Dr. Christos Tsirogiannis identified recently another antiquity likely of illicit origin at the Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, on February 17, 2017. Royal-Athena Galleries is the same New York gallery recently in the news about an illicitly trafficked sarcophagus fragment. The provenance and sales details listed for the amphora recently seized was stated on the gallery’s…
One of the artifacts stolen from the Kocaeli Archaeology Museum in 2009 has been found at an auction in Germany. The Culture and Tourism Ministry reported theft of the Roman-era colour marble relief, which is valued at around 32,000 euros in the auction, to Interpol. Following the illegal excavations there, the Kocaeli Archaeology Museum initiated…
Trading in antiquities in Israel requires a license sanctioned by the Antiquities Authority (IAA). Currently, however, only a small number of dealers are only allowed to trade items that that came into private hands prior to the year 1978. Since that time, every antiquity discovered in Israel is property of the state and cannot be…
As recently posted, the Royal-Athena Galleries, New York,had until recently a sarcophagus, which presents a battle between Greeks and Trojans (c. 200 A.D.), on sale. The gallery is owned by Dr. Jerome Eisenberg, New York, and has a more than doubtful history, since it is tighly connected with the Italian illicit antiquities dealer Gianfranco Becchina.…
A private exhibition archaeological objects by of A.L. in Olbia, Italy, rises again the discussion on who is allowed to keep and exhibit such objects.About 77 objects of Etruscan and Roman origin were found. In Italy, private persons are obliged to proof the legal ownership of the archaeological objects, and have to inform the Soprintendenza in…
Geneva’s art world suffered another blow to its reputation in November when prosecutors seized pillaged Syrian antiquities from the city’s free port, raising concerns about money laundering and terrorist financing. Now a group of art dealers, lawyers and consultants is fighting back. Under the banner of the Responsible Art Market Initiative, the group published a set of…
Europol has joined forces with law enforcement authorities from 18 countries, INTERPOL, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the World Customs Organization (WCO) to tackle the theft and illicit trafficking of cultural goods. Operation Pandora, as EUROPOL just noticed in a press release on January 23, 2016, was successfully led by…
La Repubblica.it and other journals informs today, January 18, 2017 that 12 persons were arrested since they were caught to be involved in plundering archaeological sites in Crotone, Calabria (Southern Italy) since years and selling their finds on the black market. The group of tombaroli was lead by numismatic prof. P. G. Attianese. With him arrested was…
Cairo and Washington signed an MoU last month to impose tighter restrictions on the illicit importation of Egyptian antiquities. Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs repatriated on Monday five late pharaonic-era artefacts which had been smuggled to, and recently recovered in the US, General Supervisor of the Antiquities Repatriation Department Shabaan Abdel-Gawad told Ahram Online. Minister…
A Roman marble fragment currently on sale at the Royal-Athena Galleries, owned by Dr. Jerome Eisenberg, New York, has a more than doubtful history. The fragment of this sarcophagus, which presents a battle between Greeks and Trojans, is depicted in four Polaroid images (see below) and is referred to in three handwritten notes, in the…
EAA-Community on the Illicit Trade in Cultural Material 