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The Silver (Lining) Cup

February 26, 2020
16th-century silver stem cup

16th-century silver stem cup: Photo Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A tale that takes us from the dark to the bright side…. The MET announced that they returned a 16th-century silver stem cup to the heirs of Eugen Gutmann.  The prized cup was part of an extensive silver collection of Eugen Gutmann.  After his death in 1925, it was passed down to his son Fritz Gutmann who stored it in his home in the Netherlands.  IN 1944, during the Nazi occupation, Fritz and his wife were murdered in Theresienstadt and Auschwitz … the silver stem cup was separated from the collection.

In 1974 the cup was donated to the MET, and in 2000 the Gutmann heirs opened an art restitution claim. 20 years later the matter was resolved and Max Hollein (director of the MET) put out a statement: “The Metropolitan Museum of Art is committed to ensuring that works of art wrongfully appropriated during the Nazi era are restituted to their rightful owners. We are pleased to have resolved the ownership of the stem cup in partnership with the New York State Holocaust Claims Processing Office. It is important that this work is returned to the heirs of Eugen Gutmann, and in doing so, we hope to play a small part in honoring the family and the heroic efforts of Fritz Gutmann in safeguarding his father’s collection.”

Simon Goodman, the great-grandson of Eugen Guttman, commented that “Though small in size, this beautifully engraved 16th-century cup represents a major achievement in the Gutmann family’s 75 year quest for reparations. We are grateful to all those at The Met and DFS’ HCPO for helping this heirloom come home.”  It is nice to see that sometimes the good guys win.

Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and New York State Department of Financial Services Announce the Return of a 16th-Century Silver Stem Cup to the Heirs of the Eugen Gutmann Estate 

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