OCR Text |
Show ITALIAN ANTIQUITIES. An Uuilorjrrounil Trudo In Them In Hplto of Legal Interdictions. Some dnys ago a well-known dealer in antiquities offered for sale to the Louvre museum in Paris a splendid collection col-lection of ancient vases from Italy -or Greek or. Italian workmanship, says the London News. The museum wns unable una-ble to pay the price asked 0,000 and-declined the bargain. The Italian minis, ter'of education, having learned of this, has taken proceedings under the Pacca law agaiust Sig. di Priseo, the owner of these antiquities. The latter is a large land owner at Bosco Keale. He secretly made excavations on his estate and found 28 silver vases of remote antiquity. an-tiquity. Notwithstanding the Italian law prohibiting, pro-hibiting, owners of antiquities frojn sending them out of the country without with-out leave, or, rather, on account of this law', whioh prevents oH work? of art from commanding anything like their natural price in the impoverished country, coun-try, Sg. di 1'risco smuggled his find out of Italy and offered it ton Paris dealer for JC'5,000. Continuing meanwhile his search, ho found other sliver nses, which duly joined their fellows in 1'nris, nntl tno .whole lot was offered to the Louvre. The Italian minister of education educa-tion throws interesting light on the facilities which underpaid officials ure supjwsed to afford illicit exporters of antiquities, He issues a notification that, should any officials bo found to have connived at this latest evasion of the Pacca law, they will be criminally prosecuted. |