July 17, 2001
CONTENTS:
- FBI helping search for stolen Dutch painting
- US Dealer Charged with Selling Illegal Antiquities
FBI helping search for stolen Dutch painting
The Associated Press
7/16/01 11:45 AM
WASHINGTON (AP)-- The FBI is helping search for a picture by Gerard Dou, a student of Rembrandt and himself a leading Dutch painter of the 1600s, that was stolen in May from a museum in Innsbruck, Austria. It's an oval portrait of a boy playing a flute, just less than six inches high, painted on wood, with the signature "G. Dou." Dou is known for paintings of everyday life, such as "Woman with Dropsy" and "Poulterer's Shop" -- some so small and detailed that they were done with a magnifying glass. Angela Bell, an FBI press officer, said Monday that more information is being asked from Austria about the painting and details of the theft, which occurred between May 17 and 19. She said there was no special reason to think that the painting is in the United States but a public notice asked anyone with information to notify the local FBI office.
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On the Web:
FBI: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/arttheft/paintprint/dou/dou.htm
http://www.nj.com/
US Dealer Charged with Selling Illegal Antiquities
July 16, 2001 8:33 pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York art dealer was indicted on Monday on charges of conspiracy for allegedly trafficking in antiquities illegally removed from Egypt, federal officials said. Frederick Schultz, the president of the art gallery Frederick Schultz Ancient Art and a member of the National Association of Dealers in Ancient, Oriental and Primitive Art, was charged in Manhattan federal court with conspiracy to receive and possess stolen property.
According to the indictment, Schultz allegedly trafficked in antiquities illegally removed from Egypt from the early 1990s through May 1996. The indictment said Schultz received the property from an unnamed co-conspirator who obtained and removed the objects from the country.
"This prosecution reflects the commitment of the United States Attorney's office to stopping the theft and pillage of the valuable cultural heritage and historical antiquities, so critical to the heritage of other nations," said U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White.
Some of the antiquities had been found in the ground by local farmers and builders before they were purchased by Schultz for sale in New York and elsewhere, according to the indictment issued by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District.
In 1983, Egypt passed a law declaring that all antiquities were public property, but it did not cover items legally removed from Egypt before 1983. Accordingly, Schultz told prospective clients that the illegal antiquities had come from various old collections, the indictment charged.
In December 1994, according to the indictment, Schultz's co-conspirator told him in a letter that builders in Egypt were "obviously sitting on a temple site that covers some span of time." Soon after, Schultz wired a payment to the account of an Egyptian national in Switzerland, noting the payment in his records as "Egyptian Collection."
Among the items Schultz allegedly obtained illegally were a head of Amenhotep III, which was sold for approximately $1.2 million, and a Sixth Dynasty limestone figure, which he tried to sell for $825,000.
If convicted of the conspiracy charge, Schultz faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and either a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the crime, whichever is greater.
http://www.iwon.com/