Posted on: August 27, 2020 by Eleonora Chielli
The Administrative Regional Court of Lazio (TAR Lazio) has now ruled on the dispute over the controversial lease of Certosa di Trisulti, previously discussed here. The Dignitatis Humanae Institute (DHI) has been allowed to maintain the lease and management of this public cultural heritage site in Italy. The controversy began on the 16th of October […]
Posted on: August 21, 2020 by Stephanie Drawdy
A collection of ecclesiastical art known as the Guelph Treasure (Welfenschatz) is at the center of a U.S. restitution claim brought by heirs of Holocaust victims who sold it during the Nazi reign, previously discussed here. Having held the highly valued collection for approximately six decades, Germany is unwilling to part with what it considers […]
Posted on: August 12, 2020 by Geoffrey Bennett
When the worlds of Art and Crime collide consideration of the issue of ‘dishonesty’ is not likely to be far behind. Not only is it a crucial ingredient in theft it also permeates other offences such as fraud under the Fraud Act 2006, or Conspiracy to Defraud at common law, and the specific offence of […]
Posted on: August 4, 2020 by Manuel Valdecantos Saavedra
An intriguing case involving underwater cultural heritage was brought to light by the Spanish media towards the end of July. In the city of Alicante, a father and son, owners of a frozen seafood shop, were found to be in possession of 13 Roman amphoras, possibly dating from the 1st Century AD, together with an […]
Posted on: July 28, 2020 by Paul Stevenson
Readers of this blog may recall the 2018 attempted theft by Mark Royden of Salisbury Cathedral’s copy of Magna Carta. Reports confirm that Royden attacked the document’s protective case before being pursued by members of the public, including American tourists, cathedral staff, and stonemasons, who detained him in a works yard outside. In a welcome […]
Posted on: July 21, 2020 by Alexander Herman
Last week, the legal review of a bill under consideration by the French government was released. Following President Macron’s statement on the restitution of artefacts to African countries in November 2017 and the release of the controversial Sarr Savoy Report the following year, this is the first we’ve heard about specific legislation on the topic. […]
Posted on: July 13, 2020 by Marta Suárez-Mansilla
Last month, a fisherman found in the Sar River, near the city of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain), a 14th-century gothic sculpture of the Virgin and Child, half-submerged, and covered in moss and slime. On paying closer attention to the shape of the object, he noticed some engravings suggesting that what he was looking at […]
Posted on: July 6, 2020 by Charlotte Dunn
The UK culture sector woke up to some good news today, with a Government announcement of a ‘world-leading’ £1.57 billion rescue package, set to benefit thousands of organisations suffering the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding of arts organisations has never been more relevant. With world-famous cultural institutions, such as Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, warning […]
Posted on: July 1, 2020 by Stephanie Drawdy
The full story of the billion-dollar art collection gathered by Nazi art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt during World War II may never be told. After years spent trying to determine the collection’s history, the prior owners of a large majority of those works remain unknown. This is a story we have followed with interest throughout its […]
Posted on: June 25, 2020 by Amy Werbel
In 2019, the Home Office Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport published a White Paper with a plan to oblige social media companies to expand their censorship efforts through the imposition of a new statutory duty of care. Noting that “99% of 12 to 15 year olds are online,” the White Paper suggested that […]