Looted Antiquities

Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr, has swooped on the antiquities collection of hedge-fund manager and philanthropist Michael H. Steinhardt.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has seized a Persian limestone relief fragment from the stand of a dealer at TEFAF New York amid accusations it had been stolen.

Five antiquities dealers were arrested by Israeli police in Jerusalem last week in connection with items that were illegally imported into the US by the arts-and-crafts retailer Hobby Lobby.

An important glazed Islamic calligraphic tile stolen in Uzbekistan is to be returned to the country after it was discovered for sale in a London gallery.

A large high street chain in the US has been fined $3m in connection with the purchase and importing of a large number of ancient Iraqi artefacts.

Egypt’s former antiquities minister Mamdouh al-Damaty has called for a change of policy relating to Egyptian artefacts traded abroad.

The UK government has passed the third reading of the Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill, opposing amendments called for by the art and antiques trade.

A suspected art smuggling ring has been busted after Europol and police across 18 countries helped seize 3561 works of art and cultural goods.

Leading trade bodies are voicing concerns that a revised EU consultation into the illicit trafficking of antiquities could lead to a “burdensome” new import licence system.

The Antiquities Dealers’ Association says the wording of the Cultural Property bill currently passing through Parliament ‘risks serious damage’ to the market and exposes members of the trade to an “unfair” risk of prosecution.

Politicians and trade bodies have raised further concerns over how a new Cultural Property Bill could impact the art market.

The UK Government’s cultural property bill currently going through parliament needs “vital changes” to be workable and to safeguard “legitimate art market interests”, says the Antiquities Dealers’ Association (ADA).

The EU’s planned crackdown on terrorism funding and the way it is investigating possible legislation is a ‘big concern to the trade’.