Insurance covers the cost to the Academy / Italy, and you have what you want.
But a straightforward cash transaction is simply not possible.
Sure, but be careful who you invite to the grand opening. If a bunch of hippie kids and a semi-talking dog show up, you might want to delay the swipe another day or two.
Well, if the historical example of the Mona Lisa is any guide, you can just tuck the statue under your coat and walk out with it.
They have 3 of them in Florence, they might part with one of them for the right price.
Which statue of David? There are three of them.
This 2003 article from the Wall Street Journal discusses the ownership of the statue.
At that time, it appears that Italy’s central government owned David. It probably still does, unless control of fine arts has since devolved to regional or city level as mentioned in the linked piece.
In order to avoid the inevitable disappointment that will follow an unsuccessful offer for the statue, I suggest the OP considers buying a David fridge magnet instead. A 7.6cm magnet can be acquired for a mere £2.95 ($4.79), thus removing the requirement for a best-selling memoir to fund the purchase.
I somehow came by this notion that some antiquities could not be purchased under international treaties or laws. Did I dream this up?
He said “Michaelangelo’s David”, so how is that ambiguous?
Ah, but which Michaelangelo?
Just kidding.
You’re probably better off figuring out how to make a fake, and somehow switch the fake for the real one. Other than that, the plan is totally sound.
International Law is redundant with the word Treaties. The slight difference is that the bully nations of the world can [try to] enforce Treaties upon nations who didn’t sign them.
Antiquities require gov’t dispensation to go to a private owner. Treaties usually say you have to sell it to a museum. This usally pertains to objects that have no living owner, like King Tut’s loot or that Saxon Hoarde they just dug up.
Unfortunately Michelangelo’s works are not yet considered “Antiquities” under these laws.
I get the mental image of a guy in a fedora trying to “hot swap” two 17’ tall statues.
I’ve only seen the statue once close up, but I seem to remember it looked pretty heavy.
Luckily you can come to Seattle and steal one of eight mini-replicas they have placed around the city as PR for a Michaelangelo exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum.