LCCHP Cultural Heritage News

4 Alabama men fined for stealing cultural artifacts from TVA reservoir property

Gary Nurkin — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:47:08 GMT

4 Alabama men fined for stealing cultural artifacts from TVA reservoir property

Associated Press

HUNTSVILLE - Four Alabama men have been fined in federal court after stealing cultural artifacts from Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir property.

According to a news release from the TVA, Roger Fountain, Heath Dubois and John Bates pleaded guilty to violating the Archaeological Resource Protection Act for thefts at Pickwick Reservoir, on the Tennessee-Alabama border.

http://www.timesdaily.com/stories/4-Alabama-men-fined-for-stealing-cultural-artifacts-from-TVA-reservoir-property,190656

Costa Rica – Fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property (May 16, 2012)

Gary Nurkin — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:44:32 GMT

Costa Rica – Fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property (May 16, 2012)

On May 16, Mr. Jean-Paul Balzamo, Deputy Director responsible for the fight against fraud, controls policy and legal affairs and disputes, delivered, on behalf of the Directorate General of Customs, to Mr. Carlos Bonilla Sandoval, Costa Rica’s Ambassador to France, 6 archaeological items dating from the pre-Columbian era. These are ceramic objects in the form of animals or humans.

This cultural property was seized by Roissy customs agents, and then identified as archaeological items from Costa Rica. After completion of the necessary legal procedures, the Directorate General of Customs decided to return this cultural property to its country of origin.

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/costa-rica/france-and-costa-rica/political-relations-6294/article/costa-rica-fight-against-illicit

British naval heritage at risk of being sold off

Gary Nurkin — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:15:19 GMT

British naval heritage at risk of being sold off

Artefacts from HMS Victory could be auctioned to pay for its excavation by US company

By Belinda Seppings. Conservation, Issue 235, May 2012
Published online: 16 May 2012

Items such as this bronze cannon recovered in 2008 from the wreck of HMS Victory could be sold

Archaeologists are up in arms over the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) decision to transfer the management of an 18th-century British warship to a newly formed charitable body, the Maritime Heritage Foundation, which has entered into an agreement with the US ocean salvage company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, to raise the wreck. They fear that the public/private partnership will lead to the deaccession and sale of artefacts from HMS Victory (1744) to raise money to pay the salvor.

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/British-naval-heritage-at-risk-of-being-sold-off/26384

Who gets to keep shipwreck treasure? Supreme Court declines Spain case.

Gary Nurkin — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:27:35 GMT

Who gets to keep shipwreck treasure? Supreme Court declines Spain case.

Lower courts ruled that $500 million in coins that US treasure hunters had recovered belongs to Spain. The Supreme Court turned away the salvagers’ appeal Monday.

By Warren Richey, Staff writer / May 14, 2012

US Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up the appeal of American treasure hunters who were forced earlier this year to surrender $500 million in silver and gold coins they recovered from the wreck of a Spanish warship 3,000 feet deep in international waters.

The high court took the action without comment.

A federal judge in Tampa, Fla., and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ordered Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. of Tampa to surrender the coins and other artifacts to Spain.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2012/0514/Who-gets-to-keep-shipwreck-treasure-Supreme-Court-declines-Spain-case

Court says ‘not guilty,’ Antiquities demands punishment

Gary Nurkin — Sat, 12 May 2012 22:58:46 GMT

Court says ‘not guilty,’ Antiquities demands punishment

By MATTHEW KALMAN

05/12/2012 22:17

Antiquities Authority determined not to return dozens of items to Israeli collector accused of faking burial box of Jesus's brother.

Photo: Reuters

The Antiquities Authority, backed by State Attorney Moshe Lador, has launched a desperate rearguard action to reverse its humiliating defeat in a seven-year trial that ended with the acquittal of an Israeli collector accused of faking the burial box of the brother of Jesus and an inscribed stone tablet that may have hung on the wall of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.

The latest twist came during a routine sentencing hearing at the Jerusalem District Court last Tuesday, two months after the stunning collapse of the high-profile prosecution.

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=269669

Thieves hunt pharaonic treasures amid Egypt turmoil

Gary Nurkin — Sat, 12 May 2012 22:53:58 GMT

Thieves hunt pharaonic treasures amid Egypt turmoil

CAIRO – Taking advantage of Egypt's political upheaval, thieves have gone on a treasure hunt with a spree of illegal digging, preying on the country's ancient pharaonic heritage.

Illegal digs near ancient temples and in isolated desert sites have swelled a staggering 100-fold over the past 16 months since a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak's 29-year regime and security fell apart in many areas as police simply stopped doing their jobs. The pillaging comes on top of a wave of break-ins last year at archaeological storehouses -- and even at Cairo's famed Egyptian Museum, the country's biggest repository of pharaonic artifacts.

In Egypt Turmoil, Thieves Hunt Pharaonic Treasures

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CAIRO (AP) undefined Taking advantage of Egypt's political upheaval, thieves have gone on a treasure hunt with a spree of illegal digging, preying on the country's ancient pharaonic heritage.

Illegal digs near ancient temples and in isolated desert sites have swelled a staggering 100-fold over the past 16 months since a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak's 29-year regime and security fell apart in many areas as police simply stopped doing their jobs. The pillaging comes on top of a wave of break-ins last year at archaeological storehouses undefined and even at Cairo's famed Egyptian Museum, the country's biggest repository of pharaonic artifacts.

Horrified archaeologists and antiquities authorities are scrambling to prevent smuggling, keeping a watch on European and American auction houses in case stolen artifacts show up there.

"Criminals became so bold they are digging in landmark areas." including near the Great Pyramids in Giza, other nearby pyramids and the grand temples of the southern city of Luxor, said Maj.-Gen. Abdel-Rahim Hassan, commander of the Tourism and Antiquities Police Department.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/05/12/world/middleeast/ap-ml-egypt-antiquities-theft.html?_r=2&pagewanted=print

Russia and US continue to discuss cultural stand-off

Gary Nurkin — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:16:09 GMT

Russia and US continue to discuss cultural stand-off

Senior officials aim to lift loans suspension following dispute over sacred Jewish books

By Sophia Kishkovsky. Web only
Published online: 07 May 2012

Mikhail Shvydkoi, the Kremlin’s international cultural envoy and Tara Sonenshine, the US’s new Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs, have discussed the cultural stalemate between Russia and the US over sacred Jewish books. Russian state television has reported that Shvydkoi said that he and Sonenshine agreed in April that they “must reach an intergovernmental agreement as quickly as possible that would guarantee the security of Russian cultural treasures exhibited in the US”.

Shvydkoi, who was at the US state department to discuss cultural, educational and media exchanges between the two countries, said that he and Sonenshine had “discussed separately those difficulties that exist in Russian-American relations as a result of the famous suit over the Schneerson collection”, according to the Rossiya television channel.

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Russia-and-US-continue-to-discuss-cultural-stand-off/26462

Archaeologists accuse MoD of allowing US company to 'plunder' shipwreckExperts take legal advice in effort to block lucrative deal on underwater excavation of HMS Victory

Gary Nurkin — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:46:16 GMT

Archaeologists accuse MoD of allowing US company to 'plunder' shipwreck

Experts take legal advice in effort to block lucrative deal on underwater excavation of HMS Victory

An image of what HMS Victory is thought to have looked like issued by Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2009. Photograph: John Batchelor/Odyssey Marine/PA

The Ministry of Defence is facing a legal battle and parliamentary questions after letting a US company excavate a British 18th-century warship laden with a potentially lucrative cargo.

Lord Renfrew is among leading archaeologists condemning a deal struck over HMS Victory, considered the world's mightiest ship when she sank in the Channel in 1744.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/may/06/hms-victory-shipwreck-odyssey-excavation?newsfeed=true

Italian court upholds claim on Getty bronze

Gary Nurkin — Sat, 05 May 2012 15:26:12 GMT

Italian court upholds claim on Getty bronze

Official in Italy hopes the ruling will lend weight to new negotiations for the return of the masterpiece Greek statue.

By Jason Felch, Los Angeles Times

May 4, 2012, 5:47 p.m.

An Italian court has upheld an order for the seizure of a masterpiece of the J. Paul Getty Museum's antiquities collection, finding that the bronze statue of a victorious athlete was illegally exported from Italy before the museum purchased it for $4 million in 1976.

The ruling Thursday by a regional magistrate in Pesaro will likely prolong the legal battle over the statue, a signature piece of the Getty's embattled antiquities collection whose return Italian authorities have sought for years.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-getty-bronze-ruling-20120504,0,2759444.story

Suit over Norton Simon artwork enters a final phase

Gary Nurkin — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:38:21 GMT

Suit over Norton Simon artwork enters a final phase

An art dealer's daughter-in-law appeals to the 9th Circuit to lay claim to the diptych 'Adam and Eve' at the Pasadena museum. It was stolen by Goering in World War II.

Lucas Cranach the Elder's 14th century diptych "Adam and Eve." (Norton Simon Museum / May 2, 2012)

By Mike Boehm, Los Angeles Times

May 2, 2012, 12:15 p.m.

A long-running lawsuit to force the Norton Simon Museum to surrender one of its prized artworks, 480-year-old paired paintings of Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder that were looted during the Holocaust, has reached what could be its last legal round: plaintiff Marei Von Saher's recent appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

If her appeal fails, it could have far-reaching implications, potentially undermining a larger class of claims to recover Nazi-looted art.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-norton-simon-holocaust-20120502,0,110387.story

Ancient American Skeletons Safe From Reburial, But Only for the Moment

Gary Nurkin — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:25:35 GMT

Ancient American Skeletons Safe From Reburial, But Only for the Moment

by Ann Gibbons on 1 May 2012, 4:12 PM |

Bones of contention. Scientists want to study these 9000-year-old bones, but the Kumeyaay tribes claim them for reburial.

Credit: Jan Austin/Santa Monica Community College

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Bones of contention. Scientists want to study these 9000-year-old bones, but the Kumeyaay tribes claim them for reburial.

Credit: Jan Austin/Santa Monica Community College

A federal court judge in San Francisco granted a temporary restraining order Friday to prevent the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), from handing over 9000-year-old human bones to Native Americans, in the latest twist in an unusual custody battle for two human skeletons that are among the earliest found in the Americas. Three University of California professors filed a lawsuit last week to prevent UCSD from transferring the bones, which have been described as better preserved than those of the Kennewick Man, another ancient skeleton that has been the center of debate and lawsuits.

The restraining order will be in effect until Friday, 11 May, when Judge Richard Seeborg of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California will decide whether to extend it until the case is settled, according to Jim McManis, an attorney in San Jose, California, who represents the professors pro bono.

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/05/ancient-american-skeletons-safe.html?ref=hp

Syria's cultural treasures latest uprising victim

Gary Nurkin — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:56:23 GMT

Syria's cultural treasures latest uprising victim

By ZEINA KARAM

The Associated Press

2:56 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, 2012

BEIRUT undefined On its towering hilltop perch, the Krak des Chevaliers, one of the world's best preserved Crusader castles, held off a siege by the Muslim warrior Saladin nearly 900 years ago. It was lauded by Lawrence of Arabia for its beauty and has been one of the crown jewels of Syria's tourism.

But it has fallen victim to the chaos of Syria's uprising and the crackdown against it by President Bashar Assad's regime. Recently, gunmen broke into the castle, threw out the staff and began excavations to loot the site, says Bassam Jammous, general director of the Antiquities and Museum Department in Damascus.

Syria's turmoil is threatening the country's rich archaeological heritage, experts warn.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/syrias-cultural-treasures-latest-1429366.html?printArticle=y

Austria-Mexico Treaty Could Facilitate Loan of Feathered Crown

Gary Nurkin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:57:49 GMT

Austria-Mexico Treaty Could Facilitate Loan of Feathered Crown

VIENNA – The Austrian government has approved a bilateral pact with Mexico governing the loan of cultural artifacts, an agreement that could pave the way for a headdress believed to have been worn by Aztec ruler Montezuma II to be temporarily brought to the Latin American country.

The treaty, negotiated over nearly two years and approved earlier this week by Austria’s Cabinet, is aimed at resolving a decades-long dispute over the spectacular feather-work crown, a spokesman for Austria’s Culture and Education Ministry told Efe Thursday.

The goal is to “create international legal certainties regarding temporary loans of cultural property,” the spokesman said.

The treaty, negotiated between each country’s ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs, does not address the matter of ownership over any cultural objects that may be loaned out, he said.

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=498266&CategoryId=14091

ICE returns stolen and looted art and antiquities to Italy

Gary Nurkin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:20:48 GMT

ICE returns stolen and looted art and antiquities to Italy

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent this bulletin at 04/26/2012 01:17 PM EDT

ICE returns stolen and looted art and antiquities to Italy

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WASHINGTON undefined Seven stolen and looted objects of Italian cultural heritage will soon be on their way back to Italy, following a ceremony Thursday in which U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano officially returned the antiquities to Italian Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero at the Embassy of Italy in Washington.

Two 2,000-year-old ceramic vessels, one Roman marble sculpture, one Renaissance painting and three music sheets from choir books dating back to the 13th century were recovered during four investigations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). All four of the investigations involved the collaboration of HSI offices in New York and Rome and Italy's national police force, the Carabinieri.

http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDHSICE-3db182

Accession by Palestine to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, its First Protocol (The Hague, 14 May 1954) and its Second Protocol (The Hague, 26 March 1999)

Gary Nurkin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:49:24 GMT

Accession by Palestine to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, its First Protocol (The Hague, 14 May 1954) and its Second Protocol (The Hague, 26 March 1999)

On 22 March 2012, Palestine deposited with the Director-General its instrument of accession to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols.

In accordance with the terms of Article 33(2) of the Convention, Article 10(b) of its First Protocol and Article 43(2), the Convention and its two Protocols will enter into force with respect to Palestine three months after the deposit of these instruments, that is to say on 22 June 2012.

http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=48870&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Ratification by Palestine of the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (Paris, 14 November 1970)

Gary Nurkin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:48:03 GMT

Ratification by Palestine of the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (Paris, 14 November 1970)

On 22 March 2012, Palestine deposited with the Director-General its instrument of ratification of the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.

In accordance with the terms of Article 21, the Convention will enter into force with respect to Palestine three months after the deposit of the instrument of ratification, that is to say on 22 June 2012.

http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=48869&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Art Market Italy: Stories of theft and recovery

Gary Nurkin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:09:28 GMT

Art Market Italy: Stories of theft and recovery
Written by Silvia Anna Barrilà
Wednesday, 25 April 2012 14:09

Francesco 'Pacecco' De Rosa (1607-1656), 'Fuga in Egitto,' oil on canvas, image courtesy Galleria Nazionale di Cosenza

MILAN, Italy - It was probably during a trip through southern Italy in the 4th century BC that the small late Egyptian stone known as “Horus on the Crocodiles” went missing. It was, by all appearances, a talisman against snakes, crocodiles, and scorpions owned by a traveler. Many centuries later, at the end of the 1970s, the object was recovered during a dig in the city of Crotone, in the region of Calabria, by a worker who recognized the rarity of the stone and decided to keep it.

The worker was so proud of it that he always carried it in a small bag hanging around his neck and used every opportunity to show it off, until someone stole it from him.

Professors sue to stop ancient bones transfer

Gary Nurkin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:48:48 GMT

Professors sue to stop ancient bones transfer

Associated Press

Posted: 04/25/2012 08:36:46 AM PDT

SAN DIEGO (AP) undefined Two skeletons that rested undisturbed on a San Diego cliff top for nearly 10,000 years are at the center of a modern court battle.

The University of California, San Diego, had intended to transfer the skeletons of a man and woman to a American Indian tribe for traditional burial. But lawsuits are complicating the plan.

The bones were discovered in 1976 during an excavation at University House, the traditional La Jolla home of the UC San Diego chancellor. The university was preparing to hand over the bones to the local Kumeyaay tribe when three UC professors filed a lawsuit Monday in Northern California to block the transfer.

Margaret Schoeninger of UC San Diego, Robert Bettinger of UC Davis and Timothy White of UC Berkeley argue that the bones are precious research objects and there is no evidence that they are Native American remains.

http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_20477032/professors-sue-stop-ancient-bones-transfer

Oceanic Research and Recovery Releases Details of Involvement in Emerald Discovery Featured on CBS News' 60 Minutes

Gary Nurkin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:50:38 GMT

Oceanic Research and Recovery Releases Details of Involvement in Emerald Discovery Featured on CBS News' 60 Minutes

PEORIA, IL, Apr 23, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Oceanic Research and Recovery Inc. (pinksheets:ORRV), a marine salvage and exploration company, today confirmed that it has been involved with the discovery of emeralds made by Jay Miscovich and recently featured on CBS News' 60 Minutes.

Originally discovered in early 2010, the emeralds have been the subject of two legal proceedings. The first action was in the Delaware Chancery Court and has been resolved. Mr. Miscovich and JTR Enterprises have since filed an "Admiralty Arrest" of the emeralds in Federal District Court. This case remains ongoing.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oceanic-research-and-recovery-releases-details-of-involvement-in-emerald-discovery-featured-on-cbs-news-60-minutes-2012-04-23?reflink=MW_news_stmp

ANTIQUITIES DEALER PLEADS GUILTY TO SMUGGLING EGYPTIAN CULTURAL PROPERTY

Gary Nurkin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:07:38 GMT

ANTIQUITIES DEALER PLEADS GUILTY TO SMUGGLING EGYPTIAN CULTURAL PROPERTY

Forfeits Missing Pieces of Ancient Coffin

Mousa Khouli, also known as “Morris Khouli,” pleaded guilty today to smuggling Egyptian cultural property into the United States and making a false statement to law enforcement authorities. The defendant entered his plea before the Honorable Edward R. Korman, United States District Judge, at the U.S. Courthouse in Brooklyn. The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment. The defendant also entered into a stipulation of settlement resolving a civil complaint seeking forfeiture of the Egyptian antiquities, Iraqi artifacts, cash and other pieces of cultural property seized in connection with the government’s investigation.

The guilty plea and settlement were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James T. Hayes, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nye/pr/pressrel_2012.html