Culture crime news 9–17 November 2020

News

Hot this week: 50 years of the UNESCO Convention

Receive ‘Culture crime news’ as a weekly newsletter! Sign up here

You can search the full Culture Crime News media database at news.culturecrime.org.

General

Fifty years on, Unesco’s convention against illicit trafficking of cultural artefacts still shines bright
(13 November 2020; The Art Newspaper)

UNESCO’s role in the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property
(14 November 2020; My Republica)

Unesco, stop citing ‘bogus’ $10bn figure, art trade pleads
(12 November 2020; The Art Newspaper)

Unesco under fire for using Met objects in anti-trafficking campaign
(13 November 2020; The Art Newspaper)

The devil is in the paperwork—don’t be caught out by provenance fraud (USA)
(11 November 2020; The Art Newspaper)

Africa

Egypt: Anger at loan of Islamic artefacts to Saudi Arabia for two years (Egypt, Saudi Arabia)
(15 November 2020; Middle East Eye)

The battle get our art back (General)
(13 November 2020; The Southern Times Africa)

West Africa: Inside the Illicit Trade in West Africa’s Oldest Artworks (Nigera, Germany)
(11 November 2020; All Africa)

“Holding on to stolen African objects, hiding them away, is plain wrong” (Nigeria, UK)
(17 November 2020; The Sunday Post)

Nigeria expects more Benin Bronze returns as soon as next year (Nigeria, UK)
(12 November 2020; Reuters)

New museum in Nigeria raises hopes of resolution to Benin bronzes dispute (Nigeria, UK)
(14 November 2020; The Guardian)

Stolen Pierneef painting: Magashule’s ex-guard wanted to make quick millions, State charges (South Africa)
(9 November 2020; News 24)

Americas

Stealing an Entire Dinosaur — Thieves Loot Brazil’s Precious Fossils (Brazil)
(10 November 2020; Insight Crime)

Artist devastated by theft of prized painting from Edmonton arts co-operative (Canada)
(14 November 2020; CBC)

Government Moving To Retrieve Taino Artefacts From UK (Jamaica, UK)
(9 November 2020; The Gleaner)

Jamaican Government Looks to Retrieve Artefacts from British Museum (Jamaica, UK)
(10 November 2020; Caribbean National Weekly)

Holy Happy Ending, Batman (USA)
(9 November 2020; Antique Trader)

Sotheby’s Sued by New York State AG for Tax Fraud (USA)
(9 November 2020; ArtForum)

Theft of expensive art remains mystery 10 years later (USA)
(9 November 2020; Mansfield News Journal)

Minneapolis art museum criticised for keeping ancient Indigenous objects (USA)
(9 November 2020; The Art Newspaper)

The Fossils That Get Away (From Scientists) (USA)
(13 November 2020; Atlas Obscura)

Bigfoot missing: Sheriff’s office reports statues stolen from museum (USA)
(12 November 2020; KTVU Fox 2)

Stolen Bigfoot statue found in California, returned to museum (USA)
(13 November 2020; New York Post)

A family feud, a mystery firm and the Botticelli masterpiece that quietly vanished (USA, Italy)
(15 November 2020; The Guardian)

$10 M. Botticelli Painting Reportedly Disappears Amid Legal Dispute (USA, Italy)
(16 November 2020; ARTnews)

Europe

Growing rate of theft of Nazi objects across Europe (Denmark, Netherlands)
(9 November 2020; DW)

Thieves Grab Nazi Memorabilia in Museum Heists, Puzzling Police (Denmark, Netherlands)
(13 November 2020; The New York Times)

Is Saving Art Worth Lives? (General)
(9 November 2020; Jewish Journal)

Samsung partners with art crime expert to hunt for world’s missing masterpieces (General)
(12 November 2020; The Art Newspaper)

Being stolen is ‘best thing that could happen’ for artwork’s prestige, says expert (General)
(13 November 2020; EuroNews)

MEPs Call on Boris Johnson to Return Parthenon Marbles to Greece (Greece, UK)
(11 November 2020; Greek Reporter)

Elgin Marbles: MEPs from 12 EU countries call on Boris Johnson to return Parthenon artefacts to Greece (Greece, UK)
(11 November 2020; INews)

Hackers target oldest bible and Vatican’s other priceless treasures in online attacks (Holy See)
(9 November 2020; The Art Newspaper)

How Rose Dugdale Went From British Debutante to I.R.A. ‘Freedom Fighter’ (Ireland, UK)
(11 November 2020; The New York Times)

Inside Rome’s Secure Vault for Stolen Art (Italy)
(10 November 2020; Atlas Obscura)

Dutch Are Taking Giant Steps Towards Restitution Of Looted Artefacts (Netherlands, Ghana)
(16 November 2020; Modern Ghana)

Art Forger Han van Meegeren Fooled the World Into Believing His Fake Vermeers. A New Film Unpacks His Bag of Tricks (Netherlands)
(10 November 2020; ArtNet News)

Film Review: The Last Vermeer (Netherlands)
(10 November 2020; San Diego Jewish World)

Books worth EUR 3.3 mln stolen by Romanian Mission: Impossible gang in London return to rightful owners (Romania, UK)
(10 November 2020; Romania Insider)

Stolen books worth £2.5 million returned to rightful owners (Romania, UK)
(11 November 2020; SW Londoner)

Looted artifacts on show in Russia highlight research (Russia, Germany)
(11 November 2020; My Joy Online)

The war on stolen artefacts (Switzerland)
(12 November 2020; Swiss Info)

Switzerland returns stolen artefacts to Italy (Switzerland, Italy)
(12 November 2020; Swiss Info)

Alan Turing: Stolen items to be returned to UK from US after decades (UK, USA)
(9 November 2020; BBC News)

Controversial tunnel under Stonehenge approved over archaeologists’ objections (UK)
(13 November 2020; National Geographic)

Stik: Stolen prints returned to artist following appeal (UK)
(16 November 2020; BBC News)

A Hedge-Fund Manager Whose Company Sold a Fake Frans Hals at Auction Is Appealing a Court Order to Return $6 Million to Sotheby’s (UK, USA)
(16 November 2020; ArtNet News)

Seller contests having to repay Sotheby’s for allegedly forged Frans Hals (UK, USA)
(16 November 2020; The Art Newspaper)

Oceania

Tribute work to New Zealand’s most famous artist sold in London as original (New Zealand, Europe)
(13 November 2020; The Guardian)

South and East Asia

Cultural relics repatriated by U.S. find home in east China city (China, USA)
(17 November 2020; CGTN)

Bronze idol stolen from temple (India)
(12 November 2020; The Times of India)

Sitharaman Hands Over Confiscated Antiquities/Coins To Patel (India)
(12 November 2020; Travel Trends Today)

The Day Britain Returned Royal Treasures Stolen From Burma’s Palace (Myanmar, UK)
(11 November 2020; The Irrawaddy)

West and Central Asia

Google Arts & Culture as an Agent of Ethnic Cleansing (Armenia, Azerbaijan)
(13 November 2020; Hyperallergic)

Three arrested, suspected of stealing antiquities from Tel Megiddo (Israel)
(9 November 2020; The Jerusalem Post)

Pandemic harms efforts to rein in antiquities theft (Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt)
(9 November 2020; France 24)

In Other News

Soccer-ball sized meteorite thought to be more than four BILLION years old is returned to its rightful owners five years after being snatched from a ‘crystal cave’ (Australia)
(9 November 2020; Daily Mail)

WWII plane wreckage newly discovered on Broome battlefield feared stolen (Australia)
(14 November 2020; ABC Australia)

Wildlife crime in Scotland almost doubled in the last year (UK)
(14 November 2020; The National)

Trial date set for man charged with ammonite theft (UK)
(16 November 2020; Lethbridge Herald)