May 17, 2006
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Tombstone
From today’s New York Times:“Jiri Frel, a mercurial and eccentric curator who helped build the J.
Paul Getty Museum into a major center for Greek and Roman art but
resigned after revelations about unscrupulous acquisition practices,
died on April 29. He was 82…. a well-regarded expert in Greek tombstones….”“ATHENS, May 16 — After four hours of talks here with the Greek culture
minister, the director of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles said
Tuesday that he would press for the return of some of the Getty’s most
prized ancient artifacts to Greece…. Greece is seeking the repatriation of a… tombstone….”From a photo accompanying the obituary:
Museum
window
To Aster, from Plato
Asteras eisathreis, Aster emos.
Eithe genoimen ouranos,
‘os pollois ommasin eis se blepo.You gaze at stars, my Star.
Would that I were born the starry sky,
that I with many eyes might gaze at you.Related material:
Log24 entries of Dec. 31, 2002
