Looted Antiquities

The increasingly contentious issue of selling Benin works of art at auction raised its head again last week after an ancestral plaque catalogued as 16th or 17th century was withdrawn from an East Sussex sale.

The art and antiques sector has until April 21 to submit feedback on new rules on the import of cultural goods proposed by the European Union.

MADAM – Your comprehensive coverage of the recent Unesco debacle in last week’s issue (ATG No 2471) successfully raises ongoing concerns about the organisation’s behaviour and attitudes.

A Unesco campaign aimed at increasing public awareness of looted art is threatening to backfire after it emerged the ‘stories’ told in its adverts were fabricated.

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including the arrest of antiquities dealers and experts in Paris relating to looted Middle Eastern artefacts.

Following the removal of four lots from a New York sale, Christie’s has expressed frustration at being denied access to key information on possible looted antiquities.

The antiquities trade has welcomed a new independent report that estimates the volume of looted objects on the market is much smaller than previous reports have suggested.

A project led by the British Museum (BM) to combat the trade in looted antiquities from Egypt and Sudan has launched an online database where objects with ‘provenance issues’ can be brought to the attention of museum specialists and academics.

The reported trafficking of cultural heritage objects is small and in decline, according to analysis by the IADAA (International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art).

A group of objects belonging to dealers who took part in the BRAFA art fair in Brussels were seized following an investigation by Interpol.