Culture crime news 18–24 May 2020

News

Hot this week: More Hobby Lobby/Museum of the Bible drama, this time with lawsuit

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Africa

Relocation of Egyptian Sphinxes Exposes Them to Potential Environmental Damage, Experts Fear (Egypt)
(19 May 2020; The Weather Channel)

Americas

Morton: no todo arte sacro es de la nación (Morton: Not all sacred art is [property] of the nation; Mexico)
(19 May 2020; Milenio)

Thieves keep stealing muralist’s window panels he painted for charity in Soho (USA)
(19 May 2020; New York Post)

Salvage Firm Can Cut Into Titanic to Recover Telegraph, Judge Says (USA)
(20 May 2020; The New York Times)

A luxury car, art woth more than $150,00 stolen in Miami. (USA)
(21 May 2020; Miami Herald)

Motoko Fujishiro Huthwaite, ‘a force of nature’ who helped preserve WWII artifacts (USA, Japan)
(22 May 2020; The Oakland Press)

Civil action filed to forfeit rare cuneiform tablet from Hobby Lobby (USA, Iraq)
(18 May 2020; ICE)

Christie’s sued in looting dispute over £1.3m ancient tablet (USA, Iraq)
(22 May 2020; The Times)

Hobby Lobby Lawsuits and a Scholar’s Arrest Expose a Dark Side of Biblical Studies (USA, Iraq)
(23 May 2020; Observer)

Europe

Movie review: ‘The Painter and the Thief’ is more than just an art heist (Czech Republic)
(18 May 2020; Montevideo American-News)

How an artist developed an unlikely bond with the man who stole her paintings (Czech Republic)
(18 May 2020; CBC)

Australia takes lead in the demand for Parthenon Marbles return (Greece, UK, Australia)
(22 May 2020; Neos Kosmos)

Culture minister reiterates call for return of Parthenon Marbles (Greece, UK)
(23 May 2020; eKathimerini)

Greece calls again for return of Parthenon marbles (Greece)
(25 May 2020; AFP)

$50M in Fabergé Antiquities Shipped to Panama After Oligarch Hit With Sanctions: Reports (Russia, Panama)
(21 May 2020; The Moscow Times)

Potential ‘trophy theft’ as head cut off snake Gruffalo character in Inverness (UK)
(18 May 2020; The Inverness Courier)

Police warn of illegal metal detecting at Castle Hill, Shaftesbury (UK)
(20 May 2020; Dorset Echo)

In Other News

Australia: German student breaks into museum to take selfies with dinosaurs (Australia)
(18 May 2020; Sky News)

France should sell Mona Lisa ‘for €50bn’ to cover coronavirus losses, tech CEO suggests (France)
(19 May 2020; The Independent)

Museum Experts Weigh In On Animal Crossing New Horizons’ Museum (General)
(22 May 2020; Kotaku)

Calls for garda unit to clamp down on wildlife crimes in Ireland (Ireland)
(23 May 2020; The Times)

The Bizarre Story Of The Nicolas Cage Superman Heist (USA)
(22 May 2020; Screen Rant)