NewsMuseums & Heritage
Mosul Cultural Museum rises from the ravages of Isis
Painstaking reconstruction by multi-agency task force is salvaging what artefacts remain after Islamic State occupation
NewsRestitution
Looted in the 1980s, a sacred stele at the Dallas Museum of Art is headed back to Nepal
After FBI investigation, sculptural antiquity lent by a collector is determined to have a disturbing provenance
NewsRestitution
French Senate and government lock horns on restitution
Deputies rejected senators' proposal for a national council to advise the government on future restitution claims
NewsAntiquities trafficking
After outcry from antiquities trade, Unesco further adjusts ad campaign on looted artefacts
Dealers association challenged the campaign’s claims that two newly pictured objects were stolen
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Hunt still on for a Van Gogh self-portrait lost deep in a salt mine during the Second World War
The Magdeburg masterpiece may have been burned at the end of hostilities—but some believe it might have been looted and survive
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Unesco under fire for using Met objects in anti-trafficking campaign
Advertisements said that the works were looted in recent years, but Met documentation shows that they have a much longer provenance
NewsRestitution
Black Lives Matter movement is speeding up repatriation efforts, leading French art historian says
Bénédicte Savoy—co-author of the Sarr-Savoy report that recommends France return its African artefacts—warns of "collective amnesia" over restitution debates that happened 40 years ago
InterviewBook Club
Q&A | ‘The looting was a chaotic free-for-all’: Dan Hicks on the pillaging of the Benin Bronzes and colonialism in museums
The curator and University of Oxford professor tells us about his new book, The Brutish Museums, which details how museums themselves were “used as a unique type of weapon”
NewsGermany
Is the Nebra Sky Disc a millennium younger than we thought?
Analysis by German archaeologists suggests that the piece was not part of the Bronze-Age hoard looted in 1999
AnalysisLooting
How recent anti-racism protests have pushed a longstanding debate about colonial looting in Europe
As the Black Lives Matter movement goes global, museums face renewed demands to restitute artefacts plundered from Africa
NewsRestitution
‘I had lost hope’: The story behind a Nazi-looted Madonna and long-delayed compensation to Jewish heirs
The 93-year-old heir Grete Unger Heinz recalls contemplating a Jacopo del Sellaio painting as a child in Vienna
NewsAntiquities
California man is charged with illegally importing an ancient mosaic, possibly from Syria
Indictment says the paperwork misrepresented the work’s quality and value
NewsAuctions
Waning market for African artefacts? Controversial Benin bronze fails to sell at Christie's
Academics challenge the provenance of the Edo plaque as well as two Igbo alusi figures that sold under estimate for €212,500
NewsAntiquities
Former Louvre curator among five arrested in Paris in antiquities trafficking investigation
Case involves "hundreds of objects worth millions" looted from the Near and Middle East
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Facebook and Instagram ban trading of historical artefacts
Heritage group Athar were part of a campaign highlighting the social media giants' “black market in antiquities”
NewsLoot
Looted ancient temple sculpture—seized by UK police—will go home to Afghanistan
British Museum and Art Loss Register collaborate over recovery of ancient bull decoration that was consigned to an online auction
NewsThe Year in Review 2019
From trafficked treasures to the ravages of climate change: the heritage headlines of 2019
We look back at the biggest stories of the year
ArchiveLaw
Italy sues for return of antique pottery which they claim to own under national law because they are objects of archaeological interest.
The US has filed a complaint in a federal district court to determine who owns 230 antiquities produced in ancient Italian pottery workshops
NewsConservation & Preservation
Getty plans sweeping $100m initiative to promote the world’s cultural heritage
Projects will range from exhibitions about the classical world to conservation and excavations and a book about “heritage and mass atrocities”
NewsLooting
Over 18,000 cultural goods seized and 59 arrested in trafficking sting
Multi-national operation organised by Europol involved police forces from 29 countries
ArchiveNazi loot
Seattle Art Museum sues New York dealers Knoedler
The heirs of Parisian dealer Paul Rosenberg demand the return of a Matisse stolen during World War II
NewsLooting
A 'missed opportunity'? US seeks to return painting looted by Nazis to Ukraine
Questions are being raised about how the work ended up in the US and why such a public seizure is being pursued now
NewsRestitution
London museum returns emperor's hair—taken by a British officer as a war trophy—to Ethiopia
The two locks will be buried at the monastery where emperor Tewodros' body was interred
NewsPolitics
Double Jeopardy? US dealer fights extradition to Poland, for the second time
Alexander Khochinsky’s lawyer calls the country’s actions over a €10,000 looted painting “aggressive and disproportionate” and says his client will not get a fair trial in the “illiberal democracy”
NewsRestitution
Met hands over an Egyptian coffin that it says was looted
Describing itself as a victim of fraud, museum says it cooperated with district attorney's investigation
NewsLooting
Heirs of Baron Herzog continue battle for Nazi-looted art collection despite US Supreme Court dismissal
Decades-long case to reclaim works held in Hungary’s museums will now go through US District Court
NewsUkraine
Ivan the Terrible returns to Ukraine
19th-century oil painting, stolen during the Second World War, was found in the US
CommentArt market
Will the UK be able to take part in antiquities busts after Brexit?
Nineteen of the accused in Operation Demetra face trial in December, while the alleged UK mastermind awaits extradition
NewsAustria
Austria returns wrong Klimt to wrong family
Painting of apple trees is pulled from exhibition after admission that its restitution was a mistake
NewsArt market
A record-setting $30.1m sale of an Assyrian relief at Christie's raises red flags
The 31 October sale has prompted calls for repatriation and criticism of the seller, highlighting the gap between art ethics and law
NewsLooting
President Rouhani personally takes looted ancient relief back from New York to Tehran
Piece depicting a Persian soldier was seized last year at Tefaf New York
NewsLaw
Paris court orders US collector to turn over Pissarro painting
The work, seized by the pro-Nazi Vichy government, had been lent to an exhibition at the Musée Marmottan
NewsLooting
Georgia returns still life painting looted by Stalin's Trophy Commission
Country's stance contrasts that of neighbouring Russia, which still holds around a million items of war booty looted from Germany
ReviewBooks
The tortuous story of Gustav Klimt’s Nazi-looted, 100ft-wide Beethoven Frieze uncovered
New book exploring work's provenance is a must-read for those interested in the contentious field of art restitution
NewsLaw
Norton Simon Museum can keep Nazi-looted Cranachs, US court rules
Decision should put decade-long legal battle between museum and heirs of art dealer Jacques Goudstikker "to rest"
NewsLaw
Claim on Guelph Treasure can go to trial in US federal court
Lawyers for the Prussian Cultural Foundation argued that it was not “genocide” when the objects were sold in 1935
NewsLaw
Art dealer sues Poland over its failed efforts to extradite him from the US
After offering to return a work looted by the Nazis in exchange for his family’s former real estate, Khochinsky was placed under house arrest in New York and faced a 10-year prison sentence in Poland
NewsRestitution
Angola recovers six artefacts looted from museum during civil war
Dundo Museum's lost objects were traced by the Sindika Dokolo Foundation
News
German museum and auctioneer Im Kinsky tussle over looted glass goblet
Object was returned to consigner not museum from where it was looted at the end of Second World War
NewsLooted art
Berlin’s Ethnological Museum returns Alaskan grave artefacts looted by explorer
The objects “do not belong in our museums”, says the president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
NewsLooted art
Hamburg museum says its Benin bronzes could return to Nigeria—but not yet
Applied arts institution is showing the sculptures in a looted art exhibition
NewsRestitution
Damning report says France must catch up, fast, in return of Nazi-era loot
Heritage expert calls for new government taskforce to guide provenance research and even rule on restitution cases
NewsRestitution
German researchers trace Jewish newspaper mogul’s vast Nazi-looted art collection
The Mosse Art Research Project, a cooperation with the German government, identifies eight works and launches online database
NewsLooting
Will the British Museum lend Nigeria the Benin bronzes?
Planned museum in Benin City offers safe environment for Western collections, the country says
NewsLooting
Scotland Yard joins global crackdown on looted pharaonic antiquities
The initiative, which involves governments and the art world, will set up a public database of objects
NewsLooting
V&A opens dialogue on looted Ethiopian treasures
Director pledges rethink on objects seized by British troops in 19th-century Africa
NewsArt market
Tough new scrutiny by district attorney rattles New York antiquities trade
Will New York district attorney’s new unit clean up the antiquities market—or shut it down?
NewsLaw
Rhode Island School of Design denies claim on Picasso by Alphonse Kann heirs
Provenance research commissioned by the university has found that-while the work was once owned by the legendary collector-it was not looted by the Nazis
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
New York DA’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit starts the new year with double seizures
The newly formed team, led by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, has been cracking down on ancient art dealers and collectors
NewsAuctions
Painting looted from Hitler withdrawn from auction in Cologne
Franz von Stuck’s portrait of two girls was due to be sold at Van Ham
NewsLaw
Appeals court allows heir to renew claim against Nahmad family over Modigliani painting
The convoluted case involves suspected Nazi loot, the Panama Papers leak and a shadowy shell company
PreviewExhibitions
Cornelius Gurlitt’s art hoard finally gets first public showing
Organisers hope two shows will lead to restitution claims from victims of Nazi persecution
News
Looted Benin bronzes to be lent back to Nigeria
Pledge by European museums to set up “permanent display” of rotating loans in Benin City could pave way for restitution
News
The Met might return another ancient vase to Italy
A fourth-century BC terracotta krater was turned over to the DA’s office last week based on evidence it was looted
News
Dusseldorf museum pulls painting from show after Nazi loot claim
Owner says Andreas Achenbach’s Sicilian Landscape was bought in a “normal gallery transaction”
NewsLaw
Hobby Lobby agrees to pay $3m fine for Iraqi looted artefacts
Thousands of objects were falsely labelled and shipped to the arts-and-crafts company, according to prosecutors
News
The Cleveland Museum of Art returns bust of emperor’s ‘bloodthirsty’ son to Italy
The sculpture is the 15th object the museum has repatriated after discovering it was looted
News
Montreal’s Max Stern Foundation gets its Bacchus back
The FBI recovered the work when it was offered for sale at the 2015 Spring Masters fair in New York
ArchiveSeptember 2013
The Cambodian art smuggling scandal that’s ready to erupt
The Metropolitan Museum may not be the last institution to return looted sculptures
NewsFrom the archive
New antiquities minister must increase museum security and distance himself from Mubarak
Zahi Hawass faces major challenges over looting
ArchiveAntiquities & Archaeology
An international mission had found no evidence of recent looting at eight sites in south Iraq; some archaeologists were far from pleased
The unwelcome truth
ArchiveProvenance
US museum directors debate antiquities provenance dilemma
Should museums acquire objects without provenance, which may have been looted? Yes, say several panelists
ArchiveArt trade
Excavations and trade are essential to the study of antiquities
An international symposium hosted by the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) comes together to discuss the art trade and cultural heritage preservation.
ArchiveLooting
Italy's attempt at curbing illegal art excavation and trade backfires
Make the citizen your ally if you want to save the nation’s past
ArchiveAntiquities & Archaeology
Collector gets tax break for donating cylinder seals to university
Archaeologists say the artefacts are likely to have been smuggled out of Iraq
ArchiveReview
As major Egyptian exhibitions open in Venice and Washington, the complex case of the European exploitation of Egyptian archaeology is given a timely airing
Book Review: Whose Pharaohs?
ArchiveLooted art
Hector Feliciano seeks $6.8 million from Rosenberg heirs for finding Nazi loot
The complaint demands a 17.5% finders fee for aiding the recovery of stolen artworks
ArchiveAntiquities & Archaeology
"My life as a tombarolo." The Art Newspaper goes underground in the world of illicit archaeology
Cristina Ruiz spent a day with the man who controls much of the illicit excavation on the site of ancient Veii, one of the largest Etruscan cities.
ArchiveExhibitions
Exhibition on tomb-robbers' effect on archaeological sites opens in Palestrina, Italy
Wounded archaeology
ArchiveRestitution
Knoedler and Seattle Art Museum settle over Matisse lawsuit
In 1954 Knoedler sold picture stolen from Paul Rosenberg by Nazis
ArchiveAntiquities & Archaeology
Decisive times for underwater archaeology: Who owns the watery past?
There are an estimated three million undiscovered shipwrecks scattered throughout the world’s oceans. UNESCO is calling for a global treaty to protect them. Salvors say it is unrealistic and unworkable.
ArchiveLooting
Italian cathedral claims missal in British Library
Change of attitude towards restitution requests may signal changes in UK law
ArchiveLooting
The Museum of Religion in St Petersburg has admitted to having looted items in its possession and is involved in tangled negotiations with the Church
Former atheist goes to confession
ArchiveLooting
In an attempt to find works of art that may have been stolen by the Nazis ten British museums have named 350 works of art whose history between 1933 and 1945 is uncertain
British provenance probes
ArchiveLooting
The World Jewish Congress has made accusations about the provenance of works in US permanent collections
Museums race to list questionable paintings
ArchiveLooting
Restitution battles rage from Seattle to Paris to Budapest to New Zealand
Matisse Odalisque restored to the Rosenberg family
ArchiveLooting
Mahler-Werfel restitution case revived, and put on hold
The council on looted art has postponed its decision on whether to return five paintings in the Oesterreiches Galerie to the granddaughter of Alma Mahler-Werfel
ArchiveLooting
New York Court of Appeals rules that Schiele paintings must be returned to Leopold Foundation
The paintings are claimed to have been stolen from their rightful owners during the Nazi annexation of Austria
ArchiveLooting
Russia rules on restitution: “Art taken from occupied Germany belongs to Russia”
Constitutional court decides in favour of nationalists’ bill
ArchiveLooting
Growing unease over looted Lubomirski Dürers
A sheet of paper found in a second-hand book by The Art Newspaper details valuations of the drawings when sold by Colnaghi
ArchiveLooted art
The National Gallery investigates wartime provenance of 120 paintings
The London gallery aims to ensure that they are not war loot and appeals for assistance in checking their recent histories
ArchiveNazi loot
The Lviv Dürer story continues: Hitler’s shadow over the British Museum
Restitution claims for the Lubomirski and Ossolinski collections are complicated by the history of Lviv’s occupiers
ArchiveNazi loot
Goodman restitution case settled out of court
Disputed Degas to go to the Art Institute of Chicago
ArchiveNazi loot
The Association of Art Museum Directors promises to search collections for Nazi loot
Critics pointed out that the AAMD has no enforcement provision for members who violate its guidelines, not even its own mediation process
ArchiveNazi loot
War loot found in a rug dealer’s shop in Boston
Veteran’s reluctant admission of taking plunder clinches case
ArchiveNazi loot
Search continues for missing Raphael painting
Stolen in 1945 from a Polish prince’s museum, it is now thought to be in Bavaria
ArchiveNazi loot
US Customs seize a painting from a looted collection
The collection was stolen during Nazi occupation of France
ArchiveLooting
Works of art vanish from Kinshasa
The change of regime in the Democratic Republic of Congo coincided with thefts from the Institut des Musées Nationaux
ArchiveBooks
Books: The “Spoils of War” 1995 conference papers
A survey touching all the bases, including losses, recoveries, legal debates, and cultural restitution
ArchiveRestitution
Weimar gets a painting back as Sotheby’s returns stolen Tischbein portrait
“A very happy occasion” as painting looted by American soldiers returns home
ArchiveRussia
Russian Parliament nationalises art taken from Germany
But negotiations continue between Chancellor Kohl and President Yeltsin
ArchiveRestitution
Swiss bank accounts trace Nazi art deals
Newly declassified records track the deposit of Nazi assets in Swiss banks—they include references to works of art
ArchiveRestitution
“This is Soviet-style imperialism”: Interview with Director-General of Berlin Museums, Wolf-Dieter Dube
Dube reacts angrily to Russian delays over restitution and responds to the opposition of Irina Antonova, veteran director of the Pushkin Museum
ArchiveAntiquities & Archaeology
Don’t just berate the thieves: look at the museums and excavators too
In the last of our series which publishes talks given in London this summer, Professor Sir John Boardman, Lincoln Professor Emeritus of classical archaeology and art at Oxford, singles out three areas for concern.
ArchiveBooks
Books: Stalin’s supermuseum
As the Red Army pushed back the Nazi invaders in 1944, a pair of Soviet art historians compiled a list of masterpieces from Europe’s museums to be brought back to Moscow
ArchiveLooting
Looted Bremen drawings on show at the Hermitage in June
About 150 items from the collection will be displayed at the exhibition
ArchiveLooting
Looted art publicly acknowledged by Soviet Minister of Culture
A commission will be set up at Gorbachev’s behest to look into cultural property removed to U.S.S.R.
CommentHeritage
Fifty years on, Unesco’s convention against illicit trafficking of cultural artefacts still shines bright
International treaty of 1970 has helped establish an ethical basis for the actions of law enforcement and museums
Alexander Herman