Hot this week: Tragic fire at Brazilian museum
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General
Blockchain to stamp out art crime, Thomas Crown Art
(3 September 2018; Coin Rivet)
When is it OK For Archaeologists to Dig Up the Dead?
(7 September 2018; Discover)
Africa
Egypt police arrest artifact gang in Cairo, seize ancient pieces: Ministry (Egypt)
(5 September 2018; Ahram Online)
Olasode in search of Africa’s stolen treasure (Nigeria, UK)
(2 September 2018; The Guardian)
Return stolen artefacts, Benin monarch tells UK (Nigeria, UK)
(5 September 2018; Punch)
Americas
Brazil museum fire: `incalculable’ loss as 200-year-old Rio institution gutted (Brazil)
(3 September 2018; The Guardian)
Lesson from Brazil: Museums are not forever (Brazil)
(6 September 2018; The Conversation)
Rare Pacific Northwest artifacts lost in Brazil museum fire (Brazil, Canada)
(6 September 2018; Vancouver SUn)
Alarma robo de arte sacro; ‘acaban adornando la casa de ricos’ (Alarms raised over theft of sacred art; ‘they end up decorating the houses of the rich’; Honduras)
(3 September 2018; Excelsior)
Mexican historians prove authenticity of looted ancient Mayan text (Mexico)
(31 August 2018; The Telegraph)
Germany Returns Stolen Peruvian Pre-Incan Mask 21 Years Later (Peru, Germany)
(7 September 2018; Telesur)
The French Historian Who ‘Grave-Robbed’ The Dog Tags of WWII US Airmen (USA)
(1 September 2018; The Daily Beast)
No place like the rightful home: FBI finds stolen ruby slippers from `Wizard of Oz’ (USA)
(4 September 2018; The Washington Post)
Massillon man accused of stealing religious relics pleads not guilty (USA)
(7 September 2018; IndeOnline)
Miami Art Fair Heist Sparks Court Battle Over Stolen Painting (USA)
(7 September 2018; New Times)
Saginaw Indian Tribe ‘restores dignity’ to remains from UMich museum (USA)
(7 September 2018; MLive)
‘The remains of our ancestors are sacred’: Tribe upset over ancient skull found desecrated at Port Williams Beach (USA)
(7 September 2018; Q13)
They weren’t criminals so much as idiots’: The real story behind the art heist in American Animals (USA)
(7 September 2018; Metro)
Iowa Monument Continues to Recover Stolen Human Remains (USA)
(8 September 2018; US News and World Report)
Europe
President Macron, African art and the question of restitution (France, Burkina Faso)
(7 September 2018; The Financial Times)
Feds: US tribal items sold at Paris auction houses declines (France, USA)
(7 September 2018; The Journal Times)
Jewish heirs take on an art foundation that rights Nazi wrongs (Germany)
(3 September 2018; Business Mirror)
Santorini Aphrodite retrieved in smuggling bust (Greece)
(5 September 2018; eKathimerini)
How Brexit has revived controversy over the Elgin Marbles in Britain (Greece, UK)
(6 September 2018; Independent)
Seizure of Looted Antiquities Illuminates What Museums Want Hidden (Italy)
(5 September 2018; Hyperallergic)
Painting seized at Poland border studied as possible Chagall (Poland, Ukraine)
(7 September 2018; Houston Chronicle)
Swiss prosecutor returns ‘Mesopotamian’ terracotta animal made by dealer’s 11-year-old-daughter—along with 5,000 seized antiquities (Switzerland)
(31 August 2018; The Art Newspaper)
Terrorists targeted in museums (UK)
(2 September 2018; Express)
Illegally salvaged U-boat propeller given back German Navy in Plymouth (UK, Germany)
(4 September 2018; Plymouth Live)
Swindling art dealer to the stars faces more jail time (UK)
(7 September 2018; Punchline)
South and East Asia
Hyderabad: Burglars break into Nizam’s museum, steal valuable items (India)
(3 September 2018; The Times of India)
Thane: Rs 60-lakh temple theft; six arrested in 8 hours (India)
(4 September 2018; The Indian Express)
No upkeep of heritage splendour for decades (India)
(6 September 2018; The Times of India)
Idol wing starts probe at Srirangam (India)
(7 September 2018; The Times of India)
Book on idol thefts launched (India)
(3 September 2018; The Hindu)
When you fight the good fight: tracking down stolen idols (India)
(3 September 2018; The Hindu)
Birmingham museum returns stolen sculpture to India (India, USA)
(5 September 2018; AL)
Two stunning 12th century antiques repatriated to India by New York District Attorney and US Homeland Security Investigations teams (India, USA)
(5 September 2018; Firstpost)
Market for stolen Buddhist statues widens; rightful owners at a loss (Japan)
(7 September 2018; The Asahi Shimbun)
West and Central Asia
14 antiquities seized from smugglers in Jiroft (Iran)
(1 September 2018; MEHR News Agency)
US hands ancient Persian bas-relief back to Iran (Iran, USA)
(5 September 2018; PressTV)
Bronze Age ax repatriated to Lebanon (Lebanon, USA)
(7 September 2018; The Daily Star)
Volunteers Lead Restoration Efforts of Historical Venues in Raqqa (Syria)
(1 September 2018; Asharq Al-Awsat)
Where Do ISIS-Looted Antiquities Go? (Syria, Iraq)
(2 September 2018; Vice)
Ancient city of Palmyra, which was almost destroyed by ISIS jihadis, could re-open to tourists next year after restorations (Syria)
(6 September 2018; New Zealand Herald)
Louvre Abu Dhabi postpones display of world’s most expensive painting (UAE)
(3 September 2018; The Guardian)
In Other News
World-class hoop dancer reeling after regalia stolen (Canada)
(5 September 2018; The Star)
`The Dinosaur Artist’ Review: Old Bones Are Big Business (USA, Mongolia)
(6 September 2018; The Wall Street Journal)
$40,000 worth of rare, venomous insects were stolen in a tragic bug-lary (USA)
(3 September 2018; Mashable)
Philly insect museum heist reveals bugs are hot items on black market (USA)
(5 September 2018; Philly.com)
Museum Boss Fears Philly Insect Heist Was an Inside Job (USA)
(7 September 2018; The Daily Beast)