Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah al-Thani is suing one of London’s most established art dealers, John Eskenazi. Sheikh Al-Thani believes that Eskenazi has sold him seven fakes, for which the Sheikh paid £4.2 million in 2014 and 2015.
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Long-lost residence of Genghis Khan’s grandson possibly found by archaeologists
Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of an 800-year-old palace that may be the lost residence of Hulagu Khan (ca. 1217-1265), the grandson of Genghis Khan (1162-1227). The once magnificent palace in the Çaldıran district of eastern Turkey’s Van province could be the first known architectural remains dating to the Ilkhanate ruling.
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14,000 year old engravings uncovered in Spain
Near the city of Lleida in Catalonia, Spain, archaeologists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona have uncovered an engraved plaque which reveals that artisans living in the region 14,000 years ago were more technically advanced than previously considered, even employing visual tricks in their imagery.
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Long-lost treasure discovered in 350-year-old shipwreck in the Bahamas
Marine archaeologists have recovered a trove of missing gold, silver and gems from a 350-year-old shipwreck hidden beneath the Bahamas’ waters.
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Australian artist hurls pickle at ceiling and charges collectors NZ$10,000 (£5,173)
A single slice of pickle splatted on the ceiling of a gallery in New Zealand is causing…a bit of a pickle! Australian artist Matthew Griffin is asking buyers to splurge NZ$10,000 (£5,173) for the provocative piece that questions the true meaning of art.
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Cincinnati curator finds hidden Buddha in magic mirror
A curator from Cincinnati Art Museum has fortuitously discovered a previously undetected image of a Buddha hidden within a sixteenth-century mirror. When a bright light is shone on the unassuming bronze disc, an ethereal buddha surrounded by wispy clouds is magically projected onto nearby surfaces.
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Christie’s at the forefront of art and tech with new venture capital fund
Christie’s auction house took another step last week to secure its position at the forefront of the intersection between art and technology. They launched an in-house investment fund, ‘Christie’s Ventures’, which aims to offer financial support and guidance to startups in the developing field of technology and fintech.
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A ‘ghostly’ new Van Gogh self-portrait has appeared at the National Galleries of Scotland
The preparations for an upcoming exhibition organised by the National Galleries of Scotland and scheduled to open on 30th July has prompted a new discovery. A Taste for Impressionism: Modern French Art from Millet to Matisse promises to tell “the remarkable story of how Scotland became home to one of the world’s greatest collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art”, but before it has even opened it has attracted media attention, as new research on Vincent Van Gogh’s Head of a Peasant Woman (1884) in the museum’s permanent collection, has led to the discovery of a new self-portrait by the artist.
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Italian authorities halt illegal sale of Gentileschi masterpiece
Italian police have thwarted the fraudulent sale in Austria of a painting by Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656). A specialised task force, known as the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit, discovered the fraud by searching through auction catalogues and online offerings. As a genuine work by the most celebrated female artist of the Baroque period, the painting is valued at a staggering €2 million (£1.7 million).
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The Horniman Museum wins £100,000 as Art Fund’s Museum of the Year
The Horniman Museum and Gardens in London has been awarded £100,000 after winning Art Fund’s prestigious title of Museum of the Year 2022. It is the largest prize in the global museum sector with the runners up winning £15,000 each.
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