From the Observer, by Noah Charney, November 7, 2018 It is unfortunately a well-known fact that the art trade has occasionally been infiltrated by unscrupulous characters—art forgers, flippers and thieves are among the first to come to mind. In modern art history, the cases of outright art theft are rare and newsworthy. But in the…
From Montreal Gazette, November 4, 2018 Italy’s populist government is to introduce tough new penalties for art and antiquities crimes as it aims to crack down on cultural theft as part of its nationalist agenda. The announcement comes after several high-profile restitutions of antiquities taken to London and New York and recovered only after being…
From The Antiquities Coalition, November 5, 2018. The Illicit Art Trade From plundering during the Crusades to Napoleon’s loot of Egypt, antiquities have long been symbols of worldliness and status. In today’s world, antiquities have become go-to investments for art consumers and market speculators. However, individuals with certain statuses, including those blacklisted and on sanctions…
Published by ABC News Australia, October 2018; written by freelance correspondent Walt Curnow. When authorities seized a diplomatic pouch at the port in Naples, they weren’t expecting to unearth a plot more suited to an Indiana Jones movie. The pouch — which was discovered in March last year — hid an eclectic assortment of Egyptian…
From DAILY SABAH, published October 19, 2018. The Istanbul Police Department’s Anti-Smuggling Crime Branch teams carried out the biggest seizure of historical artifacts in the history of the republic, with raids across 12 Turkish provinces, recovering 14,000 historical pieces and bags full of foreign currency as well as Turkish lira. The operation was carried out…
From the art-crime.blogspot.com; published October 24, 2018. Following a formal request by the Deputy Prosecutor for the District Anti-Mafia Directorate Carlo Marzella, preliminary reexamination judge of of the Court of Palermo, Antonella Consiglio, has dismissed the charge of mafia association against the Castelvetrano antiquities dealer Gianfranco Becchina. In her decision, the judge cited that the accusations used for the…
By Dilip Kuner,October 11, 2018, in Euroweeklynews. Four people have been arrested for allegedly being complicit in the plundering of an archaeological site in Spain. Guardia Civil officers have recovered 92 rare Celtiberian pieces said to be of ‘great historical value’. They have been taken to a museum in Burgos to be studied, restored and…
Sofia. Four persons have been charged with involvement in an organised crime group for illicit trade in cultural artefacts, it transpired at a press briefing in the Special Criminal Court today, Focus News Agency reports. Expert reports confirmed that the objects found are cultural artefacts of historical significance. The unique items are made of gold…
The amphora as from the Symes-Michaelides archive. New York. Christie’s announced an amphora to be auctioned which passed through the hands of Symes-Michaelides, as proven by images from their confiscated archive (see images on the right), as was reported by forensic archaeologist Dr. Christos Tsirogiannis. The amphora will be auctioned at Christie’s, in New York,…
Copied from the Art-Crime Blogspot, September 11, 2018 On June 9, 2017 forensic archaeologist Dr. Christos Tsirogiannis, wrote to ARCA and to the Art and Antiques Unit of London’s Metropolitan Police (New Scotland Yard), INTERPOL and the Greek police Art Squad reporting that he had identified an Attic Marble Anthemion from a Grave Stele coming up for…
EAA-Committee on the Illicit Trade in Cultural Material 