Clik here to view.
A Blast from the Past: “Norton Simon Bought Smuggled Idol”
Imagine you’re a thief about to pull a heist at the local temple. You can’t wait to get your hands on all those statues, altarpieces, gold. In the middle of the night, you sneak up to the entrance...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chasing Aphrodite at Google: Jason Felch on the Illicit Antiquities Trade and...
On February 10th, Jason visited the Googleplex in Mountain View, CA to talk about Chasing Aphrodite and to solicit help with a new initiative, WikiLoot. The talk was part of the Authors@Google program,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Getty List: 10 Objects at the J. Paul Getty Museum that Turkey Says Were...
Among the dozens of allegedly looted antiquities that the government of Turkey is asking American museums to return are ten objects at the J. Paul Getty Museum. The Getty declined to provide a list of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cuno’s Memo: 34 Positions Eliminated at Getty Museum, Mostly in Education,...
UPDATE 2: An interesting post on the Getty cuts at Hyperallergic ends with this provocative question: “Are museums Universities of Vision or Churches of the Eye?” UPDATE: The website Art Museum...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Getty’s Bronze? Italian Court Upholds Order to Seize a Getty Masterpiece
UPDATE: Law professor Derek Fincham has commented on Italy’s case: “Using a domestic court to seek the seizure of an illegally exported object from another country has not been attempted before. But...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Harvard List: Turkey wants Dumbarton Oaks to Return the Sion Treasure
Among the dozens of objects that the government of Turkey is asking American museums to return are 40 Byzantine relics at Harvard University’s Dumbarton Oaks Museum. (We’ve previously reported on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Artifacts and Fictions in Baltimore: Roger Atwood on the Walters’...
Today we’re publishing a guest post from Roger Atwood, author of “Stealing History: Tomb Raiders, Smugglers and the Looting of the Ancient World.” We reached out to Roger for his thoughts when we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Year of Aphrodite: Book Launch Plus 365
One year ago, Chasing Aphrodite hit bookstores. The amazing success we’ve enjoyed over the past twelve months is humbling, and we thought it a good opportunity to thank you, our most dedicated fans....
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Antiquities Trade as Organized Crime: Glasgow Team Digs Deep into the...
An exciting new research effort has been launched by some of the most prominent researchers of the illicit antiquities trade. Simon Mackenzie, Neil Brodie, Suzie Thomas and Donna Yates* at the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Letter to Cuno: Dismissal of Educators Sparks Discord Inside Getty Museum
Last month, more than 50 Getty Museum staff members signed a letter to Getty Trust CEO James Cuno and his bosses, the Board of Trustees, objecting to recent cuts in the museum’s education department....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Off to Amelia: Chasing Aphrodite Honored at Art Crime Conference
We’re off to Amelia, Italy this week for the 4th annual conference of the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art (ARCA). The program includes talks by some of the leading experts on the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Looters of the Gods: The Getty’s Golden Wreath is Featured in Documentary on...
As we were prowling the alleys of Rome on Monday discussing our plans for WikiLoot, a prize-winning documentary film was airing on Italian national television about the role of American museums in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Case of the Dodgy Drachmas: Arnold Peter Weiss, Prominent Rhode Island...
Dr. Arnold Peter Weiss, a prominent Rhode Island hand surgeon and dealer in ancient coins, pleaded guilty in New York City Tuesday to three counts of attempted criminal possession of ancient coins he...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Castor and Pollux, Forgeries and Loot: Reflections on the Arnold Peter Weiss...
Looting and forgery are the Castor and Pollux of the antiquities trade, bound together by a love of murky origins. That appears to be the lesson of the guilty plea earlier this month by coin dealer Dr....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kapoor Case: Investigation into Stolen Indian Idols Will Test Museum...
The investigation of antiquities dealer Subhash Kapoor, which made international headlines this week when federal agents raided his Manhattan warehouse, promises to shine a bright light on the illicit...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kapoor’s Footprints: 230 Objects from Alleged Antiquities Trafficker Traced...
We’ve begun hearing back from museums that did business with Subhash Kapoor, the New York antiquities dealer under arrest in India for trafficking in looted antiquities. For those just catching up with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Battle for Koh Ker: Legal Implications of Cambodia’s Dispute with Sotheby’s
The legal dispute over an ancient Khmer statue at Sotheby’s could have lasting implications for the sale of ancient art in the United States. For those catching up on the case: Sotheby’s New York was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
CAVEAT EMPTOR: Arnold Peter Weiss on the Dangers of the Ancient Coin Trade
UPDATED BELOW. Caveat Emptor, the court-mandated essay written by Rhode Island coin dealer Arnold Peter Weiss, is a long-overdue call for collectors of ancient coins to begin following the law. Weiss...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Guardian and the Goddess: Looted Statues Reveal Workings of Illicit Trade
The Getty’s Aphrodite The Contested Temple Guardian What does a 10th century Khmer temple warrior have in common with a Greek cult goddess from the 5th Century B.C.? Quite a bit, it turns out. Both...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dallas Museum of Art Returns Orpheus Mosaic, Five Other Looted Treasures in...
The Dallas Museum of Art has agreed to return six looted antiquities from its collection and announced a broad new initiative to exchange expertise and artwork with cultural institutions around the...
View Article