US billionaire Michael Steinhardt has surrendered his collection of antiquities worth US$70 million (£53 million), after a lengthy investigation found they had been looted or illegally smuggled into the country.
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Tag: antiques
New Missing Books Register aims to deter antiquarian book thieves
This summer a new ‘Missing Books Register’ aims to help tackle the recent surge of high-profile book thefts. Launched by the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), the register encourages booksellers to check if books have been reported missing before selling them.
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Christie’s defeated in court battle over artist’s royalties
In a landmark judgment, a French court held on 24 March that art sellers must pay artist’s resale rights.
The ruling from the Versailles Court of Appeal marked the culmination of an eight-year legal battle between Christie’s auction house and two French associations of antique dealers and galleries. The battle began when the Syndicat National des antiquaires (SNA) and the Comité des galeries d’art sued Christie’s for unfair competition and abuse of its position. Christie’s had insisted that buyers pay artist’s royalties for works sold during an Yves Saint Laurent-Pierre Bergé sale in 2009. Continue reading
UK museums oppose clampdown on ivory trade
A campaign by the Duke of Cambridge to enforce a total ban on the ivory trade has been met by a wave of opposition from prominent UK museums, historians and antiques experts.
Current legislation prohibits the sale of ivory items carved after 1947. Now government ministers are considering proposals to extend the ban on the ivory trade to objects over 70 years old. Continue reading
New York antiquities dealer arrested in crackdown on illegal trafficking
Prominent New York art dealer, Nancy Wiener, was arrested last Wednesday (21 December) on suspicion of trafficking illegal Asian antiquities. According to the complaint filed in Manhattan’s Criminal Court, Wiener sold stolen objects to Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction houses, international museums and private buyers. She has been charged with criminal possession of stolen property and conspiracy to buy, smuggle and launder millions of dollars worth of antiquities from East Asia. Continue reading
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