Vernon Silver's The Lost Chalice (William Morrow, 2009) is a riveting account of the longstanding saga of the famous Euphronios Krater. Following up the excellent 2006 book by Peter Watson and Cecilia Todeschini, The Medici Conspiracy (reviewed here) Silver extends that account by brining the krater back to Italy (it was returned to Italy in January 2008) and by interviewing not only convicted smuggler/dealer Giacomo Medici himself, but also several others closely involved in the case (including the only surviving member of the tomb-robbing party who excavated the krater in 1971).

Silver's interest extend beyond the krater, though, and encompass other Euphronios works, including a kylix (or chalice) which was probably looted from the same area as the krater at around the same time. Silver tracks this piece, and several others, through the sordid underbelly of the illicit antiquities trade as they made their way around the globe, in and out of Swiss warehouses, the auction houses of London, the museums of America, and private collections hither and yon.

This is the sort of book I love: a non-fiction subject which reads like a thriller. Silver's talked to all the people he should have, and worked his way through innumerable court filings and documents - he's done his homework, and it shows. It's books like this, as well as the continued legal pressure on collectors (both private and institutional) and dealers which will eventually put an end to the trade in looted artifacts. Of course, until then, the great stories they provide will offer Silver and others the chance to write good books like this one.

After I finished the book this afternoon I started poking around on the author's website and on his blog noticed that two of the major characters in the book (former head of the Met Thomas Hoving and former Met curator Dietrich von Bothmer, who together arranged the 1972 purchase of the krater by the museum) both died recently (Bothmer in October, Hoving just last week). And it'll be interesting to see where the case continues to meander: former Getty curator Marion True and dealer Robert Hecht are still on trial on charges related to the purchase of looted antiquities, and other related investigations are still underway, even after decades. As recently as 2 December, a Corinthian column krater believed to have been handled by Medici was returned to Italy after being seized by authorities in New York (it was scheduled for auction at Christie's). The saga continues. ( )

As I have an interest in ancient history and art, as well as interesting tales, this book seemed like it would be a good read. While it took me a bit to get into, I really got absorbed in the recounting of Euphronios' works' journeys and those involved in their travels. Although I'm not sure if the actual release of this book contained photos (I read the Uncorrected Proof), it was one thing I kept wanting to see. Thankfully some quick internet searches provided me with just about all I wanted to see. Additionally, the end kind of leaves you hanging about Medici and the others fates. About a month after this book's release, Medici's appeal was settled. But the story continues.... ( )

Page turner about tomb robbers in Italy, the underground antiquities trade, unscrupulous art dealters and their complicit museum curators. A Great Read!

Pamela Winfield ( )

Anyone who pays any attention to art news these days cannot have missed the increasing number of stories about archaelogical artifacts being sent back from the museums where they have been housed to the countries from when they came. This book is the saga of artifacts stolen from Etruscan graves at Cerveteri in Italy, who profited, how they were dispersed, and the struggle to recover them.

Late in 1971, a few months before the effective date of UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, tomb robbers in Cerveteri, Italy (Etruscan Caere), dug into an Etruscan necropolis and uncovered a trove of grave goods, including fragments of a krater signed by the Athenian vase painter Euphronius, depicting the death of Sarpedon. This and other artifacts were ripped from the site, wall carvings hacked away. Sold to a regular buyer of antiquities, Giacomo Medici, who smuggled it out of the country, through him to the collector and dealer Robert Hecht, taken by Hecht to the Swiss vase restorer Fritz Bürki, the krater ended up at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, where blind eyes were turned to the question of its origin.

Shortly after the million dollar purchase and all its attendant publicity, the existence of a kylix by Euphronius, decorated with the same subject, was revealed. It had come from the same tomb. But where was it now? That's one of the plot lines of Silver's book, which reads like a good thriller. If only it were fiction.

There are many villains here. One can, to a small degree, feel sympathy for those in poverty who know that what is buried deep in the ground can bring them a modicum of comfort. No sympathy can be felt for the dealers in stolen grave goods, and the collectors who buy them.

Most disturbing of all, however, is the attitude of people like those at the Met, who not only didn't care if an item they desire was stolen patrimony, they actually thought it didn't matter. Silver quotes Philippe de Montebello, the Met's recently retired director, as saying "How much more would you learn from knowing which particular hole in -- supposedly Cerveteri -- it came out of? Everything is on the vase." It is astounding to me that anyone with an ounce of concern about items such as the Euphronius kylix could fail to understand or care about the importance of the context in which it was found. To think that such an item exists in a vacuum, and is of value only for itself and in relation to the artist's other work, is abysmally short-sighted and narrow-minded.

Silver is right on the money when he notes that what was exciting about the find of Tutankhamen's tomb, and the exhibit of the artifacts therefrom, was the fact that it was the discovery of an undisturbed tomb. Despite the minor importance of Tutankhamen in the political history of Egypt, this find gave us a vast amount of information because the artifacts were found and recorded in situ.

Sadly, as long as there is arrogance and greed in this world, it is unlikely that even the most aggressive action against it will stop the theft, smuggling and sale of the cultural patrimonies of this world. Items looted during the American invasion of Iraq are still turning up, as collectors with more money than ethics pretend not to know.

This book tracking the discovery, purchase, loss and rediscovery of ancient Greece vases through the murky world of tomb robbers and black-market art dealers paints a facinating picture of the modern world of museum acquisition. This book is a wonderful and engaging detective story, one that traces the journey of the famous Euphronios krater from its theft from an underground tomb in the Italian countryside to a permanent display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY.

For anyone interested in archaeology, antiquities, or the underground world of museum acquisition, this book is a must read. The writing is crisp and the author's curiosity about the subject matter shines through and helps to draw in readers unfamiliar with the case. The book is non-fiction, but is as easy to read and understand as any novel- the uninitiated will find nothing to scare them off in this narrative. Highly recommended! ( )