Dear Subscribers,
For those interested, information about this summer's major art theft in Madrid is now posted on the FBI's Art Theft web-site. In addition to the missing paintings, stolen objects including Greek & Egyptian artifacts are listed. http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/arttheft/madrid/madrid.htm
For another page with links to some stories about the crime see http://www.saztv.com/page40.html
Hope you find this of interest,
Jonathan Sazonoff Saz Productions, Inc. http://www.saztv.com
Contributing US Ed. Museum Security Network http://www.museum-security.org/saz.html
From: "Jullien, V." Jullien.icom@unesco.org To: "'saz@kwom.com'" saz@kwom.com Subject:
RE: Stolen African Art and Artifacts
Dear Jonathan
Following your message posted on MSN List, please be informed that there are 223 objets from 11 african countries listed on the INTERPOL CD ROM dated 06/2001.
The countries are : South Africa, Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Lybia, Nigeria, Sudan, Tunisia, Zaire (Rep.dem Congo), Zimbabwe.
Sincerely
Valérie Jullien Communications Officer ICOM secretariat
From: "Harold J. Smith" hsmith2726@earthlink.net Subject:
A query about Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
We are reviewing the Isabella Gardner Museum Loss of March 17, 1990. Our question is - Can you or any of your subscribers inform us as to which of the twelve paintings stolen were cut from frames and which were not?
Thank you so much for your assistance. Harold J. Smith
Tomb raiders arrested in China
Members of a ruthless gang of ancient tomb raiders have been arrested in China. The gang broke into and robbed scores of ancient burial tombs in the suburbs of Beijing. The seven, all farmers, raided tombs from the Ming and Quing Dynasty, dating back to 1368. They have confessed to robbing nine tombs
A variety of ancient silver and jade wares have been seized from the temporary residences of the robbers, who dug tombs late at night and hid the relics in secret places. Police are still doing further investigations and trying to recover the lost relics, reports People's Daily, China. http://www.ananova.com/
Bribes earn ex-museum exec hefty fine
NAGANO -- A former museum executive accused of receiving bribes from an art company head he favorably treated was fined 9.2 million yen on Tuesday and handed a suspended jail sentence. Masaki Shimodaira, former vice director of a Nagano prefectural museum, was found guilty by the Nagano District Court of accepting bribes and was sentenced to two years behind bars, suspended for five years. The court also slapped him with a 9.2 million yen fine for the crime. In making the ruling, Judge Masayoshi Aoki said Shimodaira's actions had greatly injured the public's trust in public servants. Shimodaira allegedly received about 9.18 million yen from Tadaichi Nakajima, 66, the head of art sales company Inshosha, over 38 occasions between August 1996 and September 1999 in return for favorable treatment he gave Nakajima. Nakajima is standing trial over the bribes.
Shimodaira is also believed to have accepted about 34.5 million yen in cash from June 1990, including the 9.18 million yen for which he was convicted of accepting as a bribe. (Mainichi Shimbun, Oct. 30, 2001) http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/
Italy rows over selling off arts
Plans by the Italian Goverment to privatise museums and art galleries have met been with stern opposition in parliament. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government has proposed handing the management of arts centres to private companies.
But Italy's political left-wing is hoping to prevent the proposed legislation when it comes before parliament as part of next year's finance bill. Under-Secretary of State for Culture Vittorio Sgarbi has defended the scheme, saying it "affects only economic aspects of museums, and not the artistic dimension".
Protection
"Tickets, restaurants and libraries will be handled by the private sector, as in the Louvre, the New York Metropolitan Museum and the Vatican Galleries," he added. He stressed that the public sector would retain responsibility for exhibitions and the protection of cultural assets. But Giovanna Melandri, arts minister in the previous left-of-centre government, said a law already exists on transferring areas of the service sector to private enterprise and no extra measures were necessary.
He pointed out that of the 350 museums and art galleries in Italy, about 100 already had ticket sales, restaurants and libraries managed by private companies. "We find the new project ambiguous and want it clarified," a spokesman for Mr Melandri said.
Argument
"In fact we don't want measures affecting culture to drown in the middle of the finance bill. "If there has to be legislation on the subject, let's have a real text focusing on culture." Earlier this year, Mr Sgarbi became embroiled in an argument with London's National Gallery over the transportation of pieces of Masaccio's Pisa Altarpiece to the UK. He accused the gallery of failing to match the generosity shown by Italy in lending artworks. The minister singled out the National Gallery's refusal to lend paintings to a show in San Severino Marche in Italy - a show which Mr Sgarbi had himself curated. http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Russian Minister Promises Art List
BERLIN (AP) - Russia will publish a list of all art works that ended up in its museums and archives as a result of World War II, Russia's culture minister said Tuesday, saying Moscow has ``nothing to hide'' about looted art. Mikhail Shvydkoi told Deutsche Welle radio ``about 287,000 art objects'' remain in Russia as a result of the war. Western experts previously estimated that about 1 million books, paintings, coins, church windows and other German cultural objects have gathered dust in Russia for decades.
Russia has said it long ago returned most of the seized art. ``We have nothing to hide,'' he said. ``By the end of 2002, the complete list of all cultural assets that are in Russian museums and archives as a result of the war will be presented publicly.'' Shvydkoi said the list will ``expose the myth of something huge hidden in Russia,'' adding that the items include ``much that is secondary and bulky, furniture for example.''
Germany's demand for the return of art looted by the victorious Red Army has been an irritant in relations with Russia. Moscow has balked at returning the booty, seen by many Russians as a rightful compensation for the huge human, economic and cultural losses the country suffered in the Nazi invasion.
Talks have made little progress, but Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) promised this year that his government will ``try to reach a solution.'' In a small step toward returning looted art works, Russia is expected next year to return medieval windows from a church in Frankfurt an der Oder, on Germany's border with Poland. Earlier this year, Shvydkoi said Germany should be grateful to Moscow for agreeing to its reunification in 1990 and should stop pushing for return of seized artworks.
Britain Abandons Silver Auction
LONDON (AP) - A government plan to auction silver candlesticks and other historic items was abandoned Monday after protests that Britain's heritage was being sold off to raise extra cash. The government told Parliament that the plan to sell some items dating to the 17th century had been abandoned. Less valuable items would still be sold, officials said. The Treasury or finance department was looking at ways to put the items that had been withdrawn from sale on display in a museum, they said.
The items include silver candlesticks given to members of the Privy Council so they could study documents and help advise the monarch of the day. The plan, intended to provide extra funding for government programs, was denounced by cultural experts and others, who said the items were a priceless part of the nation's heritage.