Welsh officials have declared nine recent archaeological finds, all discovered by metal detectorists, as treasure. The rare objects had likely been buried for safekeeping by their owners but were never recovered.
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Tributes for the Duke: Patron of the arts and hobbyist painter
As tributes pour in following news of the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, little known facts about Queen Elizabeth II’s husband have also begun to emerge including his devoted patronage of the arts.
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Painting nearly sold for €1,500 (£1,300) could be a long-lost Caravaggio
Spain has hastily imposed an export ban on a little-known painting, following claims that it could be a forgotten Caravaggio (1571-1610). It was due to be sold at auction in Madrid for a starting price of €1,500 (£1,300), but if it is indeed by the Italian master it could fetch up to €150 million (£130 million).
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Potential art thief arrested for suspected theft of Van Gogh and Frans Hals paintings
Police have arrested a man suspected of stealing artworks by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) and Frans Hals (1582-1666) during the night-time raids of two Dutch museums.
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The Louvre launches online catalogue to improve accessibility and provenance research
This week the Louvre launched a cohesive online catalogue of 485,000 objects, including those held in storage, for the very first time. The major revamp has come in the wake of the museum’s intensive provenance research project.
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Ghent altarpiece finally comes home after major restoration project
A masterpiece of the Northern Renaissance, known as the Ghent Altarpiece, has returned to its original location in Belgium after eight years of controversial restoration. The €30 million (£26 million) project will preserve and protect the Van Eyck painting, infamous for being the most stolen artwork of all time.
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Banksy donates £16.8 million to NHS after record-breaking Christie’s sale
Banksy’s tribute painting to the NHS has sold at auction for a staggering £16.8 million with premium. The UK health service will receive almost all the money from Christie’s charitable sale, which set a new auction record for the anonymous graffiti artist.
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UK art dealers told to toughen up in fight against money laundering
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has issued UK art galleries with an “amber alert” following concerns that potentially hundreds of millions of pounds are being laundered through art sales.
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Gerhard Richter to permanently loan 100 artworks to Berlin museum
One of the most important artists of the twentieth century, Gerhard Richter, has agreed to permanently loan over 100 works to a Berlin museum in order to keep them off the market. Richter said he was looking forward to “a great beginning of cooperation with Berlin.”
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France to restore Nazi-looted Klimt painting to heirs of its Jewish collector
After 80 years, the French government will return a Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) painting to its rightful owners – the heirs of a Jewish family who were forced to sell the piece under duress during the Nazi era.
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