Edoardo Villa's sculpture
MFA official gives away $100,000 South Africa embassy statue
South African embassy's administrative officer gives away enormous, expensive Edoardo Villa statue, since she thought it was an 'ugly piece of junk'; official attempted to unload state 2 years ago, but was blocked by ambassador; new ambassador authorized move with no knowledge of statue's worth; Foreign Affairs Ministry mulling strident disciplinary action against officer.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry is mulling strident disciplinary measures against the administrative officer at the Israeli Embassy in Pretoria, one of South Africa's capitals, after she decided to give away a rare, expensive sculpture placed near the embassy's entrance, only because she thought it was "ugly and a piece of junk."
The enormous, imposing monument, whose value is estimated to be $100,000 at the very least, was created by artist Edoardo Villa, one of South Africa's preeminent sculptors. The sculpture was purchased by Israel when it purchased the property on which the embassy is located.
Despite the fact the statue being official property of Israel and never having received authorization from any qualified figure within the ministry, the embassy's administrative officer Yaffa Mendel decided to give away the statue to Pretoria University.
The sculpture was given away to Pretoria University by an embassy official
The ministry's Inspector-General Orna Sagiv has been reviewing the incident for the past few weeks, after a complaint against Mendel was lodged.
Villa, who passed away in 2011, was a South African sculptor of Italian origin who worked mainly in iron and bronze. Many called him the "Picasso of South Africa," and his works were displayed in museums and galleries around the world.
Israel fielded requests to purchase the statue for years for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the embassy refused, saying it was an Israeli as well as South African national treasure.
The administrative officer, however, was unimpressed, and attempted to get rid of it two years ago. Then-Israeli Ambassador to South Africa Arthur Lenk blocked her attempts, as he recognized the piece's enormous artistic and monetary value.
When Lenk concluded his posting, the officer received the assent of new ambassador Lior Keinan, who was not aware of the work's importance and value, and gave the statue away to Pretoria University.
Sculptor Edoardo Villa was known as 'Picasso of South Africa'
Foreign Affairs Ministry sources said Mendel described the state as a "piece of junk" and initially even considered giving it away to junk dealers.
The matter was only discovered when a senior ministry official arrived to visit the embassy and noticed the famous statue, which became synonymous with the embassy, was gone.
The ministry estimated the statue was worth $100,000, but other sources within the ministry said it was a minimal appraisal, and that it's true value could reach half a million dollars.
"It's still criminal negligence even by the lower estimate," a ministry source said. "It's unthinkable to just give away a statue like that one without authorization or any return. It's like a country's representative giving away an apartment or two new cars of his own volition."
The Foreign Affairs Ministry responded to say, "The matter is under review by the ministry's inspector-general. The Foreign Affairs Ministry treats the incident with the utmost seriousness and gravity."
