Illicit Cultural Property

Light Posting

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:28:00 +0000

Apologies for the light posting of late, I hope to resume early next week. I've been finalizing my preparations for the AALS Hiring Conference in Washington DC this weekend. Joni will be joining me as well, and if any readers or former students are up for dinner or drinks, drop me a line: derek.fincham "at" gmail.com.

Museums and Restitution Conference at the University of Manchester

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Call for papers for a conference on Museums and Restitution in July:

Museums and Restitution
International Conference
8-9 July 2010, University of Manchester
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/museumsandrestitution/

Museums and Restitution is a two-day international conference organised by the
Centre for Museology and The Manchester Museum at the University of Manchester.
The conference examines the issue of restitution in relation to the changing
role and authority of the museum, focussing on new ways in which these
institutions are addressing the subject.

Restitution is one of the most emotive and complex issues facing the museum
world in the twenty first century. Its current high profile reflects changing
global power relations and the increasingly vocal criticisms of the historical
concentration of the world's heritage in the museums of the West. The 2002
Declaration of the Importance and Value of Universal Museums, which was signed
by the directors of eighteen of the world's most powerful museums, pushed the
subject to the forefront of debate as never before.

Over recent years, the issue of restitution has taken on a new complexion with
different processes emerging. We have seen an increasing emphasis on museums
working with source communities, and with new forms of restitution other than
object restitution - such as visual and knowledge restitution. The language of
discussion too has changed, with the term 'reunification', for example, rather
than 'repatriation' now often being used in relation to the Parthenon Marbles.
The opening of New Acropolis Museum in Athens in June 2009 has added a further
dimension to the debates. We are also seeing new countries gaining increasing
prominence in restitution debates: for example, the official response from the
government of the People's Republic of China to the Yves Saint Laurent auction
of Chinese looted bronzes at Christie's in Paris in March 2009. This is a trend
clearly set to continue.

This conference will bring together museum professionals and academics from a
wide range of fields (including museology, archaeology, anthropology, art
history and cultural policy) to share ideas on contemporary approaches to
restitution from the viewpoint of museums.

Possible themes

New museums, new developments

Visual, knowledge and digital repatriation

Authority and power: voices listened to, voices heard

Beyond ownership? Loans, travelling exhibitions, exchanges

Reflections on returns

Please send a title and a short proposal of no more than 300 words and
biographical details to Louise Tythacott louise.tythacott@manchester.ac.uk and
Kostas Arvanitis kostas.arvanitis@manchester.ac.uk

Deadline for Abstracts: Friday 11th December 2009

Update on Yale's Cultural Heritage Lawsuits

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:04:00 +0000

The Yale Daily News updates two disputes involving Yale University. The first is a dispute involving the Night Cafe by Vincent Van Gogh:

Pierre Konowaloff, the descendant of a Russian aristocrat who once owned the painting, claims it is rightfully his because the Soviet government expropriated it from his family in 1918.
The Soviet government seized “The Night Café” from Konowaloff’s great-grandfather Ivan Morozov as part of the government’s mass nationalization of private property in the early 20th century. Konowaloff claims this constitutes a theft, delegitimizing any subsequent sale or purchase. Therefore, Konowaloff claims, Stephen Clark 1903, who bequeathed the painting to Yale in 1960, never actually owned it.
Clark was a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the early 1930s, he acquired the painting from the Knoedler Gallery in New York City, which had purchased it from the Matthiesen Gallery in Berlin, Germany; it was the Matthiesen Gallery that originally bought the painting from the Soviets.
Yale first responded to Konowaloff’s claims of ownership in May 2009, filing a lawsuit to assert the University’s ownership. Konowaloff responded with a counterclaim in March 2009, requesting the return of the painting and over $75,000 in damages.
Yale’s Oct. 5 motion argues that “it is well-established that a foreign nation’s taking of its own national’s property within its own borders does not violate international law,” and that the Soviet government’s original acquisition — and also Yale’s subsequent acquisition — of the painting was legal.
The motion also argues that Konowaloff’s claim came too late, since the statute of limitations for a dispute of ownership of this nature would have expired in the 1960s, three years after Yale publicized its acquisition of the painting.

The second is a dispute involving objects removed by Hiram Bingham from Machu Picchu:

In the case of the Inca artifacts, Yale is arguing it first gained control of the items when they arrived in New Haven in the 1920s, describing them in several Yale publications as part of the museum’s permanent collection.
“Decade after decade, Peru was content to let Yale hold itself out to the world as the owner of the objects,” the Oct. 16 motion reads. “[Peru] disregarded the reasonable time limits imposed by law for bringing its claims.”

Nora Caplan-Bricker, Yale moves to drop museum suits, Yale Daily News, October 27, 2009.

The Met Returns Object to Egypt

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:01:00 +0000

Curious story involving the Met and Egypt. It seems the museum will return a fragment of a red granite shrine purchased from an antiquities collector in New York last October "so that it could be returned." It seems the Met purchased the object specifically to return it to Egypt. Curious to say the least, why couldn't ICE agents or the NYPD have gotten involved? Perhaps because it was a prominent unnamed collector? There are more questions than answers at this point.

Here's a part of the AP story:

The piece arrives in Egypt Thursday, the statement said. Egle Zygas, senior press officer for the Met, confirmed the museum's decision.
SCA head Zahi Hawass hailed the Met's move as a "great deed," singling it out as the first time a museum has bought an item for the sole purpose of repatriating it.
The fragment belongs to the naos honoring the 12th Dynasty King Amenemhat I, who ruled 4,000 years ago, which is now in the Ptah temple of Karnak in Luxor.
It's the latest coup for Hawass, Egypt's assertive and media-savvy archaeologist, who has been on an international lobbying campaign to reclaim what he says are stolen Egyptian artifacts from the world's most prestigious museums.
He says so far he has recovered 5,000 artifacts since becoming antiquities head in 2002.

Joseph Freeman, The Met returns Egyptian artifact, The Associated Press Oct. 27, 2009.

Banks as Art Museums?

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:51:00 +0000

Interesting piece from the New York Times on banks and their art collections:

Deutsche Bank is believed to own the largest corporate collection in the world, with some 60,000 pieces of contemporary art. UBS owns 40,000 pieces, and JPMorgan Chase 30,000. Combined, that approaches the Museum of Modern Art’s trove. Banks have various explanations for their hoarding instincts: lots of walls to cover, clients to impress, corporate identities to build. Or perhaps just some past director was a devoted patron.
If banks were temples of culture rather than lucre, the collections would be easy to justify. As a financial asset, however, much of the art is of dubious value. Some 400 works owned by Lehman Brothers, including ones by Roy Lichtenstein, are expected to fetch only about $1 million at a coming auction. And it’s hard to believe Andy Warhol or Damien Hirst ever helped get an initial public offering off the ground.
At least some banks take care of their treasures. JPMorgan, whose collection was started a half-century ago by David Rockefeller at Chase Manhattan, has a well-regarded curator. But many banks don’t even know what’s boxed up in the basement, having inherited artwork in takeovers.
Some do make an effort to share their artistic wealth. Monte dei Paschi di Siena of Italy invites the public to see some of its impressive collection, which stretches back to the Renaissance. The Swiss bank UBS lets the Tate Museum of Britain select from its collection. But these efforts don’t often come to much. The Tate currently has only three of UBS’s pieces on display.

The authors tie these large collections to the financial bailout. I'm more interested in comparing these banks to art museums. ~~It make~~ When banks purchase massive amounts of art, it becomes harder for museums to compete with the economic clout of banks. Though the piece is critical of this ownership of works of art, I suspect one main reason these works of art are held is to wait until their value escalates and banks can trade them for tax exemptions.

Jeffrey Goldfarb & Lauren Silva Laughlin, Banks Hoard Troves of Art, The New York Times, October 26, 2009.

"It's about emotion, not airtight logic and consistent policy."

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:01:00 +0000

So argues Michael Kimmelman in the New York Times in describing the recent calls for repatriation of works of art. He takes as examples the recent repatriation claims made by Egypt against Germany and France. He makes two points that I'd like to draw out of the article.

First, he claims that globalization has intensified "cultural differences" between nations. This allows nationalism to "exploit culture". He may be correct in some cases, but he fails to note that the frescoes returned by the Louvre had been purchased recently, with little history. Given what we know about the antiquities trade, this means they were likely illegally exported or looted.

Second, he argues these claims are often based on emotion. That is certainly true in some cases, because after all works of art are often designed to convey emotion. One example of this would be Scotland's desire for the return of the Lewis Chessmen. But not all of these claims are without merit. Moreover, why is it that only claimant nations are "emotional". Are not museums and other groups "emotional" when they make arguments that works of art should stay where they are currently situated? Kimmelman makes the argument that justice has shifted. But I think that is a good thing. We are closer to better justice for all nations, not merely the wealthier market nations via International treaties like the 1970 UNESCO Convention, and important decisions like the Schultz and Barakat decisions in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Michael Kimmelman, When Ancient Artifacts Become Political Pawns, The New York Times, October 24, 2009.

Sotheby's Refuses to Disclose Executive Bonuses

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:12:00 +0000

Sotheby's auction house is refusing to disclose to government regulators how much its executives receive in bonuses. They defend the refusal by noting that if Christie's (which as a private corporation does not have to disclose the same information) were to learn the bonuses, they could lure away these executives. Any follower of the art trade will hardly be surprised by the hesitancy to disclose this information, but Jeremy Telman at the Contracts Prof blog outlines pokes three holes in Sotheby's argument:

1. Sotheby's and Christie's are undoubtedly at the top of the heap in the art dealing industry. Based on my circle of acquaintances, which includes many unemployed or underemployed artists, art curators and art experts, it seems likely to me that Sotheby's and Christie's benefit from being in a buyer's market when it comes to hiring executives. If both companies under-compensated their executives, where would those executives go? And if they left, so what? Couldn't Sotheby's and Christie's easily find highly competent replacements who would work on paint fumes just for the honor of getting those great auction houses on their resumes?
2. But even if I'm wrong about that, if Christie's were really interested in luring executives away from Sotheby's, couldn't they just ask the executives about what sort of compensation package it would take to motivate them to move? Is there a number one rule of Sotheby's Club that you don't talk about Sotheby's Club?
3. In any case, didn't Sotheby's waive its right to whine about the hassles of disclosure when it went public?

Daniel Wakin, Sotheby’s Keeps Its Executive Bonus Plan Under Wraps - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com.

China to Research Foreign Museum Archives for Chinese Artifacts

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:29:00 +0000

China seems to be taking a new approach to repatriation, creating research teams which will inspect the holdings of museums to "document" the archives. This has led to speculation that China may use its growing economic clout to demand the return of objects.

Peter Foster reports for the Telegraph:

The sacking of the Old Summer Palace – or 'Yuanmingyuan' – as punishment for the torture and execution of 18 emissaries sent by western powers to Beijing, remains an emotive subject in China, where it is still viewed as one of the nation's great humiliations.
The decision to try and document the millions of items now scattered round the world comes as China takes an increasing interest in retrieving artefacts that were removed from China during the colonial period and in the early 20th century.
"We don't really know how many relics have been plundered since the catalogue of the treasures stored in the garden was burned during the catastrophe," the palace's current director Chen Mingjie told the state-run China Daily newspaper.
"But based on our rough calculations, about 1.5 million relics are housed in more than 2,000 museums in 47 countries." China's sensitivity towards such 'looted' treasures was demonstrated in March when a Chinese collector sabotaged the auctioning of two bronze heads taken from the Old Summer Palace, bidding £13.9m for each, but later refusing to pay.

Peter Foster, China to study British Museum for looted artefacts, Telegraph.co.uk, October 19, 2009.

Poggioli on the New Acropolis Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:03:00 +0000

"Everyone understands what is missing".

So says Naya Charmalia, a member of the New Acropolis Museum exhibition team, in a piece today for All Things Considered by Sylvia Poggioli:

Acropolis Museum director Dimitrios Pandermalis says his aim is to reunify the entire composition close to its original setting.
"We have from the same figure, half of the body in Athens, half of the body in London. We have a body in London and a head in Athens. We have horses in London, and the tails of the horses are in Athens. It is a moral problem in art of divided monuments," he says.
British Museum officials concede that it could loan some of the sculptures, as long as Greece recognizes its ownership of the artifacts. It's a proposal Pandermalis rejects.
"They don't belong to the British, they don't belong to us. They belong to history. They are not pieces of trade," he says.
The campaign for the return of the sculptures is part of the international debate over ownership of cultural property.
For Greeks, the return of the Parthenon Marbles is an issue of national and cultural pride.
Maro Kakridi-Ferrari, professor in the philosophy department of Athens University, says the Parthenon — and what it symbolizes — were traumatized by the sculptures' removal.
"They are the material proof of what democracy has built in Athens of the Classical period," she says. "They are identified with the glory of ancient Greece, and they are part of the national identity."

Poggioli Sylvia, Greece Unveils Museum Meant For 'Stolen' Sculptures, NPR.

Egypt Makes Claim to Nefertiti

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Egypt has hinted at an official demand for the return of the bust of Nefertiti from Germany this week. The demand comes as Germany opens the rebuilt Neues Museum, reinstalling the limestone and stucco bust there. Zahi Hawass has told German media outlets that "[i]f she left Egypt illegally, which I am convinced she did, then I will officially demand it back from Germany". These comments come after Culture Minister Faruq Hosni of Egypt failed to gain election as the new director general of UNESCO, and Egypt threatened France with a cultural boycott to secure the return of recently-purchased frescoes from the Louvre. There are no indications Egypt will make a similar threat with this case, though perhaps if evidence comes to light indicating some wrongdoing, Egypt may attempt this aggressive strategy again.

The bust has been in Germany since 1913. A German archaeological expedition digging near Amarna found what may have been the house and studio complex of the sculptor Thutmose in 1912. The bust of Nefertiti was found on the floor of a storeroom along with other plaster casts. The removal of the busts does not appear to be an illegal smuggling or criminal in the same way the frescoes returned from the Louvre were. This dispute then will share some characteristics with the dispute between Yale and Peru over artifacts from Macchu Picchu.

In a piece in the New York Times, Monika Grütters, an "art history professor, legislator and a leading cultural expert" in Germany is quoted arguing:

“The documentation exists. The arrangements were agreed. The process was legal . . . There was a complete understanding about what would remain in Egypt and what would be taken to Germany . . . Maybe there is a bit of jealousy on the part of Egypt over Nefertiti. In any event, I am not so sure Egypt has the best conditions for this statue . . . And because it is so fragile, I am not sure the statue can even be flown. We have excellent conditions here in Germany.

There are indications the Egyptians may have been misled during the initial meeting over the partage of many of the objects which were recovered from the Thutmose workshop in 1912. Are these issues which can be litigated today? Perhaps not, as the limitations periods may have expired. But in the court of public opinion, more evidence of German misrepresentation might compel some action or calls for return.

Judy Dempsey, Egypt Demands Return of Nefertiti Statue, The New York Times, October 19, 2009.

New Leonardo . . . does anybody care about the art?

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:26:00 +0000

A labratory in paris has discovered a fingerprint on this work which is "highly comparable" to one on a Leonardo da Vinci work in the Vatican. That means this work which was purchased for $19,000 may be worth tens of millions now. It seems there are also stylistic similarities, and this work was performed by a left-handed artist (as Leonardo was).

It is an interesting story, but again I'm reminded of the lament by Jonathan Jones that art history has become pseudoscience. Why should we care how much this work could fetch at an auction, what about the art? Is it a nice picture, or just a windfall investment?

Roger Atwood on the "Mass Pillage" in Iraq

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:45:00 +0000

Roger Atwood has an Op-Ed in yesterday's New York Times arguing Iraq could learn from the approach of Peru and Mali in protecting their archaeological resources. Both nations have used civilian patrols to protect sites, and apprehend looters:

This kind of grassroots organizing — where local officials, police officers and archaeologists join forces with local residents — is the best way to combat looting and protect sites from being swallowed up by the illicit antiquities trade. A similar strategy has proved effective in Mali, a country that has little in common with Peru besides a rich archaeological heritage. It would work in Iraq and elsewhere.

Surprisingly, though, relatively few governments have focused on getting rural people involved in protecting threatened sites. Most spend their energy pressing museums in the United States or Europe to repatriate looted artifacts, instead of focusing on safeguarding the archaeological riches still in the ground. Repatriation is a valuable goal, but an immense amount of historical information is lost whenever looting occurs and sites are damaged, even if the objects are later recovered. The government’s time would be better spent expanding the patrols to prevent looting in the first place.

World Monuments Fund Watch List

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:08:00 +0000

The World Monuments Fund has announced its 2010 "watch list", and two sites from here in New Orleans have made the list. The first is St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, and the modern glass and steel Phillis Wheatley Elementary School.

St. Louis Cemetery was opened in 1823. The tombs are above ground—a necessity because of the ground water levels, and in keeping with French and Spanish tradition. It was created by and for the city's "free people of color." St. Louis #2 contains the remains of some of the earliest and jazz and blues musicians, including Danny Barker. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It contains some remarkable examples of cemetery art, and Creole history. The cemetery is at risk from vandalism, water lines from the flooding during Hurricane Katrina, and neglect.

These New Orleans sites join the ranks of Herat in Afghanistan, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Machu Picchu, Taos in New Mexico, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin homes in Wisconsin and Arizona.

Louvre to Return Egyptian frescos

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:04:00 +0000

Egypt's decision to force France to return the potentially looted frescos has proven very successful. The objects, allegedly stolen from Egyptian tombs in the 1980's had been purchased by the Louvre in 2000 and 2003. At least two consequences of this decision will soon emerge.

First, how many other nations of origin will attempt to make similar claims? Egypt ceased all ongoing archaeological digs by French archaeologists. Was this a threat only reserved for objects which may have been looted recently? Will this set the precedent for this kind of treatment by German archaeologists if the bust of Nerfertiti isn't returned to Egypt?

Second, might this signal renewed scrutiny of the acquisition practices of museums outside the US? Much of the discussion has rightly focused on wrongdoing by some American museums and dealers. But what of their counterparts around the world? Shouldn't they be subjected to the same scrutiny?

Louvre to return Egyptian frescos, BBC Oct. 9, 2009.

Free Wally!

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:05:00 +0000

The 10-year battle over the rights to this work may soon be nearing the beginning of the end:

A federal judge in Manhattan ruled that the U.S. government and the Leopold Museum in Vienna have enough evidence to possibly lay claim to the "Portrait of Wally." The painting by Austrian expressionist Schiele in 1912 depicts his mistress and primary model. The U.S. government confiscated the painting when it was on loan from the Leopold, claiming the museum knew the painting had been stolen by a Nazi in 1939 from its Jewish owner, Lea Bondi. The Leopold sent more than 100 works by Schiele to New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1997. Acting on information that two paintings had been looted in Austria during World War II, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau seized "Portrait of Wally" and "Dead City" from the museum.

And the work has been in storage ever since.

Jonathan Perlow, Dispute Over Schiele Painting Heads to Trial [Courthouse News Service, Oct. 7, 2009]

More Art Thefts in California

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:59:00 +0000

Coming soon after the theft of the Warhol works in Brentwood, and the armed robbery in Belgium, there has been another major theft in California. In Pebble Beach 13 works by Rembrandt (pictured here), Van Gogh, Jackson Pollock and others were stolen. These new works may be worth as much as $27 million. The works were stolen from Angelo Benjamin Amadio; who has since offered a $1-million reward for the return of the objects.

Why all these thefts? Is it a product of the economic downturn? Or are thieves hoping to gain some of these lucrative rewards?

Big art theft reported in Pebble Beach [Monterey County Herald, Sep. 28, 2009]

Turkey Plagued by Illicit Antiquities Trade

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:19:00 +0000

An interesting piece this Sunday on the problem of looting of sites in Turkey and the smuggling of objects from war-torn nations like Afghanistan and Iraq through Turkey:

According to the “Cultural and Natural Assets Smuggling Report” prepared by the Culture and Tourism Ministry based on figures provided by the Anti-smuggling and Organized Crime Bureau (KOM) of the police department, Turkey sees higher statistics related to the smuggling of historical artifacts every year. In 2003 security authorities seized 3,255 historical artifacts that smugglers were attempting to take abroad. With a steady rise over years, this figure rose to 17,936 in 2007. And another new high came in 2008, when authorities seized 42,073 historical artifacts and detained 4,077 suspects in 1,576 operations. Coins are the favorite of smugglers as they are relatively easy to take abroad without detection. The number of coins seized by security authorities rose from 20,461 in 2007 to 55,613 in 2008. . . .

The report also maintains that conflicts and wars tend to create a suitable atmosphere for the smuggling of historical artifacts, as seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the ongoing wars allow smugglers to operate freely. The majority of historical artifacts smuggled out of these countries are sent to Western countries via Turkey. This route of smuggling implies that these historical artifacts are purchased by collectors in rich Western countries. The US, the UK, Switzerland and Japan are the favorite destinations for these items. The report cites lack of sufficient security measures against theft in museums as the major reason for the high number of smuggling cases. Tourism is the most widely used venue for smuggling historical artifacts.Furthermore, Turkey lacks a sufficient and clear inventory of historical artifacts in the country, and Turkey does not have statistics about existing historical artifacts and about already smuggled items.

Ercan Yavuz, Turkey a magnet for smugglers of historical artifact [Today's Zaman, Sep. 27, 2009]

The Symes Auction

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:15:00 +0000

Robin Symes, the antiquities dealer with a checkered past will have remnants of his art collection sold at auction at Bonham's in Bath. The sale is being organized by liquidators of Symes' estate. Symes was a successful dealer in antiquities, but also played a role in the trade in illicit antiquities. He was featured prominently in the network of dealers which sold works handled by Giacomo Medici, and the Getty. The catalog describes the sale as the "Robin Symes Collection". It includes the following "the items are being sold by the liquidators who make no warranty as to title, but have been given no reason to believe good title cannot be passed." Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the history of these items. As Francesco Rutelli told the participants at the ARCA Conference in Italy this summer: just because one can buy these items, doesn't mean one should buy these items.

Colin Gleadell, Art Sales: the last remains of a scandal [The Telegraph, Sep. 28, 2009]

Massive Recovery of Anglo-Saxon Gold Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:31:00 +0000

Below is some video of the massive discovery of Anglo-Saxon gold discovered by a detectorist this summer.

Two things to note from the piece: First is that these objects were very near the surface, and may have been at risk from pesticides/agricultural damage. Second, the finder here notified the proper authorities, and an archaeological excavation was made possible. There is a terrific website devoted to the objects, with a number of images and links to news reports. It is hard I think for even the most ardent critics of the Portable Antiquities Scheme to find much fault with the result in this case. The objects have a history, archaeological excavation was undertaken, and the public can study and enjoy these terrific objects.

Armed Theft of a Magritte

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Earlier today armed robbers stole this work, Olympia by Rene Magritte from an appointment-only museum just outside of Brussels today. The men rang the bell, asked if visiting hours had started, and then put a gun to the attendant and rounded up the visitors, and stole the work.

No word yet on if they were wearing bowler hats. Magritte painted the work with the man in the hat and an apple in front of his face, the Son of Man -- an image which was prominently used in the Thomas Crown Affair. It seems unlikely thieves would risk punishment to re-enact a film, so why was the painting taken? There are a few oft-cited possibilities:

The first, is that a collector admires the piece, and hired a thief to take it for him. We can call this the Dr. No situation. This seems the least likely possibility, but the one that strikes a chord with the imagination. Writers in this subject frequently cite the Dr. No as being responsible for thefts, and I admit it makes for good Bond villains, but there has been no convincing evidence that thsi is why people are stealing rare objects. Another similar possibility which seems far more likely is that an unscrupulous dealer may have a similar piece for sale, and if he can establish some excitement around these kinds of pieces, the price for his similar work may go up.

Second, the thief may not have known that the object was so rare as to make its subsequent sale difficult.

Third, the thief may simply be trying to kidnap the object. They could then insure its safe return for a generous reward, or negotiate its return.

Finally, perhaps the market is doing such a poor job of regulating what is and is not legitimate, that it may not be all that difficult to sell this piece after all. This strikes me as the most troubling possibility, but also not very likely.

Lost Work Discovered

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:48:00 +0000

This work, Madonna and Child with St. Joseph, by Ludovico Mazzolino has been rediscovered after being left in storage for nearly 60 years. A photograph of the work was sent to an auctioneer, who identified it as the work of Mazzolino. It seems this work is genuine, and has a solid history. Guy Schwinge, an auctioneer at Duke's of Dorchester said:

"With the help of the National Gallery we have been able to identify that it was last sold at public auction three years before Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo."

The seller is a pensioner from Cheltenham, who put the work into storage in 1950. He received it from his great grandmother who bought it in Italy in 1862, and it had been sold at auction in London in 1812 for only £20.

Lost Renaissance Work Discovered [BBC News, Sep. 21, 2009].

Viking Silver Discovered by Metal Detectorists on Display in York

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:40:00 +0000

This hoard of viking silver -- buried in the 10th century -- was discovered by Metal detector David Whelan and his son Andrew in a field in 2007. Included in the find were 617 coins and 67 other objects. The treasure was valued at over £1m. They went on public display in York last week. Andrew Morrison, curator of archaeology at the York Museums Trust tells the BBC what we know about the silver and the role it played in the Anglo-Scandinavian economy:

"We can certainly say it's an Anglo-Scandinavian hoard because of the contents," Mr Morrison insists. Among the coins are dirhams from Muslim states as far away as central Asia and Afghanistan. "What they're showing you is trading links. That tends to be very much more the Viking side of life than the Anglo-Saxon side of life," says Mr Morrison. The Scandinavian seagoing peoples travelled and traded far and wide The presence of "hack silver" - items such as jewellery cut into pieces for their silver value - is also "what you expect from an Anglo-Scandinavian economy," he adds. The Anglo-Saxons tended to use coins rather than bullion. The hoard will be on show in York from 17 September until 1 November. It will return to the British Museum while the Yorkshire Museum closes for refurbishment until August 2010. It will then return to York for "a period of time" - by which time the whole hoard, including all 617 coins, should be ready to go on display. For Mr Morrison this co-operation between regional and national museums is "the way forward - you get the best of everything: the local input into ways of doing things, with the national expertise". The hoard, for him, has a personal feel - it gives clues about whoever it was who hid it. The single gold arm ring among the mass of silver items could well have been of great sentimental value to its owner, he believes. Possibly it was a reward for services given by a superior ruler. In sum, he says: "This is the lifetime's treasure of a reasonably wealthy individual." It also helps us to remember what a wealthy and prestigious place Northumbria, centred on York, was, he observes - sometimes in the richness of archaeological finds in the city and its surroundings "we forget how it is a place with the seeds of power and glory."

In an ideal world of course all these objects would be professionally excavated. Yet these objects tell us a great deal about the culture which produced them, they can be enjoyed by scholars and the public in York and at the British Museum. Contrast this with the Sevso Treasure, which is locked away at Bonham's auction house. Three nations of origin, each with national ownership declarations and no similar rewards for finders, fought over those works, and the result was the trust created by the Marquess of Northampton was able to retain possession. Whatever criticisms can be lodged with the Treasure Act and the Portable Antiquities Scheme, they reward compliance. They work. We still know very little about the Sevso Treasure, who discovered, and where. The current state of law and policy produces a perfect black market. The PAS offers a good alternative. What is the utility of a legal regime which cannot be enforced?

I've argued that the PAS has a lot of merit, and should be considered as a potential policy model for other nations. Rick Witschonke, reported on a conference earlier this month at the British Museum on the Portable Antiquities Scheme, and his thoughts are here.

Trevor Timpson, The 'wonderful, wonderful' hoard & Getting the most out of treasure [BBC Sep. 17, 2009].

Odyssey Marine Salvage Award

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:12:00 +0000

One nation's underwater looters are another nation's excavators-for-hire. Dow Jones Newswires is reporting that Odyssey Marine will receive a $160,000 award for recovering artifacts for the U.K. from the English Channel:

Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. (OMEX) will receive a salvage award of $160,000 in a settlement with the U.K. government for artifacts recovered so far from a gunship wreck in the English Channel.The company - which uses advanced technology to comb the ocean's depths for silver, gold and historical artifacts - also has filed a motion to vacate its admiralty arrest on the wreck in U.S. federal court. An admiralty arrest is a legal proceeding by which Odyssey seeks court recognition of its right to salvage a ship.Shares recently were up 14% at $2.33 in recent premarket trading. Still, that's far below its all-time high of $8.32 a share in May 2007, shortly after a separate major discovery in the Atlantic Ocean, which led to a legal dispute with Spain. Shares lost two-thirds of their value in one day in June after Odyssey was recommended to return an estimated $500 million in sunken cargo. The case is still pending.The U.K. salvage award represents about 80% of the value of two cannon recovered from Admiral Balchin's HMS Victory, a British Navy 100 gun ship lost in 1744 and submitted to the U.K. Receiver of Wreck. The company plans to contribute $75,000 of the award to support the National Museum of the Royal Navy.The company also will be involved in talks to determine approaches that should be adopted towards the wreck. Odyssey has booked losses in every year except one since it went public in 1997, but has loyal investors confident in its long-term prospects. The company generates revenue by selling artifacts and coins, from a partnership with the Discovery Channel and from leasing fees for traveling museum exhibits. The HMS Victory is one of Odyssey's significant finds and sank in a storm with 41 bronze cannons and other artifacts aboard.Odyssey in April had admiralty arrest on about a dozen sites.

Redds Sentenced to Probation

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:05:00 +0000

Jeanne and Jericca Redd (pictured here with their attorney) have been sentenced in the federal artifact-looting investigation. They are the first to be sentenced, there are at least 26 other potential criminal defendants. U.S. District Court Judge Waddous sentenced Jeanne Redd to 36 months's probation and a $2,000 fine, and her daughter Jericca to 24 months' probatoin and a $300 fine. Federal prosecutors had recommended 18 months in prison for Jeanne. Jeanne pleaded guilty to seven felonies, two counts of violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, two counts of theft, and three counts of theft of tribal property. Each one of those counts carried a potential fine of $250,000 and 10 years in prison. The younger Redd admitted to three felonies for digging up a seed jar, a vase, and a vessel on the Navajo reservation. Over 800 objects, including human remains were seized from the Redds.

However Judge Waddous said "This is a community where this kind of conduct . . . has been justified for a number of years . . . This is a woman who has spent her life as a member of her community . . . I want to express my thanks, . . . I know this has been a terrible experience for all of you."
Judge Waddons is referring to the suicide of James Redd earlier this summer, and that seems to have had a substantial impact on the sentencing. It is also a general rule in sentencing that when a defendant pleads guilty, a prosecutor will recommend a much lesser sentence, but in this case the sentence fell far short of the sentence recommended by the prosecutors.

George Hardeen, a spokeseman for Navajo Nation president Joe Shirley Jr. said "The Navajo people are compassionate toward others who have had a tragic loss as the Redd family have . . . At the same time, Navajos have a deep respect for burials and ruins and teach that these are not to be disturbed. Obviously, Navajos want them left alone and not looted for their artifacts."

In an interview on NPR this morning Mark Michel of the Archeological Conservancy said "The sentence is disappointing . . . And I'm afraid it sends a message that this is not serious criminal activity."

U.S. Attorney Richard McKelvie saw it another way, "I can't imagine anybody willfully subjecting themselves to anything the Redds have gone through . . . You can't ignore the consequences that these people have suffered as a result of the investigation and prosecution of this case."

These sentences are certainly on the light side, but even if the judge had thrown the "book" at the Redds and all the other defendants, would that have a sustained impact on the preservation of the archaeological record in the Southwest? It may, or it may produce a backlash. Criminal penalties are an important component, but criminal penalties in isolation will not solve the problem. There are very different ways of valuing these sites and objects, and increased awareness of how important and valuable the archaeological record is are critical components of this process.

Howard Berkes, Mother, Daughter Get Probation In Artifacts Theft [NPR, Sep. 16, 2009].
Patty Henetz, Redds dodge prison in artifact sentencing [The Salt Lake Tribune, Sep. 17, 2009].

Nine Double Eagle Coins

noreply@blogger.com (Derek Fincham) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:22:00 +0000

Roy Langbord discovered in 2003 that his family had 9 of these rare double eagle coins locked away in a safe-deposit box:

The famous “double eagles” from that year were never officially released by the government. Only a few had ever made their way out of federal vaults, and only one had ever been sold publicly, in 2002. The price: $7.6 million. And there were nine more of them in the safe-deposit box. But after the Langbord family took the coins to the United States Mint to be authenticated in 2004, they got a rude surprise. The Mint said the coins were genuine and kept them. The government claims that they are government property stolen from the Mint, most likely in the 1930s, by Mr. Langbord’s grandfather, Israel Switt, a Philadelphia jewelry dealer. The Langbords went to court and recently won an important ruling. A United States District Court judge has given the government until the end of the month either to give back the coins or go back to court to prove that they were in fact stolen by Mr. Switt, a daunting task after three-quarters of a century. Nearly a half-million 1933 double eagles were minted before President Franklin D. Roosevelt, shifting the nation away from the gold standard, issued an executive order that made owning large amounts of gold bullion and coins illegal. Two of the coins went to the Smithsonian Institution, and almost all the rest were melted down.

The Federal government believes the coins were stolen, and it seems unlikely these coins ever found their way to the marketplace legitimately, but the government will have to prove these coins were stolen, 75 years after they were ordered to be melted down.

John Schwartz, Rare Coins: Family Treasure or Ill-Gotten Goods? [New York Times, Sep. 15, 2009].