US COURT REJECTS CLAIM BY JEWISH HEIRS OVER SALE OF MEDIEVAL ARTEFACTS

Tue 09 February 2021:

The US Supreme Court has turned down a claim filed by heirs of Jewish dealers who allege that their families were forced by the Nazis to sell the Guelph Treasure in the 1930s, artnet news has reported. The Guelph Treasure is a collection of medieval devotional objects now valued at upwards of $250 million.

In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that the plaintiffs would not be able to secure the return of the 42 silver artefacts through the US legal system due to its lack of jurisdiction.

According to the report, the heirs sued Germany for restitution on the grounds that the transaction was among the many forced art sales by Jews living under the Nazi regime. Currently, the website explained, the collection is held by Prussian Cultural Heritage, which runs Berlin’s state museums, and is on view at Berlin’s Museum of Decorative Arts.

The heirs filed their claim 12 years ago. Germany has rejected the claim, considering the matter to be an internal German issue over which the US has no jurisdiction.

Photo: The cupola reliquary (Kuppelreliquar) of the so-called “Welfenschatz” (Guelph Treasure) displayed at the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) in Berlin