October 19, 2002 22:26
DRUG dealers are accepting historical artefacts as payment from addicts who are raiding churches to fund their habits, an insurer has claimed. Ecclesiastical Insurance spoke out after burglars broke into the parish church in Barking, near Needham Market, at the weekend and stole goods worth £1,350. They caused £500 of damage smashing a leaded window to break in and then stole two antique oak caned chairs, a Jacobean sanctuary chair, a funeral mask, a serpent wind instrument and a number of candlestick holders. Brian King, a spokesman for Ecclesiastical Insurance, said: "We are seeing a change. There was a large spate of antique thefts from churches which bore all the hallmarks of being professional. "Now less professional thieves are moving in and taking anything they can from churches, often to feed a drug habit. Now drug dealers are fencing these products. "The addict will buy drugs from the dealer and owe money. When the user does not have the money, the dealer asks for something valuable. We know of dealers in possession of church antiques in the south of England." Nick Clarke, director of communications for the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich diocese, said: "We are obviously distressed that burglars have broken into a local parish church and stolen from it. "There was a spate of churches being broken in to in Suffolk, but it is not a major problem.
"For many churches, it is important to be open during daylight hours to offer a place of sanctuary, a place in a busy world. We are not discouraging churches from having open doors. On this occasion, the church was locked."
Evening Star, UK
Italian police uncover traffic in ancient artifacts
ROME, Oct. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Police in Bari, a big southern port city in Italy, have uncovered a trafficking operation specialized in artifacts stolen from churches or taken from illegal archaeological digs. The ring, with branches in five regions in Italy's north and south, included several shopkeepers who allegedly sold the goods in their shops. Some 16 people have been charged with receiving stolen goods and violating regulations on the care of cultural and archaeological treasures. Among the objects confiscated by police were about 150 gold andbronze coins dating back to about 500 BC and dug up illegally at sites near Taranto in Puglia. There were also several items stolen from churches, including oil paintings and two spiral columns which were found holding up an archway in a private house in Treviso. Police said the treasures that could be put on the market were worth about 0.8 million euros. Enditem
Libraries face privacy test
By Dana Hull, Mercury News
Attached to each staff phone in the Berkeley Public Library is a dark pink laminated card advising employees on how to handle subpoenas. ``If a person comes to you to serve a subpoena on the library, say that you are not in a position to act on it,'' the card reads. ``Do not attempt to give them the information they are looking for.'' Librarians in Berkeley and across the country are increasingly concerned that federal agents will use the USA Patriot Act -- an anti- terrorism bill signed nearly a year ago -- to demand patron circulation records and Internet logs.
Full story at San Jose Mercury News: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/4312790.htm
International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR) Presents:
"Copyright or Copywrong?
The Supreme Court, Copyright Term Extension, and The Arts"
Wednesday, November 6, 2002: 6:00-8:30 p.m.
It concerns U.S. copyright law and a case that has been called the most important copyright case in the last 20 years. The case, Eldred v Ashcroft, challenging the constitutionality of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, has divided the arts community. While art historians, other scholars, and some artists have filed "friends of the court" briefs on behalf of Eldred, some publishers, composers, and other artists have supported the Government's case. As one of its IFAR Evenings, the International Foundation for Art Research has organized a symposium on the impact this case may have on the arts community. Talks will be followed by a Q&A and a WINE & CHEESE RECEPTION RESERVATIONS REQUIRED Speakers:
* Franklin Feldman, Chair, IFAR Law Advisory Council; Co-Author, Art Law
* Stephen E. Weil, Emeritus Senior Scholar, Center for Museum Studies, Smithsonian Institution, Co-Author, Art Law
* Robert Baron, Chair, Committee on Intellectual Property, College Art Association
* I. Fred Koenigsberg, White & Case LLP, NY; General Counsel, ASCAP
* Alice Haemmerli, Dean, Graduate Legal Studies and International Programs, Columbia Law School
Location: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society 124 East 58th Street (between Park and Lexington) New York, New York
For more information, call IFAR at (212) 391-6234 or go to IFAR's Website: http://www.ifar.org ("programs") Reservations and pre-payment required: http://www.ifar.org/reg_sub4.htm Edited talks will be published in a future issue of IFAR Journal. Sincerely, Sharon Flescher (Dr.) Executive Director, IFAR
Scientist guilty of selling brains
A former University of Toronto scientist admitted to selling four brains, a hand and foot to an antique dealer for $500 after striking a deal yesterday.
Vinkent Pang, 35, pleaded guilty to mischief by improperly interfering with human remains. He had originally been charged with possession of stolen property, theft and indignity to human remains. The specimens were part of a collection at the university's pathology department. The collection included 100 pieces that were deemed no longer medically relevant. The body parts, which dated back to the 1930s, had been used for medical research, senior prosecutor Calvin Barry told Mr. Justice Joseph Bogard. The foot came from a victim of leprosy and one of the brains was extracted from a gunshot wound victim. "The exhibits from the William Boyd Museum were to be disposed of," Barry said, adding the parts were to be cremated and buried at a university cemetery. The investigation began, the prosecutor said, when a woman saw the encased body parts and two guinea pigs displayed at an antique market at 393 Queens Quay W. Asking $1,000 for the collection, the booth's operator, Yank Azman, was arrested, but charges against Azman were later withdrawn when police were led to Pang. When Pang learned of Azman's arrest, he disposed of some brains and livers in a Thornhill dumpster. Bogard accepted a joint sentencing submission by Barry and Pang's lawyer, Edwin Boeve. Bogard agreed to grant a conditional discharge — which means Pang's untarnished criminal record will remain that way — in addition to probation for one year and 100 hours of community service. Pang must also stay away from U of T.
Pang was handcuffed and charged at his office in front of his peers in April, 2001.
Toronto Star
Tracking Down Dino Thefts
Saturday, October 19, 2002
Scott Sampson, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Utah Museum of Natural History, magnifies fossilized bones of a camptosaurus. The fossilized bones were taken illegally from public lands near Castle Dale and sold. The FBI confiscated them and turned them over to the museum. The fossils will be displayed today at the museum at 10:00 a.m. (Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune)
BY MICHAEL VIGH (c) 2002, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Millions of years ago, Utah was a vast playground for dinosaurs -- whopping wonders that trudged through swamps, sailed through the skies and swam the ocean that covered much of North America in prehistoric times.
Today, authorities say Utah's landscape -- now rich in fossil treasures -- has become a playground for thieves who regularly plunder the state's federal lands of the ancient bones. Police say some fossil filchers earn thousands of dollars on a worldwide black market selling dinosaur skeletons, while other less sophisticated thieves sell individual bones simply to satisfy their methamphetamine habits. "The world knows that Utah is the source of many excellent dinosaur finds," said Laurie Bryant, a U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regional paleontol- ogist. "Utah is the most dinosaur-rich fossil state in the country," added FBI Special Agent Gib Wilson, who said criminals are well aware of Utah's rich dinosaur heritage. Not only do the thefts destroy the individual fossils, they also deny scientists the opportunity to re-create a portrait of ancient times, Wilson said. "People from the old school say, 'We should be able to dig up bones because it's our land,' " he said. "But that's just the point: It's not appropriate for any one person to go out and rape and pillage the land owned by all of us." Wilson -- part of a five-member fossil-theft task force that includes investigators from the BLM and the U.S. Attorney's Office -- said the dinosaur detectives are working on nearly two dozen current cases in the Intermountain West, most of them in Utah. Investigators cruise the Internet for sellers, learn of deals from confidential informants and receive tips from Utahns, who spy suspicious loads of bones. Last month, Utah's U.S. Attorney's Office seized the fossil of a camptosaurus -- a plant- eating dinosaur that grew to a ton and roamed the earth about 150 million years ago -- from a California businessman. In 1994, that fossil was illegally excavated near Castle Dale and sold for $17,000 to Henry Runge, who owns the Santa Monica business Wonders of the World. Runge surrendered the fossil after learning it had been taken illegally from Utah. Federal prosecutors have turned over the rare dinosaur fossil to the Utah Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah. It will be on display today beginning at 10 a.m. as part of the museum's annual "What's in the Basement?" day. In a separate case, Pennsylvania businessman Barry James and his wife, April Rhodes-James, recently agreed to pay the U.S. government $50,000 in connection with the heist from federal land in Emery County of an allosaurus fossil that was later sold to a Japanese collector. Prosecutors said that when James received the illegally excavated, 85 percent-complete skeleton, he "had reason to believe that the allosaurus specimen had probably been illegally obtained by those persons who supplied the specimen." The excavators were not prosecuted because the legal deadline to file charges had passed, and they agreed to be witnesses. On July 23, Barry James pleaded guilty in Castle Dale's 7th District Court to a charge of theft by receiving stolen property. He was sentenced to 1 year of probation, according to court records. The federal forfeiture case was resolved last month. Wilson said unsophisticated thieves hack at bones with screwdrivers or shovels and quickly gather their wares, taking their illicit finds to rock shops where they are sold for drug money. Dinosaur bones can fetch about 5 cents a pound. Ancient dinosaur teeth and claws, which can be made into necklaces, can bring in around $1,500, Wilson said. Other thieves, some of whom have a background in paleontology, try their best to remove whole skeletons so they can sell them for big bucks over the Internet. In the James' case, a Japanese collector paid $400,000 for the allosaurus. Still, many are unqualified and do the illegal digging under cover of darkness -- and as quickly as possible -- to avoid detection. In their haste, fossil thieves destroy or damage many bones and leave others behind, sometimes rendering them useless to scientists, Bryant said. "These people will rip out fossils in a matter of days that take legitimate paleontologists months to carefully dig out," Wilson said. In many cases, scientists dig around a skeleton, encase it in plaster and cautiously lift it out of its hole with a helicopter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Overby said it is illegal to collect dinosaur fossils on U.S. government lands without a permit, and a fossil can never be sold. But if someone buys land and finds a Tyrannosaurus Rex in their back yard, they can do whatever they want with it, he said. Bone thieves are prosecuted under a federal statute, theft of government property, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. But because Utah's lands are so vast, it is almost impossible to catch fossil thieves before the two-year statute of limitations, or legal deadline to prosecute, has lapsed. Still, Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said federal prosecutors take "very seriously the protection of the resources of the state. We will aggressively prosecute those individuals who would steal them from federal lands." While many fossil thieves steal old bones to make money, Wilson said he routinely sees a spike in thefts after dinosaur movies like "Jurassic Park" hit the big screen. "Thefts shot through the roof" following the movie's release, Wilson said. "You can never put these fossils back into their holes. Once they're gone, they're gone forever."
Anyone with information regarding fossil theft from government lands should contact the BLM at 800-722-3998. mvigh@sltrib.com
Salt Lake Tribune
Court Upholds Monument Protections
Sat Oct 19, 3:09 AM ET By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal appeals court upheld former President Clinton's orders protecting 2 million acres of federal land in five Western states through creation of national monuments. In a ruling Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed lower-court rulings that dismissed challenges to Clinton's designation of the monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act. The law allows presidents to act without congressional approval to safeguard objects of historic and scientific interest. The monuments affected are the Grand Canyon-Parashant, Ironwood Forest and Sonoran Desert national monuments in Arizona; Giant Sequoia National Monument in California; the Canyons of the Ancients in Colorado; the Cascades- Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon; and the Hanford Reach in Washington. Timber interests, recreation groups and Tulare County, Calif., challenged the Giant Sequoia monument in that state. The Mountain States Legal Foundation of Denver, a conservative public interest law firm, led the legal fight against the monuments in the other states. Both lawsuits argued Clinton exceeded his authority in creating the monuments.
Clinton used the century-old law to create 19 monuments and expand three others, protecting 5.9 million acres. State and local officials, ranchers, off-road vehicle users, oil and gas companies and others complained that Clinton abused his authority and locked up too much land. Congress passed the law to give the president the power to protect land threatened by development. President Theodore Roosevelt was the first to use it to establish Devil's Tower in Wyoming as a national monument. Since then, presidents have used the power to establish about 120 monuments spanning more than 70 million acres.
On the Net: D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals: http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/ Mountain States Legal Foundation: http://www.mountainstateslegal.org/index.cfm/ Giant Sequoia National Monument: http://www.r5.fs.fed.us/giant_sequoia/
10 great places to be awed by world heritage
Fri Oct 18, 7:55 AM ET USA TODAY
Angkor Cambodia
Despite ongoing plundering by opportunistic souvenir traders, the sprawling temples of Angkor remain ''the largest ruins in Southeast Asia and one of the great wonders of the world.'' Built between the ninth and 15th centuries, the area is preserved as the Angkor Archaeological Park. It is actually many sites, including the famous Temple of Angkor Wat.
Historic Center of Prague Czech Republic
Loaded with 600 years of ''incredibly beautiful architecture,'' this vibrant city center is one of the few in central Europe to have survived World War II undamaged. Full of magnificent monuments, such as Hradcani Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge, ''it's a fascinating, charming, almost fairy-tale kind of place.''
Everglades National Park Florida
Despite encroachment from nearby civilization, this famous ''river of grass'' is still a ''magical place'' providing sanctuary for birds, reptiles and the endangered manatee. The largest subtropical wilderness in North America, it's also surprisingly accessible. ''It's easy to enjoy its charms.''
Maya Site of Copan Honduras
Discovered in 1576 by Diego Garcia de Palacios but not excavated until the 19th century, these ruins of one of the largest Mayan cities ''mesmerize anyone who visits,'' in part because ''we don't know what happened. The (people) just disappeared.'' Abandoned by the 12th century, the site includes a citadel and three ''absolutely beautiful'' public squares.Meteora
Greece
Perched on rock formations 1,000 feet above the Thessalian plains of northern Greece, this 700-year-old monastic community is a little- known gem in one of the world's most visited countries. The main monastery is known for 16th-century Byzantine frescoes, but it's not easily accessible. ''You have to climb a lot of steps.''
Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System Belize
The largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere explodes with ''colors so remarkable you want to rub your eyes.'' The system's seven sites, which include offshore atolls, sand cays, mangrove forests, coastal lagoons and estuaries, give visitors ''a sense of how reefs have evolved.'' It's also a habitat for threatened species such as turtles and manatees.
The Sun Temple Konarak, India
One of India's most famous Brahman sanctuaries, this monumental representation of the sun god Surya's chariot ''leaves people stammering when they talk about it.'' Built in the 13th century, the chariot has 24 wheels decorated with symbolic designs and is led by a team of six sculpted horses. ''It shows the power of faith in people's lives to create (such) works of art.''Galapagos Islands (news - web sites)
Pacific Ocean
The archipelago that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is still home to unusual creatures including the land iguana and the giant tortoise. Six hundred miles from Latin America, it's a ''living museum'' where each of 19 islands offers something different. ''You'll see animals you won't see anywhere else,'' just as Darwin did during his famous visit in 1835.
Mont Saint-Michel France
Perched on a rocky islet off the French shoreline, this Gothic-style Benedictine abbey ''is the perfect example of art coexisting with nature.'' Built between the 11th and 16th centuries, ''it's just beautiful,'' a technological and artistic tour de force. Before the 125-year-old bridge (connecting to land), ''you had to walk out at low tide.''
Ngorongoro Conservation Area United Republic of Tanzania
The conservation area, which includes an extinct volcanic crater, is home to 25,000 large animals, including zebras, wildebeest, black rhino and lions. ''It's one of the great places to see game on an African safari.'' The area also is an archeological gold mine. Excavations at the Olduvai Gorge resulted in the discovery of one of man's distant ancestors, Homo habilis.
Dionysos Statue To Be Given Back To Turkey
ANKARA - Turkey won the legal fight for bringing the bronze Dionysos Statue back in.
In a case in Britain, the judge decided on giving the bronze statue of God Dionysos belonging to 200 B.C. Hellenistic era, back to Turkey. The bronze statue which is currently under protection in the British Museum will be brought back to its motherland through a diplomatic courier at the end of this month with company of a technical delegation from the Culture Ministry. Sources said on Friday that in the case heard in British capital London, it was proved that the statue had been smuggled from Turkey and the judge decided on October 16 that the bronze statue should be brought back to Turkey. The statute was seized by Swiss authorities and later it was handed over to Britain under condition of ''sending it back to its motherland''. However, British citizen Sara Elizabeth Dayman filed a lawsuit requesting the court to hand over the statue to her under a business relationship between her and Turkish citizen Nevzat Telliagaoglu. Upon the warning of the Scotland Yard officials, the Turkish Embassy in London stated that the Culture Ministry should also be represented in the case through a British lawyer. A British lawyer assigned by the Culture Ministry on behalf of Turkey submitted documents and gave information to the court that the statue had been smuggled from Turkey. And the judge decided on October 16 on giving the statue back to Turkey.
Meanwhile, works of art that have been given back to Turkey as a result of Culture Ministry's and Turkish
Interpol's efforts are as follows:
Afrodisias Works of Art (1980),
Bronze Vase (1982),
Herakles Tomb (1998),
Bogazkoy Tablets (1924, 1942, 1987),
Ottoman Tombac (1991),
Elmali Coins (1988, 1991, 1992, 1999),
Lidia Artifacts (1993),
Tomb (1994),
Marsyas Statue (1994),
Afrodisias Block (1994),
Marble Female Bust (1997),
Lead Seal (1998),
Silver Tobacco Box of Ataturk (1998),
Works of Art in Henkel Collection (1998),
Wooden Panel of Great Mosque in Divrigi (1999),
Works of Art in Wreckage of Ship in the English Channel 1999),
Decoration Panel of Esrefoglu Mosque (1999),
Works of Art seized at Heathrow Airport in London (2000),
Two pieces of mosaic stolen from ancient city of Zeugma (2000),
Koran stolen from Nuruosmaniye Library (2000),
Works of Art seized at customs gate in Oklahoma (2000),
Bust stolen from ancient city of Afrodisias (1994),
Female Statue stolen from garden of Izmir Museum (1995),
Gate stolen from Birgi Aydinoglu Mehmet Bey Mosque in Izmir (1995),
Torso stolen from Open Air Museum in Erdek (1995).
Anadolu Agency 10/18/2002 11:57:57 AM
Egypt retrieves a rare archaeological piece from Germany
An Egyptian archaeological mission leaves for Germany next week to receive a rare archaeological limestone piece that was in the possession of a German woman in Stuttgart and is now placed at the premises of the Egyptian embassy in Berlin.
Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Secretary General Zahi Hawas said the piece dates back to the eighth century B.C. and is in the form of plaque cut from the tomb of Minister Metomhat, the Mayor of Thebes during the period of the Pharaonic 25th Dynasty (755 B.C.) at Al-Asassif area in Al-Bar Al-Gharbi, Luxor.
The plaque, 20 centimeters long and 12 centimeters wide, contains a colored relief representing Mentomhat raising his left hand with a bunch of papyri plants in front of him, added Hawas.
Egypt Online, State information The Art Newspaper.com
This week's top stories:
JAPAN LOSES ITS SHAME OVER SELLING
TOKYO. Ever since Japan’s economic Bubble burst in 1990, almost all of the paintings bought during its hysterical 1980s boom (the biggest ever seen) have already, often discreetly, found their way back onto the market. Now the Japanese recession is digging so deep that individuals and even respected museums are being forced to sell pieces acquired well before the Bubble period, including pieces officially listed as Important Art Objects. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=10135
WHERE ARE QUEEN VICTORIA’S WHISTLERS NOW?
LONDON. Queen Victoria was a collector of Whistler prints, ending up at her death with a much larger holding than any of Britain’s museums. The idea that she collected the dandy’s etchings may come as a surprise, but even more astonishing is that they were later sold off by the Royal Library. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=10134
WILLIAM MORRIS’S HOUSE FOR THE NATIONAL TRUST?
LONDON. The National Trust is considering acquiring the Red House, the former home of William Morris. Built in 1859, in the London suburb of Bexleyheath, it was designed for Morris by his friend Philip Webb. It still has furnishings and decorations by Rossetti and Burne-Jones, and both the house and garden have remained fundamentally unchanged since Morris left in 1865. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=10133
SOTHEBY’S FIRST WAS CROWNED WITH SUCCESS
PARIS. Sotheby’s first sale of Tribal art here was a rip-roaring success, totalling over E4 million and achieving a 97% sold rate by value. It must be said the pieces had everything going for them: they were rare, old and came from the renowned Carlo Monzino collection; most had the added blessing of having previously belonged to Jacob Epstein or James Hooper. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=10132
“MUSEUM DIRECTORS SHOULD BE LIKE PRACTITIONERS OF HOLISTIC MEDICINE”
“WE ARE MORE ABOUT OBJECT-BASED RESEARCH THAN THEORY”
NEW YORK. The library of the Frick Collection, which began life as a photo archive, similar to the Witt in London, with an emphasis on object-based research, now contains some 250,000 books forming a collection that is extremely specialised and indispensible to students and researchers, but is expanding to include other forms such as microfiche records and on-line reference works. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=10130 Anna Somers Cocks, Editor
The Art Newspaper 70 South Lambeth Road London SW8 1RL UK tel +44(0)207 735 3331 fax +44(0)207 735 3332 http://www.theartnewspaper.com