New York Times: At the Met, She Holds Court. At Home, She Held 71 Looted Antiquities.. “Shelby White has given the museum generous gifts and 33 years of service as a trustee. But investigators recently seized many of her ancient artifacts, including 17 that were on loan to the Met.”
Deutsche Welle: Germany: Court rules Nazi-looted art stays in database. “The German Court of Justice (BGH) ruled against an art dealer in his attempt to have an entry deleted from a database of artworks potentially looted by Nazi Germany. The entry of the painting in the Lost Art Database as possibly looted art was based on true facts and did not affect the plaintiff’s ownership of the painting, the Karlsruhe-based court ruled Friday.”
The Art Newspaper: Artefacts in Swiss museums were looted from the Kingdom of Benin, new report says. “Twenty-one works in Swiss museum collections were looted from Benin City when the Royal Palace was plundered by the British Army in 1897, a new report reveals. The report, published by the Swiss Benin Initiative (SBI) group, focused on 96 Benin bronze items in eight museums including the Musée d’ethnographie de la Ville de Genève and the Museum der Kulturen Basel.”
The Guardian: Museums in England and Wales to gain powers to dispose of objects on moral grounds. “Museums and galleries in England and Wales will be given unprecedented powers to dispose of objects in their collections if there is a compelling moral obligation to do so, under a new law.”
Long Island Press: NY Museums to Disclose Artwork Looted by Nazis. “Museums in New York that exhibit artworks looted by Nazis during the Holocaust are now required by law to let the public know about those dark chapters in their provenance through placards displayed with the stolen objects. At least 600,000 pieces of art were looted from Jewish people before and during World War II, according to experts. Some of that plunder wound up in the world’s great museums.”
New York Times: Investigators, Citing Looting, Have Seized 27 Antiquities From the Met. “Investigators in New York have seized 27 ancient artifacts valued at more than $13 million from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that the objects, acquired to showcase the glories of ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt, had all been looted.”
New York Times: The Robot Guerrilla Campaign to Recreate the Elgin Marbles. “Few cultural disputes inflame British passions more than the disposition of the Parthenon Marbles. Public debate about the statuary has raged since the early 1800s, when the sculptures and bas-reliefs, which date from 447 B.C. to 432 B.C., were stripped from the Parthenon and other Classical Greek temples on the Acropolis of Athens by agents of Thomas Bruce, a Scottish statesman and seventh earl of Elgin…. Roger Michel, executive director of the Institute of Digital Archaeology, believes the long-running dust-up can be resolved with the help of 3-D machining.”
UNESCO: UNESCO welcomes the signing of a historic agreement between Germany and Nigeria for the return of 1,130 Benin bronzes . “The declaration goes beyond a mere restitution and provides for ambitious cultural cooperation. Under the terms of the declaration, Germany is expected to participate in archaeological exploration work, provide training for Nigerian museum staff, help build a new museum in Benin and return looted Benin Bronzes from German museum collections, while promoting international travelling and joint exhibitions.”
New York Times: Challenges of the Future Confront the Art World. “Should the British Museum return the ancient sculptures known as the Parthenon Marbles to Greece? Is the art world contributing to global warming? Is the hot market for digital art known as NFTs over? These are among the most vexing challenges facing the art world today, especially the question of how — or even whether — to return what many view as plundered art, like the Parthenon Marbles, to their rightful owners.”
The Guardian: Specialist gang ‘targeting’ Ukrainian treasures for removal to Russia. “A specialist gang is smuggling valuable historic artefacts out of Ukraine and into Russia, according to an international team of academics and digital technology experts who are tracking thefts.”
Nepali Times: Yale returns Tara to Nepal. “The Consulate-General of Nepal in New York on 6 May announced with Yale University Art Gallery in Connecticut the return of a 9th-10th century stone sculpture of Tara/Parvati, which was stolen from the Bir Bhadreshwor Mahadev Temple in Golmadi, Bhakatapur in the 70s.”
NBC News: A woman bought a sculpture at Goodwill for $34.99. It was actually a missing ancient Roman bust.. “Laura Young, a Texas antiques dealer, thought she had found a steal when she came across a stunning statue at a Goodwill store in 2018 for just under $35. And while she suspected she had come across something ‘very special,’ little did she know the piece would turn out to be a priceless Roman bust dating back to 2,000 years.”
Ukrinform: Invaders steal over 2,000 exhibits from Mariupol museums. “The invaders took more than 2,000 exhibits from Mariupol museums to the temporarily occupied Donetsk, including the 1811 Gospel and more than 200 unique medals. This was announced on Telegram by the Mariupol City Council, Ukrinform reports.”
Bloomberg Quint: These Art Sleuths Are Taking on Traffickers in a $10 Billion Black Market. “From a tiny office in southern India, S. Vijay Kumar scans case files on his laptop with the precision of a forensic scientist. To an untrained eye, the width of a bronze Shiva’s nose or the definition of its knuckles are invisible details. To Kumar, these are clues on a statue that unlock some of history’s biggest art heists.”
Associated Press: Monuments Men group bets on playing cards to find lost art. “Inspired by the U.S. military’s history of creating playing cards related to missions, the Dallas-based Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art on Wednesday announced the creation of the deck focusing on works — including paintings, sculptures and reliquaries — they believe still exist.”
