Tag: Cultural Property Issues

A Manhattan District Attorney returned the world’s most expensive ancient coin to Greece. The reason for this was a falsified provenance. The lawyer Peter K. Tompa is convinced that this case should be of concern to everybody.

New York prosecutors returned an EID MAR aureus to Greece. The world’s most expensive ancient coin was seized in the course of the investigations against coin dealer Richard Beale. The case against Beale is still ongoing.

For years, the USA have been limiting the import of cultural property like coins through Memorandums of Understanding. Now the Cultural Property Advisory Committee has proposed further restrictions as Keith Twitchell reports.

The International Council of Museums has launched the “Emergency Red List of Cultural Objects at Risk – Ukraine”. The list is intended as a tool for the identification of looted and stolen cultural objects from Ukraine.

War and destruction in Ukraine don’t spare cultural institutions, as a UNESCO report demonstrates. Museums in the Russian-occupied territories face another threat – systematic looting.

A Roman bust disappears from Bavaria during the Second World War. Then, it reappears in the unlikeliest place in the world: a thrift store in Texas. A true story with a happy ending, which also draws attention to a serious problem.

A Briton and a German accused of smuggling antiquities were on trial in Iraq. Wanting to take home a few old shards and pieces of marble as vacation souvenirs, the men ran the risk of being sentenced to death. Now the verdict was announced.

Many governmental and other reports demonstrate: the art market is not financing terrorism. But current laws still damage the market. After a recent US Treasury report trade and policy organisations demand a fundamental review of law making.