MSN-list Digest, Vol 7, Issue 113 Send MSN-list mailing list submissions to 	msn-list@te.verweg.com To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit 	http://duvel.te.verweg.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/msn-list or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to 	msn-list-request@te.verweg.com You can reach the person managing the list at 	msn-list-owner@te.verweg.com When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of MSN-list digest..." archive of the list: http://msn-list.te.verweg.com/ . Today's Topics:    1. Antiquities Authority manhandled Leviticus scroll,	says       archaeologist (Museum Security Network Mailing list)    2. France, Paris. Thief steals 80 works of art from the       Institute of the Arab World (Museum Security Network Mailing list)    3. US. The case of the stolen statues: Bronze artwork returned,       one man in jail (Museum Security Network Mailing list)    4. Spanish museum said to be exhibiting stolen Egyptian       antiquity (Museum Security Network Mailing list)    5. Munch painting stolen by Nazis is returned to Mahler heir       (Museum Security Network Mailing list)    6. UK. Lowry robbery couple tell of knife raid ordeal       (Museum Security Network Mailing list)    7. China. Recupera China barco con porcelanas de hace 800 a?os       (Museum Security Network Mailing list)    8. At the Bruce, the Art of Deception       (Museum Security Network Mailing list)    9. UK. Prized Zimbabwean sculpture stolen from gallery       (Museum Security Network Mailing list)   10. Tutela dell'arte: il bilancio dei Carabinieri       (Museum Security Network Mailing list)   11. Canada. Police probing link between blaze, theft; Replica       Indian village broken into the night before costly fire       (Museum Security Network Mailing list)   12. US. Mariners' Museum sues to get items returned       (Museum Security Network Mailing list)   13. US. Warhol found in Aspen after 17 years       (Museum Security Network Mailing list)   14. Artifacts pit American Indians against museums       (Museum Security Network Mailing list)   15. CORNWALL- A series of tall, graceful statues have traveled a       long way to make their debut at the Insiders/Outsiders Art       Gallery in the new "All About Africa" exhibition, but soon they       will return home. (Museum Security Network Mailing list)   16. Germany. Kunstraub in Rheinbach       (Museum Security Network Mailing list) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 09:59:33 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] Antiquities Authority manhandled Leviticus scroll,	says 	archaeologist To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <46442265.1010109@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed     Antiquities Authority manhandled Leviticus scroll, says archaeologist By Yair Sheleg  Professor Hanan Eshel, the archaeologist who two years ago uncovered  scroll fragments of the Book of Leviticus, says the Israel Antiquities  Authority, which now has the finds, has cut out large chunks of the  scroll on the pretext that its dating needed to be examined. This was not a necessary procedure, says Eshel, since "experts say it  was possible to test the dating without an intrusive examination and in  the worst case scenario by cutting a tiny, peripheral portion of the  scroll." Relying on internal sources in the Antiquities Authority, Eshel says  "there had even been plans to cut letters from the scroll but the  employees that were asked to do so refused." Eshel ties the behavior of the Authority to a dispute that emerged  between him and officials there and "their desire to prove that the  scroll is a forgery." Amir Ganor, director of the unit for the prevention of theft in the  Antiquities Authority, said in response that "in order to carry out the  examination we could not avoid making certain cuts in the scroll itself.  This is acceptable in every examination of this sort. We cut only two  small parts, one-half centimeter each, from the end of the scroll. At no  stage was there any thought of cutting letters, only to scrape off some  ink in order to examine it. The minute it became clear to us that we  could not have unequivocal results from such an examination, we did not  do it." However, the photographs published here suggest the scroll cuts are  significantly more extensive than what Ganor acknowledges and encompass  nearly all the part of the scroll that has no writing on it. Ganor said examinations of the scroll have undermined Eshel's claim that  the finding is authentic. "I can not give any details because the topic is part of an ongoing  investigation of this matter, but the examinations show that different  portions of the scroll were written in different periods, which is a  blow to the claim that the scroll is homogeneous." Eshel, on the other hand, is eager to offer more information on the  subject. He says: "The information that I have is that the examination  that was carried out at the Weizmann Institute did indeed show that the  two portions that were sent for examination belong to different periods  - one about 2,000 years ago, and the other about 1,200 years ago. On the  other hand, another examination carried out at Oxford [University]  attributed both to a period 2,000 years ago." Eshel says the Weizmann test results were flawed because of "the use of  cleaning and preservation materials. I am not an expert on such exams,  but the experts told me that such treatment may certainly result in a  flawed examination. In any case, the writing on both segments clearly  belongs to the Second Temple period and definitely does not conform to  the Mameluk period, which is what the Weizmann Institute examination  points to. Moreover, during the search in the cave where we found the  scroll, we uncovered other archaeological finds for the period of the  Bar-Kokhba revolt, proving the dating." http://www.haaretz.com ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 09:59:42 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] France, Paris. Thief steals 80 works of art from the 	Institute of the Arab World To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <4644226E.2030406@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed     Thief steals 80 works of art from the Institute of the Arab World By  france24.com Some 80 Islamic works of art and contemporary pieces have disappeared  from the reserves of the Institute of the Arab World. Its president  Dominique Baudis confirmed that they had lodged a complaint for theft.   ?39 works of art belonging to the permanent collections and 38 pieces  belonging to the Islamic art collection have disappeared from the  reserves of the Institute,? said Mr. Baudis, adding that the thefts were  discovered last week during stocktaking.    According to Mr. Baudis, contemporary engravings and prints and cloths,  mosaics, aquarelles and vases from the Islamic art collection have been  stolen.    The Institut of the Arab World is a foundation, based in Paris, which  aims at introducing Europeans to Arab culture. It houses some 850 works  of art. http://www.france24.com ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 09:59:49 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] US. The case of the stolen statues: Bronze artwork 	returned, one man in jail To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <46442275.9000302@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed       The case of the stolen statues: Bronze artwork returned, one man       in jail By BEN CRITES bcrites@islandpacket.com  843-706-8138 Published Wednesday, May 9, 2007 At the end of a high-speed chase on Hilton Head Island in March, the  driver that deputies were pursuing abandoned his vehicle and his passengers. Those passengers weren't in any position to flee. They were bronze statues created by renowned professional sculptor W.  Stanley "Sandy" Proctor -- the same statues stolen from the Red Piano  Art Gallery on Hilton Head earlier that night. After a lengthy investigation, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office says  it can't prove Jonathan David Limbert stole the statues, valued at  $60,000-$80,000, from the studio March 23. Instead, deputies arrested Limbert, 25, of Bluffton, on a felony charge  of receiving stolen goods. He turned himself in around 6:45 a.m.  Saturday at the Beaufort County Detention Center. The "goods" were the statues depicting two boys, a girl and a dog  playing follow the leader, similar to those Proctor created for the  Florida Governor's Mansion in 1998. Limbert told investigators the statues were given to a friend to sell as  scrap metal, according to sheriff's Capt. Toby McSwain. Limbert also  said that friend was in the car with him at the time of the chase.  Deputies have been unable to confirm that. Here's how things unfolded: At around 1 a.m. March 23, a Chevrolet Blazer that Limbert was thought  to be driving sped past a deputy on William Hilton Parkway near Park  Lane, according to McSwain. The deputy made a U-turn and followed the SUV, which quickly pulled into  the Hargray parking lot. The SUV then drove over shrubs, through a ditch  and back onto the parkway. The chase ended after the Blazer pulled into the back of Fresh Market  Shoppes and the driver fled. At first, the deputy thought others might  have been inside the SUV. There were, sort of. The silhouettes he saw likely were those of the stolen statues, McSwain  said. McSwain said Limbert's mother brought her son back to the site of the  abandoned vehicle. A Bluffton police officer had told her deputies were  looking for him. The Sheriff's Office stowed the statues in a conference room at its  Hilton Head office. The next day they got a call from Ben Whiteside,  owner of Red Piano Art Gallery on Cordillo Parkway. Someone had stolen the statues from outside the gallery. Whiteside said the theft could not have been easy. The roughly 200-pound statues were fastened to concrete slabs with  4-inch thick steel bars. To free them, one would have to saw through the  steel bars and lug the heavy art away, he said. "It takes at least three guys and a hacksaw to move one of (the  statues)," Whiteside said. "They had to be there for an hour at least.  You can't do it quickly." The statues were returned to the gallery the next day with about $3,000  worth of damage. The art is in the process of being restored and will  likely be displayed again, Whiteside said. Limbert was being held at the Beaufort County jail Tuesday night,  according to the jail's online log. Red Piano is one of several private galleries who sell Proctor's work. Among the many commissioned pieces he has created are a statue of  Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden, "Father Kelly" for  Bishop England High School in Charleston and "The Sunday Paper" for the  Tallahassee Democrat newspaper in Florida. "(Proctor) was thrilled we got them right back," Whiteside said. http://www.islandpacket.com/ ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 09:59:54 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] Spanish museum said to be exhibiting stolen Egyptian 	antiquity To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <4644227A.7020403@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed   Spanish museum said to be exhibiting stolen Egyptian antiquity *MADRID, Spain:* A Barcelona museum of Egyptian artifacts on Wednesday  denied charges that one of its statues may have been stolen from Egypt,  a dispute that has prompted the Cairo government to dispatch experts to  examine the piece as a possible step toward claiming it. The limestone artwork ? a 43-centimeter-tall (17-inch) depiction of a  princess named Nefert ? is on display at the Egypt Museum of Barcelona,  which says it will return the piece if it turns out to have been stolen. The charges come from a Spanish Egyptologist who used to work at the  museum but left about two years ago, Ildefonso Falcones, the museum's  lawyer, said in an interview from Barcelona. When the archaeologist stopped working at the museum, she demanded  payment of damages for alleged psychological abuse on the job. When the  museum refused, she went to Egyptian authorities with her suspicions  that the statuette was removed from Egypt illegally. "She did it in revenge," said Falcones, who would not release her name  and did not know the exact reason why she left the museum. Falcones said the museum bought the statue legally from an art gallery  in Switzerland about eight years ago. It was later brought to Spain,  where it was declared to Spanish customs authorities. Zahi Hawass, general secretary of the Superior Council of Antiquities of  the Egyptian government, told The Associated Press in Cairo on Wednesday  that he is sending a delegation of three experts to Barcelona next week  to examine the statuette. But he said the issue is whether the piece is authentic, not whether it  was stolen, and that if it is real, Egypt will claim it. Falcones insisted the statuette is real. "If not, why all the fuss?" he  said, adding that the museum had not been contacted by the Egyptian  authorities. "At this point, we don't have any evidence of what the motives are  behind these suspicions that it left Egypt illegally," said Falcones. He said the museum has two signed documents from Barcelona judges  affirming that all statues in the museum were acquired legally. Falcones said that if it is shown the statuette left Egypt illegally  before being purchased by the museum, the museum will give the piece  back to the Egyptians. http://www.iht.com/ ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 09:59:59 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] Munch painting stolen by Nazis is returned to Mahler 	heir To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <4644227F.1080605@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Munch painting stolen by Nazis is returned to Mahler heir   Vienna (dpa) - Austria Wednesday returned Edvard Munch's "Summer Night  at the Beach" to Marina Fistoulari-Mahler, granddaughter and sole heir  of Alma Mahler, wife of Austrian composer Gustav Mahler.   After more than five decades of legal disputes a panel had ruled in  November 2006 that the painting, on display at Vienna's Belvedere  Gallery, was to be returned. Fistoulari-Mahler, Claudia Schmid, Austria's minister in charge of art  and culture and Belvedere director Agnes Husslein signed the restitution  documents in the palace's main hall on Wednesday morning. "I am deeply moved," Fistoulari-Mahler said when the painting was handed  over. "I thank Austria for the courage to accept that the painting had  to be returned." Minister Schmid stressed her support for the decision, already made  under the previous conservative government, and said she would continue  to look into other cases. "We will investigate all cases, where there is suspicion of illegal  activities and want to help Nazi victims to get their rights." In 1937 Alma Mahler-Werfel, by then married to writer Franz Werfel,  agreed to loan the painting to the Belvedere Gallery for two years. In March 1938, after Hitler's annexation of Austria, she was forced to  flee the country with her Jewish husband. Meanwhile the gallery attempted to buy the painting from her. She  refused, but in 1940 Alma's step father, Nazi supporter Carl Moll, sold  the painting to the Belvedere in the name of Alma's half-sister. After the end of World War II in 1945, Alma demanded the painting's  return, and in 1953 a commission ruled that her demands were justified. Several Austrian authorities however challenged the ruling, and as late  as 1999 a restitution panel rejected claims by the Mahler family. Experts estimate the painting's worth to be between 8 and 10 million  dollars. In 2006 Austria returned five paintings by Gustav Klimt, also from the  Belvedere, to the heirs of Adele Bloch-Bauer. http://www.eux.tv/ ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:00:05 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] UK. Lowry robbery couple tell of knife raid ordeal To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <46442285.2010605@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Lowry robbery couple tell of knife raid ordeal Helen Carter Thursday May 10, 2007 The Guardian An art collector and his wife who were tied up at knifepoint and robbed  of almost ?2m worth of Lowry paintings have spoken of the ordeal they  endured, in front of their two-year-old daughter, at the hands of three  masked robbers. The raiders burst into Ivan and Louise Aird's home in Cheadle Hulme,  Cheshire, early last Thursday morning, after Mrs Aird answered the front  door to a man dressed as a postman. Three men threatened to kill their  daughter Sabrina unless they handed over their collection of LS Lowry's  works, including the artist's palette and paintbrushes. Article continues One of the stolen works, The Viaduct, worth ?700,000, once belonged to  the actor Alec Guinness. Mr Aird said yesterday: "These paintings were my own personal collection  -they're something I've been collecting all my life. It was like a  pension - something to pass on to my daughter. I think this was well  planned. I am not interested in the money - I just want the pictures back." He said the robbers would not be able to sell the pictures, because they  were so famous. Lowry was a friend of his family and his father, an art  dealer, used to buy Lowry's works. Mr Aird said the family now felt very uncomfortable in their own home. "The people who've done this need to be caught," he said. "They held a  knife to a two-year-old girl. They shouldn't be out there on the streets." http://www.guardian.co.uk/ ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:00:10 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] China. Recupera China barco con porcelanas de hace 800 	a?os To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <4644228A.5060303@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Recupera China barco con porcelanas de hace 800 a?os PEK?N, CHINA, MAYO 9, 2007 (EFE).- Equipos de arque?logos han terminado,  tras 55 d?as de trabajo, las labores de recuperaci?n de un barco de la  dinast?a Song del Sur (1127-1279), hundido cerca de las islas Spratly,  al sur de China, mientras contin?an las de otro barco de la ?poca en ese  mismo mar, inform? hoy la prensa estatal. El "Huaguangjiao I", como han denominado los arque?logos al nav?o, ten?a  20 metros de eslora, seis de manga, capacidad para transportar 60  toneladas, y un?a los puertos chinos con los del sureste de Asia y la  India, lo que los historiadores llamaron "la Ruta de la Seda mar?tima". Se han recuperado del pecio m?s de 10.000 antig?edades, sobre todo  porcelanas de color blanco y verde. Entre ellas hay piezas fabricadas en los que tanto hace ocho siglos como  ahora son considerados los mejores talleres de porcelana de China: los  de la localidad de Jingdezhen, en la provincia suroriental china de Jiangxi. Las piezas ya han sido mostradas en una exposici?n en la isla sure?a de  Hainan, que fue inaugurada ayer por Zhang Wei, director del Centro  Estatal de Investigaciones Submarinas del Museo Estatal de China. Zhang explic? que el barco fue descubierto en los a?os 90 y que seg?n  los expertos es el m?s antiguo nav?o chino hundido en alta mar que se  conoce. La zona donde se descubrieron los restos, el archipi?lago Spratly  (llamado Xisha por los chinos) es disputada por todos los pa?ses ba?ados  por el Mar de la China Meridional, incluyendo China, Vietnam, Filipinas,  Malasia, Brunei e Indonesia. Tambi?n en ese mar, aunque m?s cerca de las costas chinas, los  arque?logos trabajan desde hace a?os en la recuperaci?n de uno de los  barcos m?s preciados para los historiadores chinos, el "Nanhai I",  hundido hace unos 800 a?os, con unas 70.000 reliquias hist?ricas en su  interior. Esta semana, los expertos chinos que trabajan en su recuperaci?n junto a  colegas brit?nicos se?alaron que han empezado a izar el pecio. Zhang indic? que el rescate del "Huaguangjiao I" todav?a ha sido m?s  complicado que en el caso del "Nanhai I", por estar a mayor profundidad  y en alta mar. Las autoridades chinas de protecci?n del patrimonio hist?rico se  quejaron el mes pasado de que "piratas" extranjeros, con avanzadas  tecnolog?as, est?n peinando los lechos marinos de China para buscar  barcos como ?stos, en busca de tesoros, actividad que Pek?n considera un  robo. EFE http://srv2.vanguardia.com.mx ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:00:20 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] At the Bruce, the Art of Deception To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <46442294.4000107@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed At the Bruce, the Art of Deception BY MAUREEN MULLARKEY - Special to the Sun May 10, 2007 URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/54196 Faking it is as old as the recorded history of art. The fifth-century  B.C.E. sculptor Phidias is said to have signed the work of talented  students. Young Michelangelo purportedly added a false patina to a  statue sold to Cardinal Riario, an astute collector of antiquities, as a  genuine antique. Fast-forward to 1999, when 28 Georgia O'Keeffe watercolors were removed  from the canon. The suite had previously sold for $5 million after  reported endorsement by the O'Keeffe Foundation and the National Gallery  of Art. In 2000, Sotheby's and Christie's were embarrassed to learn they  each held the one and only "Vase de Fleurs" by Gauguin. And consider  those legions of small, unsigned works still beckoning scholars whose  enthusiasm outweighs their discernment. The sheer scale of falsity  prompted Newsweek's celebrated quip that of the 2,500 paintings Corot  made in his lifetime, 7,800 were in America. The Bruce Museum's "Fakes and Forgeries: The Art of Deception," opening  Saturday, surveys the history of deceit in Western art with uncommon  candor and lively scholarship. It is a rousing tour through intrigue,  misattributions, copying, and creative acts of identity theft. It covers  sleights of hand from forged documents and false provenance to technical  procedures used to fabricate historical works. Treating sculpture, manuscripts, Gothic ivories, decorative arts,  painting, prints, and photographs, this feast of malfeasance holds as  much for scholars and collectors as for the general public. The show is  authoritative, instructive ? and wicked fun. The earliest forged styles  on view are Egyptian, Greek, and Assyrian, from which the show moves  chronologically through historical periods to the modern era. The  caliber and scope of counterfeits exhibited, most from prestigious  collections, is startling.  >From Piero to Pollock, brand names of every period are widely faked.  But the forgery market also keeps pace with contemporary trends. Forgers  are driven, like collectors, by high auction prices. Forgery extends  even to artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, who are not traditional  blue chips. Hans van Meegeren's "Christ and His Disciples at Emmaus" (c.1936),  painted in the style of Vermeer, is likely the most renowned forgery in  the world. It is thrilling to have it here. Vermeer's output was so  small that this "hitherto unknown painting," created a sensation when  its discovery was announced in 1937 by art historian Abraham Bredius.  Van Meegeren's saga, his disdain for the art market and his postwar  trial for collaboration (selling a "Vermeer" to Hermann G?ring) is a  modern legend. His canon of forgeries ? the works Vermeer should have  painted ? is not yet settled. Suddenly, Cynthia Ozick's phrase "the  implausibility of originality" takes on real meaning. A quasi folk hero among forgers, Eric Hebborn (1934?96), sometime  prot?g? of scholar and spy Anthony Blunt, is represented by a faux  Mantegna drawing owned by the Morgan Library. He inscribed "Andrea  Mantegna" on the sheet and manufactured a provenance that included  ownership by Sir Joshua Reynolds. A convincing still life in the manner of ?douard Manet was exhibited in  the 1913 Armory Show as an example of his contribution to the  development of modern art. A deft "Giacometti" painting of a seated nude  is by the versatile John Myatt (b. 1945), who gave up illegal forgery  for the legitimate kind. Although he still signs each forgery on the  front with the artist's signature, the back is now inscribed "Genuine Fake." What van Meegeren was to Dutch Masters, Br?gido Lara (b. 1940) is to  pre-Columbian pottery, of which he claims to have created 40,000  forgeries. He continues to sculpt in ancient styles but, chastened by  arrest in 1974, now signs his work. The Rospigliosi Cup from the Benjamin Altman collection, once attributed  to Benvenuto Cellini, has been proven either a 19th-century copy or an  outright fraud. Nevertheless, the Metropolitan Museum of Art still  exhibits it, discreetly labeled, on grounds that it is beautiful. Museums are reluctant to concede errors or embarrass donors. When large  investments and reputations are on the line, open admission that someone  has been misled risks suit for libel or product disparagement. Besides,  if a museum is courting a certain collector to donate his C?zanne,  should it bypass his dubious Cassatt being pressed on it for an upcoming  exhibition? More people are responsive to signatures ? trademarks ? and the cachet  of possession than to art itself. Forgeries, then, will be with us  forever. That is why this comprehensive, imaginative exhibition is  compulsory for anyone who would understand the cultural politics and  gamesmanship of authentication. The issues involved have profound cultural implications that go beyond  the monetary stakes to the credibility of experts and matters of public  trust. Bruce director Peter Sutton summarizes the show's purpose: "[It]  challenges museumgoers to ask fundamental questions about what  constitutes authenticity and originality in a cynical and occasionally  mendacious art world." Both the exhibition and its detailed catalog  serve warning to the inexperienced and the credulous and invite extended  discussion. A scholar in his own right, Mr. Sutton contributed a major essay on  connoisseurship to Robert Spencer's "The Expert Versus the Object"  (2004), a book which cautioned that "truth in labeling does not always  pertain to what changes hands in the present day art world." (A  variation of that essay appears in the catalog.) Senior curator Nancy  Hall-Duncan is frank: "In the late twentieth century, forgery, like art  itself, became big business. . . . [and] the temptation to misrepresent  art has become stronger and more lucrative." Thoughtful viewers will come away more attentive to conflicts of  interest among appraisers. The Art Dealers Association of America, for  example, maintains a prominent appraisal service, contending that  dealers are best equipped to establish value precisely because they make  their living from the market. Viewers may have their own thoughts on  whether this is a species of poacher-turned-gamekeeper. With art the new bullion, the culture cannot afford to have its currency  debased. Hats off to the Bruce for a confident tutorial on why fakes matter. Until September 9 (One Museum Drive, Greenwich, Conn., 203-869-6786). URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/54196 ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:00:25 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] UK. Prized Zimbabwean sculpture stolen from gallery To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <46442299.8040308@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Prized sculpture stolen from gallery Published:  11 May, 2007 A TRUSTING Black Isle gallery owner is now reviewing security  arrangements at her facility following the theft of a prized African  sculpture. The abstract piece of work, entitled Bathing Man, by Zimbabwean artist  Remos Chiuware, was taken from the entrance of Tore Art Gallery. At 20 inches tall and made from white opalite, it is one of a range of  traditional pieces from Zimbabwe currently on sale at the gallery. The missing sculpture was noticed on Sunday morning. Gallery proprietor  Clare Blois said, "We were delighted to have found the work of these  sculptors and went to a great deal of trouble to get the pieces here. "It is very upsetting that somebody should have just helped themselves.  The sculptures are quite heavy and designed to be displayed outside, but  sadly we shall have to reconsider this. I had hoped that in this area  they would be safe, but I guess I was just too trusting." The stone sculpture was brought from Zimbabwe by Jon Eaton from  Gloucestershire, who has also set up a safe workshop environment near  Harare so that artists can continue to work in the strife-ridden  country. As well as promoting the artists' work, Mr Eaton organises  projects in Zimbabwe to provide running water to villages and schools. The traditional stone sculptors use a variety of stone types and behind  every piece is a human story. Every sculptor works on their creation by  hand, with no power tools used at any stage in the process. Staff at Tore Art Gallery, who would be very pleased to hear if anyone  has noticed the sculpture anywhere, can be contacted on 01463 871444. http://www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk/ ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:00:31 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] Tutela dell'arte: il bilancio dei Carabinieri To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <4644229F.3090506@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Tutela dell'arte: il bilancio dei Carabinieri Nel 2007 (ad aprile) in Toscana: 379 tesori trafugati, 381 oggetti  controllati, 31 i furti. Alcuni dei numeri resi noti in una lezione  sulla legalit? tenuta in Consiglio dal generale Ugo Zottin Firenze - In Toscana nei primi quattro mesi del 2007 sono stati 379 gli  oggetti di valore artistico e storico trafugati fra libri, opere di  ebanisteria, oggetti sacri, stampe, quadri, sculture, strumenti musicali  (1.032 nell?intero 2006); 381 quelli controllati (6.888 nel 2006) e 323  (191 nel 2006) quelli restituiti ai proprietari; 31 (110 nel 2006),  inoltre, i furti consumati a danno di musei, enti pubblici e chiese.  Questi alcuni numeri che riguardano l?attivit? del Comando Carabinieri  Tutela Patrimonio Culturale, resi noti nel corso della lezione ?L?Arma  dei Carabinieri e la tutela del patrimonio culturale? che il generale di  brigata, comandante della Regione Carabinieri Toscana, Ugo Zottin ha  tenuto agli studenti dell?Istituto d?Arte di Porta Romana, dell?Istituto  per l'Arte e il Restauro Palazzo Spinelli e del liceo artistico di  Firenze. ?Avere consapevolezza delle norme che proteggono il nostro  patrimonio artistico, avvicinare i giovani al concetto di legalit? e  spiegare loro in cosa consiste e come si svolge il lavoro dell?Arma dei  Carabinieri, in particolare quello del Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio  Culturale?, ha spiegato Ugo Zottin ai numerosi studenti studenti  intervenuti alla lezione. Il presidente del Consiglio regionale ha  ricordato l?importanza del lavoro dei militari in un Paese, ricco di  opere d?arte. Il presidente ha parlato anche della facilit? con la quale  spesso i nostri tesori vengono trafugati o ?asportati? non solo dai  musei ma anche da piccole chiese di campagna e abitazioni private. (bb) http://www.parlamento.toscana.it ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:00:36 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] Canada. Police probing link between blaze, theft; 	Replica Indian village broken into the night before costly fire To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <464422A4.1010508@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Police probing link between blaze, theft; Replica Indian village broken  into the night before costly fire Julie Rudd  /  OSPREY news network Local News - Thursday, May 10, 2007 @ 07:00 Thieves broke into the Huron Ouendat Indian Village the night before the  tourist attraction was engulfed in flames, leaving police to investigate  a possible link. "I think there's certainly a possibility that there's a connection  between the two incidents," said Det. Sgt. Jim Rettinger of the Midland  Police Service. "We can't rule that out, but we can't give that  particular investigation a link yet." Firefighters from Midland, Penetanguishene and Tiny Township were called  to the scene after fire was reported Tuesday at about 8 p. m. Police say it took several hours before the blaze was finally out. According to Jamie Hunter, curator of the Huronia Museum, the fire  appears to have started at the front of the replica village and worked  its way back. Destroyed was one of the two longhouses, maintenance  tools, exhibit materials and a classroom used for children's programming. Hunter says the fire caused at least $250,000 damage. "It's hard to say, but the loss of six buildings and its contents plus  the palisades was a pretty severe setback," he said This is not the first fire at the village. About two years ago, Hunter  says youths set fire to the far side of the village during the day. But  it was caught by staff before significant damage could be done. The issue of more concern for the museum staff is its vulnerability to  break-ins. Hunter says the village has been broken into many times. The most recent  of which took place Monday night. "We did receive a report of a break-in into the foyer area of the indian  village," Rettinger said. "Some artifacts were damaged, and a couple  items were stolen." The break-in was discovered by the museum staff Tuesday morning. The Ontario Fire Marshal's office is investigating Tuesday's blaze. http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ ------------------------------ Message: 12 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:00:42 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] US. Mariners' Museum sues to get items returned To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <464422AA.6050600@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed   Mariners' Museum sues to get items returned. BY SHAWN DAY sday@dailypress.com  | 247-4816 May 9, 2007, 10:08 PM EDT NEWPORT NEWS -- The former chief archivist for the Mariners' Museum  library is facing a civil suit filed by the museum claiming he stole --  and then sold -- archived items. Lester Weber was fired Sept. 25 for "policy violations which include, in  part, the theft of archival items from the Museum's collections for  subsequent sale on the internet and eBay," according to a statement from  Alan Diamonstein, chairman of the Mariners' Museum Board of Trustees. Newport News Police Officer Harold Eley, a department spokesman,  confirmed police are looking into allegations against Weber but declined  to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation. Weber and his wife, Lori Childs, are named as defendants in a civil suit  filed April 16 in Newport News Circuit Court. Diamonstein, reached late  Wednesday, said the museum is seeking the return of stolen merchandise  and money for merchandise that was sold. "They were archival items that people had given?," Diamonstein said.  "They weren't on display yet." Lester Weber couldn't be reached for comment. His wife, who answered a  phone call late Wednesday, said she couldn't talk about the case and  hung up. http://www.dailypress.com/ ------------------------------ Message: 13 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:00:47 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] US. Warhol found in Aspen after 17 years To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <464422AF.8030709@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Warhol found in Aspen after 17 years Authorities recover artist?s Ali painting from owner?s ex-wife 	 Joel Stonington Vail, CO Colorado May 10, 2007 ASPEN ?The journey of an Andy Warhol painting presumed stolen between  1989 and 1990 ended last week when Aspen police and FBI art-theft  investigators tracked it down. The painting, a 3-by-4-foot depiction of heavyweight boxing icon  Muhammad Ali, is valued at $100,000 to $120,000, according to records  police released Wednesday. The records, from Aspen detective Eric Ross, state that Alan Finkelstein  of New York reported the painting stolen to New York police in 1990. The grand larceny case went dry until local art dealer Christy Lee Pope  listed the Warhol on www.artnet.com  on April 7,  police records show. Ross quickly enlisted the help of the FBI and its art theft unit. On  April 16, Ross met with an FBI agent and looked through Pope?s house  with permission of a property manager. They did not find the painting in the house but later contacted her by  phone. She told them that Jeff Liddington, the owner of the CTS  limousine service in Aspen, had asked her to list the painting for some  friends, documents state. Shortly after Pope listed the painting, however, Liddington had called  her and asked to take the painting off, she said, according to police  documents. On April 26, the FBI agent and Ross interviewed Liddington about the  Warhol. Though Liddington originally told them he didn?t think the  painting was stolen, he eventually admitted it might be the case and  told them to go talk to the owner, Alan Finkelstein, records said. According to the documents, Liddington said he was told the painting  actually belonged to Finkelstein?s ex-wife, Janice (last name not in  documents). He said he had not ever met Janice and that a friend had  asked him to sell the painting for a commission of $6,000 on the sale. However, he said he got suspicious that the painting might have been  stolen when his friend, acting for the ex-wife, asked him to take the  painting off the Internet. The 17-year saga ended with a single phone call, documents state.  Finkelstein got a call from his ex-wife on May 1 in which she said the  painting was part of a divorce settlement, he disagreed and she said she  would return the Warhol to him. On May 2, Finkelstein?s son picked the painting up from Janice in order  to bring it back to his father. At that point, Finkelstein dropped  criminal charges and said he did not want to pursue any further  investigation. The case was closed the same day. http://www.vaildaily.com ------------------------------ Message: 14 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:00:54 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] Artifacts pit American Indians against museums To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <464422B6.1010106@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Artifacts pit American Indians against museums But a new rule might help tribes recover their culturally significant  objects. Kevin Livelli | Columbia News Service Posted May 10, 2007 It was a hot and arid day in Pecos, N.M., when the elders and leaders of  the Jemez Pueblo tribe welcomed an outsider into the fold: archaeologist  William Whatley. Wearing colorful headbands, the old men sat down on the ground with  Whatley. Then they began drawing images in the dust -- images of bones,  masks and pottery that were missing or had been looted from the tribe.  The elders implored Whatley to use his scientific knowledge to find the  objects and help return them to the tribe. Not an easy task. That was about 20 years ago. Now, for other tribes searching for lost or  stolen items, the process may grow a lot easier. In mid-March, the Department of the Interior's National NAGPRA program,  which helps carry out the Native American Graves Protection and  Repatriation Act, announced a regulation requiring museums, universities  and federal agencies in possession of American Indian art and artifacts  to provide new lists of their inventories and to share them with all  federally recognized tribes within six months. The rule, which took effect last month, marks the first time in a dozen  years that museums and federal agencies have had to share with tribes  what's in their collections. This process may uncover many items missing  for years, and it may encourage tribes to start making repatriation  claims to recover their artifacts. Repatriation is frequently fraught with tension between museums and  tribes. Curators and scholars have an interest in preserving items for  their educational and research value. For the tribes, reclaiming their  objects can have a spiritual and cultural significance. But for some, it  can lead to big business. A reclaimed object can establish a tribe's  right to land, which it might want to develop. "This promises to have a big impact for many tribes, especially those  recently recognized by the federal government," says Dr. Rayna Green, a  Cherokee and the curator and director of the American Indian program at  the Smithsonian Institution. "And it's not just about cultural heritage.  It's about money and land and property. This is America, after all." Yet even if the new rule helps tribes find many sacred objects, it won't  necessarily help them overcome the many obstacles inherent in the  repatriation process. "Tribes and museums approach decisions about sacred objects carefully,"  says Dr. Timothy McKeown, the senior program coordinator at the NAGPRA  office and the man responsible for overseeing the entire repatriation  process. "Repatriation is not just something you can do overnight." To begin with, tribes can struggle with issues of confidentiality when  filing a claim. Many tribes, especially the Pueblo groups in the  Southwest, have strict customs and rules about sharing tribal  information with outsiders. Yet the law requires a tribe to reasonably  establish its historical connection to a particular object. The Pueblo Indians of San Eldefanso made a claim in the mid-1990s but  backed away when a dispute over the claim led to litigation in federal  court. They didn't want to have to testify and reveal tribal secrets. Even putting together the claim can be a challenge. In many instances, a  tribe's spoken language -- like that of the Jemez Pueblo -- isn't  written down and can't be easily transferred into the legalese necessary  to file a claim. And hiring lawyers costs money, something many smaller  tribes lack. When claims are readied for filing, McKeown says tribes sometimes argue  among themselves and with neighboring tribes over who has the right to  proceed with that claim, who should act as spokesman and who will be  responsible for the objects once they return. One such case now under review by McKeown's office involves funerary  objects and human remains that were recently found in Chaco Canyon  National Park in New Mexico. Representatives from Pueblo, Navajo and  Hopi tribes have all made competing claims for the same objects. The tribes' competing claims can stir feuds that go back hundreds of  years. "It has to do with very old notions of clan and kinship and  philosophical and religious ideas about death and the afterlife," Green  says. "The issue is important because what you and I call artifacts are in  their worlds living tribal members with the same rights as people,"  Whatley says. Once objects are returned to tribes, one serious issue frequently  remains. Many items belonging to tribes in the Iroquois Six Nations and  the Hopi Nation are perishable -- cornhusk masks or headdresses with  feathers. When these items come into a museum's collection, they are  often sprayed with arsenic or another pesticide for preservation. But upon return, the masks and headdresses are often worn in ceremonies,  endangering the lives of tribal members and leaving the museum  potentially liable for any resulting injury or illness. "That's something we in the museum world are trying to remedy," Green  said. "We're looking now into alternative means of preservation, like  flash freezing objects." Though the path to repatriation may take many years, Whatley says the  end result will be worth the trouble for tribes. During nine years, he  has helped return thousands of objects to the Jemez Pueblo from museums  around the country. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ ------------------------------ Message: 15 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:01:05 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] CORNWALL- A series of tall, graceful statues have 	traveled a long way to make their debut at the Insiders/Outsiders Art 	Gallery in the new "All About Africa" exhibition, but soon they will 	return home. To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <464422C1.3070707@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed   CORNWALL-A series of tall, graceful statues have traveled a long way  to make their debut at the Insiders/Outsiders Art Gallery in the new  "All About Africa" exhibition, but soon they will return home. The show, a celebration of African art and art inspired by "the dark  continent," as it is sometimes called, prominently features nine Vigango  burial totems that have recently been involved in a scandal. The obelisk-shaped items are from the estate of art collectors and  producer/screenwriters Lewis M. Allen and his wife, Jay Presson Allen.  The two purchased the totems for just a few dollars each on the street  in Kenya in the 1960s while living in Africa. It seems they did not know  they were purchasing sacred burial totems that had been stolen from  their rightful villages by those out to make a few dollars off the  tourists. The totems were displayed in the couple's Park Avenue apartment for  decades. It was only when the daughter of the late couple, Brooke Allen,  offered to show them in gallery owner Kelly Gingras' latest show that  Mrs. Gingras began her research and realized the totems were ill-gotten. "Last year I went to New York City and saw the totems and said I'd love  to show them," she recalled. She brought them home in her car, went  inside her Cornwall home and Googled "Vigango." The search returned more  than 30 pages of sites asking for the return of the totems to the  Mijikenda people of the Kenyan coast. It seems that hundreds of them  have been stolen over the years. The gallery owner recalled the moment she found out the states were  ill-gotten property. "My heart just sunk. I went in and looked at them  and thought, 'Some way or another you guys are going home." When she  called Ms. Allen, the young woman was shocked at the totems' true origin  and readily agreed to return the artifacts but implored the gallery  owner to show them anyway and teach local children about them while the  two women worked to return them to Kenya. Mrs. Gingras raced back over  to where the statues were and shouted, "'You're going home.' They looked  much happier from that moment," she said. The two women and the estate manager, Peter Jung, set out to find  someone who could facilitate the statues' safe return. They eventually  reached Tanzanian Ambassador Charles Stith and Kenyan Ambassador Peter  Nicholas Rateng'Oginga Ogego. These men, thrilled to be getting the  totems back, agreed to let Mrs. Gingras display the artifacts through  the end of June, when they will visit the area for a formal hand-over  ceremony on a yet to be announced date. The totems, which can fetch between $7,000 and $10,000 on the open  market, have been robbed from graveyards for years. The chipped-wood  carvings are long skinny figures, most with ornate faces and delicately  patterned and carved robes. They are between four and six feet high and  about six inches wide, and some tilt to the right or left from years of  being exposed to the elements. The Vigango are erected for high-ranking  members of a secret society, called the gohu. The height can be  dependent on the status of the society member. Otherworldly, they look  like they are in mourning. It is considered bad luck to remove the statues from their homes in the  Mijikenda graveyards, and the people of that region believe bad luck can  befall both the offender and the family members. It doesn't seem that the Allen family met this fate, however. In his  storied career, Mr. Allen had writing or producing credits on the movies  "Lord of the Flies" and "Fahrenheit 451" and on the Broadway productions  of "Annie," "My One and Only" and "A Few Good Men." Mrs. Allen logged  credits in the movie versions of Alfred Hitchcock's "Marnie," "The Prime  of Miss Jean Brodie," "Cabaret," "Funny Lady" and the remake of "The  Thomas Crown Affair." Also in the show are more pieces from the Allen collection and from the  collection of John Clayton, a documentarian for National Geographic and  an admirer of 1960s art from the Congo. He will donate the proceeds from  any sales to the Africare charity. Cornwall photographic artist and entrepreneur (he co-owns Kent's  Northern Exposure photography gallery) Lazlo Gyorsok was on hand to view  the African art. He particularly enjoyed Mrs. Gingras' curatorial  decision to hang a painting of a woman in a compromising position with  the Marquis de Sade next to one depicting "The Last Supper" through the  eyes of a 1960s African artist. There are also works from five American artists that reference Africa:  oils by Bernard Hoyes, found sculpture by Lucy Krupenye, watercolors by  Joan Palmer, creatures and totems by Stewart Clayton and Michael  Theise's bull elephant and modern trompe l'oeil paintings. At the exhibit's opening last weekend, Mr. Theise's heavy pieces on  masonite were being admired by Vance Jaffers, an actor of "One Life To  Live" fame. The Brookfield-dwelling thespian is a longtime friend of the  painting's owner, famed acting coach Phillip Tavonatti, and Mr. Jaffers  was there on his behalf. If his painting sells, Mr. Tavonatti will  donate the proceeds to African charity "School of Dreams." Ms. Krupenye was on hand to discuss her found object, wall-hanging  sculptures. The surprising discrepancy between her petite, blond,  girlish appearance and the totemic sculptures she creates from found  objects, including car parts such as catalytic converters and flattened  tailpipes, and even deer bones she finds in the woods, is charming. The Wilton-based sculptor's pieces have an African sensibility that is  not entirely unlike the Vigango totems. "I grew up in a house surrounded  by African art, my parents were collectors," she said of her frame of  reference. Her pieces, which all have a sort of warm, protective and motherly feel  and shape, bear names such as "AuTotem," for one made of car parts,  "Guardian" and "Le Reine Rouge," or "the red queen," for one made of  rusted parts that have taken on a rusty red patina. Ms. Krupenye was especially moved by the story of the Vigango. "When I  first saw them, I was immediately drawn to them. They looked like  something that could have been in the house I grew up in. When I heard  the story my first thoughts were that the same thing could have happened  to my parents without their realizing it. They bought art in the same  way. It's extraordinary that they are going to be retuned," she said. The more far-reaching message of the Vigango's journey will be delivered  to younger people who visit the gallery with their school classes, Mrs.  Gingras hopes. "If we hit young minds they'll absorb this story and in  the future when they travel to Africa, or any area where artifacts are  black marketed, they won't buy them, they'll think twice and do their  homework," she said. The gallery is at 131 Kent Rd. at the intersection of Routes 7 and 45.  The show is up through June 24. Call 860-672-6631 for more information. http://www.zwire.com ------------------------------ Message: 16 Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:01:00 +0200 From: Museum Security Network Mailing list  Subject: [MSN] Germany. Kunstraub in Rheinbach To: Museum Security Network Mailinglist  Message-ID: <464422BC.2080404@bruggemansolutions.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed   Kunstraub in Rheinbach *Diebe entwendeten zwei gro?formatige Gem?lde aus der Glasfachschule.* Bislang unbekannte T?ter haben w?hrend einer Ausstellung im Rheinbacher  Glaspavillon an der Glasfachschule zwei gro?formatige Gem?lde der K?lner  K?nstlerin Dagmar Dost-Nolden entwendet. Wie die Polizei Bonn heute  mitteilt, hat sich der Diebstahl zwischen dem vergangenen Sonntag,  6.Mai, 20:00 Uhr, und dem gestrigen Mittwoch, 9. Mai, 08:00 Uhr, ereignet. Die beiden Gem?lde mit dem Titel "Flucht aus dem Paradies" haben jeweils  ein Format von 250 cm mal 145 cm. W?hrend der Ausstellung befanden sie  sich in einer gl?sernen Vitrine. Nach dem bisherigen Ermittlungsstand  stahlen die T?ter zun?chst die Schl?ssel f?r den Pavillon aus einem  B?roraum der Glasfachschule. Damit ?ffneten sie die Vitrine und  entwendeten die beiden Kunstwerke. Die Polizei geht davon, dass vor allem der Abtransport der gro?fl?chigen  Bilder aufgefallen sein k?nnte. Hinweise nehmen die Ermittler unter der  Rufnummer 0228/156211 entgegen. http://www.kultur-in-bonn.de/ ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ MSN-list mailing list MSN-list@te.verweg.com http://duvel.te.verweg.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/msn-list End of MSN-list Digest, Vol 7, Issue 113 ****************************************