Posted on: October 16, 2014 by Alexander Herman
In the media furor surrounding this week’s visit to Athens of the London legal team advising the Greek State on the Parthenon Marbles, much has been made of a certain member of the delegation. Amal Clooney (or depending on your preference, Amal Alamuddin) has stated: “Everybody hopes there will be a friendly and amicable solution, but I […]
Posted on: October 14, 2014 by Alexander Herman
Barristers Geoffrey Robertson and Norman Palmer will be advising the Greek government this week in regards to the Parthenon (or Elgin) Marbles. Their visit to Greece has, for one reason or another, already received an inordinate amount of media attention, both in Greece and abroad. Robertson, Palmer and their legal team will be discussing with Greek […]
Posted on: October 7, 2014 by Alexander Herman
As reported last week, an important collection of Egyptian antiquities, the Harageh Treasure, was withdrawn from auction at Bonhams in London, where it had been consigned by the Archaeological Institute of America St Louis Society, with an estimated sale price of £80,000 to £120,000. It has since been revealed that the Treasure had been bought by the […]
Posted on: October 2, 2014 by Alexander Herman
The nearly 4,000 year old Harageh treasure of Egypt was withdrawn today at the last minute from an antiquities auction held at Bonhams in London. The treasure consists of 37 pieces from the Middle Kingdom’s 12th Dynasty (1897-1878 BC) found within the burial tomb of an elite woman from that period. The treasure had been excavated […]
Posted on: August 26, 2014 by Alexander Herman
A few recent articles have reported on the looting of antiquities from the areas of Syria and Iraq controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS): in The Guardian in June, The Sunday Times in July and the International Business Times. It is unclear from the sources whether such looting is actually being perpetrated by members of ISIS or […]
Posted on: August 4, 2014 by Nina M. Neuhaus
The Facts In May 2014, the Specialized Body for the International Transfer of Cultural Property at the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (‘Specialized Body‘) handed over 150 Roman coins to Serbia. The majority of these coins date from the 4th century A.D. and are made of bronze. Following their illegal excavation in Serbia, the coins were […]
Posted on: July 7, 2014 by Richard Harwood QC
The Church of England’s faculty jurisdiction extends to objects within a church even if they are not attached to the building or are owned by another person. To that degree it goes beyond listed building control. In Re St Lawrence, Oakley with Wootton St Lawrence, the Arches Court of Canterbury considered the attempted sale of an […]
Posted on: June 6, 2014 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
There will be an IAL Art and Antiquities Study Forum held in central London on 28 June 2014. It will be an all-day event. Topics to be discussed include authenticity and valuation disputes; handling stolen goods; international conventions; art, freedom of expression and human rights; human remains in museums. Speakers include Kevin Chamberlain (barrister), Dick Ellis […]
Posted on: April 24, 2014 by Alexander Herman
A group of nine individuals, survivors of a vicious 1997 Hamas terrorist attack in Jerusalem, have once again failed to seize certain Iranian antiquities in US museums in order to satisfy judgment obtained from a D.C. Court. The 2003 default judgment from the D.C. District Court had held Iran, as sponsor of Hamas at the time, […]
Posted on: April 13, 2014 by Nina M. Neuhaus
Since 1929, a small-scale (16 cm in height) statue made of green stone and dating from the period between the 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD has been part of the permanent collection of the Historical Museum of Berne. The statue originates from the Andean highlands of Bolivia, where it was worshiped as a deity […]