The Power of Disclosure: One Family Reckons with Its Wartime Past as Goudstikker's Portrait of a Young Girl by Dutch artist Toon Kelder is Relinquished. art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-...

Chinese Porcelain Theft at Princessehof: A Suspect Arrested After Three Years. Four porcelain objects remain missing. art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/05/chin...

S. Vijay Kumar, co-founder of the India Pride Project, pointed out the following @timesofindianews.bsky.social article about a stolen grey stone stela of Padmapani last seen for sale at Galerie Zacke in Vienna. (1 of several) timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/...

Andrew Lloyd Webber writing musical about theft of the Mona Lisa. www.whatsonstage.com/news/andrew-...

What is this country coming to? Can’t even take your million dollaer Fabergé eggs to the pub anymore without them being nicked. www.bbc.com/news/article...

ARCA's call for abstracts is still open for our annial Amelia conference: www.artcrimeresearch.org/annual-inter... If you would like to submit an abtract this year, send it and your CV to [email protected]

To Finance Their Lifestyle, a Young French Couple Went to Cambodia to Steal Antiquities. They Did Almost Everything Wrong. www.smithsonianmag.com/history/to-f...

After the incredible theft of works of art, the Magnani Rocca Foundation invites the public to defend the museum and its beauty. www.artribune.com/arti-visive/...

Hospitals are targets of ransomware attacks because they rely on constant access to patient data and critical systems. When systems are locked, care can be disrupted, creating pressure to restore operations quickly. Seems hackers are toying with museums now. www.corriere.it/cronache/26_...

Thread.

From Explosion to Recovery: Authorities Set Press Conference for 2pm on Recovered Dacian Gold Stolen from the Drents Museum. art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/04/from...

Canada has carried out its first-ever official return of cultural artifacts to Türkiye, following a ruling by the Federal Court of Canada that is being hailed as a milestone in international cultural heritage law. www.hurriyetdailynews.com/canada-retur...

When “Financial Advice” Isn’t About Finance: Art Market Ambiguity and the Epstein–Black Relationship. art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/03/when...

The look on provenance researchers faces when a dealer says their antiquity is legit and the proof is: note on hotel stationary, but is dated before hotel was built, a dead man's attestation letter, a redacted invoice that looks like it came from the Epstein files. What's your favourite?

This 3rd century CE alabaster statue base was found during an excavation conducted by an archaeological mission and stolen from the Temple of Awwam, known locally as al-Mahram Bilqîs. art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/03/neve...

Thread: Never underestimate reading books to determine the outcomes of antiquities trafficking mysteries. Highlighted by @combatlooting.bsky.social , this inscribed 3rd century CE alabaster statue base was stolen during an excavation conducted at the Temple of Awwam, in Marib, Yemen. 1 of 3

The Man at the centre of one of Italy's biggest antiquities scandals, Gianfranco Becchina, has had his fortune restored. Should it have been? art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-...

Panama Papers Related: Christoph Zollinger, former co-owner of the scandal-ridden law firm Mossack Fonseca admits to aiding and abetting tax evasion. www.zdfheute.de/panorama/kri...

The story continues, the erotic scene mosaic, taken by a Wehrmacht officer in World War II is actually from a villa in the located in Rocca di Morro, a hamlet in the municipality of Folignano, (Ascoli Piceno) in Le Marche. www.finestresullarte.info/en/news/true...

Thread.

Since the advent of the internet and due to popularity "Luristan" weapons of war have eclipsed the originals selling for $200-400 in circulation. Without XRF we can't know if these are forgeries but the Korea newspapers and sheer number give me pause that these may be modern forgeries, not ancient.

"When Provenance, Policy, and Limited Museum Due Diligence Rings Old (Alarm) Bells." Comparing the Denver Art Museum's Douglas Latchford donated Dong Son bell (later restituted to Cambodia, with another in the Netherlands purchased via Marcel Nies. art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/02/when...

Who the hell thinks it is just business as usual when their boss commissions a 9 foot copy of Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem's “The Infanticide of Bethlehem” depicting the biblical slaughter of boys ordered by King Herod, as an artistic element to hang at their ranch property?

Excellent thread which demonstrates what resourceful provenance researchers can do with just a single document, in determining the circulation of artefacts. Thread:

Provenance Without Disclosure: The Afterlife Sales of Jeffrey Epstein’s Collection. art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/02/prov...

Subsidising Uncertainty: Who Pays For Bad Provenance? art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/02/subs...

Long after his death, trafficker Douglas Latchford / Skanda Trust antiquities remain in private collections and museums around the globe, like this bronze statue of Hanuman from his 2011 book "Khmer bronzes : new interpretations of the past" now in the collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum.

When my Douglas Latchford and Shelby White antiquities worlds collide....

Down in the bowels of the Jeffrey Epstein files, there are some interesting art transactions, and not just those of Leon Black and Lauder.

Bosnian-Dutch Suspect in Cocaine Trafficking and Art-Linked Money Laundering Extradited from the UAE to the Netherlands art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/02/bosn...

How money moved in the art market alongside Jeffrey Epstein and Leon Black's various shell companies managing gain or loss under Internal Revenue Code Section 1031. news.artnet.com/market/epste...

Super nice to see @arca-artcrime.bsky.social get a shout out by the Museo Nazionale Romano & the @carabinieri.bsky.social for our identification of this now restituted, antefix of a dancing Maenad now on display at the Museum of Lost Art. museonazionaleromano.beniculturali.it/2026/01/nuov...

Ancient Women, Modern Crime: How Etruscan Women Were Trafficked Across the World art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/01/anci...

When you say you are looted without saying you are looted.

Six looted ancient Greek artifacts, including a marble sculpture that had been an offering at a now destroyed temple of Artemis in Piraeus, were repatriated Thursday from London following a long legal battle over the estate of trafficker Robin Symes www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1293...

Arrogant to the end of his days, Jonathan Tokeley-Parry gave a detailed account of how he smuggled items out and forged documents in an interview for Season 1 Episode 3 - Stealing History (2005). BTW did you know he committed suicide on 9 October 2025? www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNPN...

It may be winter but it's time to think about summer in Italy 🇮🇹 studying art law, cultural heritage crime, and provenance. Session I: 22 May - 23 June 2026 Session II: 26 June - 26 July 2026 Why not expand your network and professional horizons ⤵️ www.artcrimeresearch.org/postgraduate...

Recuperadas Dos niñas persiguiendo perdices, esculturas romanas de bronce expoliadas hace casi 20 años.

Yesterday, Sarah Rogers, US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Alessandro Giuli, Italy's Minister of Culture signed their renewal of their MOU Concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Categories of Archaeological Material of Italy. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/12/hist...

I must admit, at first I thought, no waaaaaay a museum theft advent calendar?????? But nope, it's real. @playmobil poking universal museums in the eye. And yes, I can think of several friends who need one for their desk. However I think the pack needs another motorcycle + a cherrypicker truck. 😁

Sometimes antiquities restitution ceremonies only report the happy ending, yet there is still a lot to be learned in relation to art crime OSINT work if you examine the news (and the objects) carefully. 1 of 5 www.tonyburke.com.au/media-releas...

For those who like the news I or @ARCA_artcrime cover, please consider helping us spread the word about ARCA's PG Certification Programmes. The real way we change the art market for the better is by training people to detect the market's vulnerabilities. www.artcrimeresearch.org/postgraduate...

Italian Authorities Arrest 55 Suspects in Major Archaeological Looting Probe in Sicily. #looting #heritagecrime #tombaroli #metaldetecting #transnationalorganisedcrime #illicitexcavations art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/11/ital...

Meet our Alumni — ARCA PG Cert Spotlight Series: Detective Constable Lionel Doe art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/11/meet...

While awaiting trial for murdering his wife, Brian Walshe was sentenced in 2024 to 37 months in prison for selling fake Andy Warhol paintings. Today he pleaded guilty to disposing of her body and misleading police, but did not plead guilty to first-degree murder. www.nbcboston.com/news/local/b...

This is why we need to keep supporting real human-made art. AI can copy, but cannot imagine. Bravo James, your “Fall of Icarus” exemplifies art and the real artists the world still needs.

The France 2 television channel has looked into the recent increased looting of liturgical objects, organized by networks highlighting the work of the Central Criminal Intelligence Service of the National Gendarmerie investigating this scourge. www.gendarmerie.interieur.gouv.fr/unpj/actuali...

"Blood antiquities" and looted art taken during periods of destabilisation or war can find their way into the licit art market. To learn more about "blood antiquities" and about the profits of plunder affecting civil society, why not join us next summer. www.artcrimeresearch.org/postgraduate...

Authorities Probe Theft of Ancient Statues from National Museum of Damascus art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/11/auth...

Denver Post confirms what we’ve been hearing: nearly all federal HSI agents with expertise on cultural property crimes have been reassigned to immigration duties in recent months. Major loss of law enforcement capabilities in the world’s largest art market. www.denverpost.com/2025/11/06/u...