Getty Museum to Mediate

Getty Museum to Mediate Over Armenian Bible Pages

L.A. Times
November 4, 2011

On Thursday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Abraham Khan ordered a 4-month period of mediation between the J. Paul Getty Trust and the Armenian Orthodox Church. The church accuses the museum of harboring stolen illuminated pages from the medieval Armenian Bible — 755-year-old works that are masterpieces and, to the church, spiritually and historically sacred.

After a brief hearing, Judge Abraham Khan denied the Getty’s motion to dismiss the claim. The museum’s attorneys had argued that the deadline for filing the suit had passed decades ago under the statute of limitations. However, Judge Khan said that the situation is, “not clear” given complicated history of the pages’ journey from the Turkish region of Cilicia to America during and after the World War I-era Armenian genocide.

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