We've spent billions digitizing our national records. Revolutionary War pension files, Civil War correspondence, immigration documents, military awards—all beautifully scanned and uploaded. But here's what nobody talks about: most Americans can't read them. www.linkedin.com/pulse/nation...

A flint lock blunderbuss, which is attached to a bayonet, and 17 pocket watches and chronometers were stolen when two thieves were believed to have forced entry into the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in Exeter. www.devonlive.com/news/devon-n...

A trial in Italy for the illicit trafficking of archaeological artifacts involving 6 individuals concluded with three convictions and three plea bargains. The preliminary hearing judge of the Pescara Court, Giovanni De Renzis, imposed a total of 12 years in prison. www.ilgerme.it/traffico-di-...

As the Argentine WWII-era plundered paintings case stays in the news, interesting details are coming out regarding a ranch Friedrich Kadgien owned in Mar del Sud that was previously owned by Bolivian Nazi spy Karl Gustav Einckenberg. www.lanacion.com.ar/propiedades/...

Patricia Kadgien, the daughter of Nazi leader Friedrich Gustav Kadgien, and her husband have been charged with aggravated accessory after the fact for theft in the context of genocide, a charge upheld by Federal Judge Santiago Inchausti, who presided over the hearing in regards to the WWII painting.

And another (in a series of) costly Chinese porcelain museum thefts. This time from the Adrien Dubouché National Museum in Limoges. www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/a...

A Still Life in Buenos Aires: Misattribution, Mystery, and (more) Nazi-Era Shadows. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/09/once...

577 Antiquities Seized: Minya looting case exposes ongoing threats to Egypt’s heritage. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/09/577-...

Egypt's Tourism and Antiquities Police and Public Security sectors arrested a home appliance dealer residing in Minya Governorate along with 577 objects which are believed to have possibly come from illicit excavations which he was planning to trade. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NUS...

Restitution Delayed, Injustice Prolonged: Kadgien family intends to drag the ownership claim of "Portrait of a Lady" stolen from Jacques Goudstikker into Argentine Civil Court. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/09/rest...

Six Months for 590 Artefacts: The Case of U.S.-Egyptian Smuggler Ashraf Omar Eldarir. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/08/six-...

Swastikas, SOCMINT and Stolen Masterpieces: Inside the Hunt for Goudstikker’s Lost Art in Argentina. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/08/swas...

Diamonds and Dispossessed Art: The Friedrich Gustav Kadgien connection to Goudstikker’s stolen artworks. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/08/diam...

The Role of Alfred H. Barr Jr. in Grosz v. MoMA: Through a Criminological Lens art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-...

61 years ago today and Italy is still waiting. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/08/61-y...

Alameda County Man Charged in Federal Complaint with Stealing Rare and Historical Chinese Manuscripts from at least one California University Library. ktla.com/news/local-n...

Italy has lost one of its fiercest cultural guardians, and ARCA has lost a brilliant friend, mentor, and ally. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/08/ital...

#7 in ARCA's series of "This is not the type of provenance you want to see on an object you are considering for purchase".

#6 in ARCA's series of "This is not the type of provenance you want to see on an object you are considering for purchase".

Two brothers Rafa and Idris Al-Zatrani hand over artifacts to the Qubba Security Directorate, under the supervision of the Abraq and Qubba Antiquities Inspectors, in preparation for their delivery to the relevant authorities.

#5 in ARCA's series of "This is not the type of provenance you want to see on an object you are considering for purchase". Lakshmi-Narayana is a Vaikuntha Kamalaja murti that is the androgynous form of the Hindu god Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi rarely seen outside the Kathmandu Valley.

From Dubai to Zurich: Eugene Alexander faces justice in antiquities trafficking case art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/07/from...

#4 in ARCA's series of "This is not the type of provenance you want to see on an object you are considering for purchase". "Private Collection, Europe" When the buyer demands clarity over pretentious gobbledygook, dealers will be obliged to be less abstruse.

#3 in ARCA's series of "This is not the type of provenance you want to see on an object you are considering for purchase". When the market demands clarity over pretentious gobbledygook, dealers will be obliged to be less abstruse. Please like and share.

#2 in ARCA's series of "This is not the type of provenance you want on an object you are considering for purchase". "I Know a Guy Who Knows a Guy" (Welcome to the provenance grapevine.) *If you are enjoying these, please like and comment to give them wider circulation!*

#1 in ARCA's series of "This is not the type of provenance you want on an object you are considering for purchase". Looters and traffickers often used Polaroid photos as an informal way to document freshly looted artifacts before they entered the illicit art market.

Evacuation of artworks to secure themn during wartime is never an easy feat. This photograph, by Noël Le Boyer (1883-1967), shows the removal of tGéricault's painting, The Raft of the Medusa (1819), from the Louvre Museum.

Coffin of Contention: The Recovery and Return of Pa-di-Hor-pa-khered’s Stolen Coffin. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/07/coff...

A nice write up interviewing jefe Juan José Águila Navarro , with Spain's Historical Heritage Section of the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the country's Guardia Civil outlining some recent cases and their work. www.elespanol.com/reportajes/2...

Earlier this month Iran’s deputy for cultural heritage commented on airstrike attacks saying: "Until now, we have not had any reports of direct damage to historical monuments in the city of Tehran. Here are some pictures of some of the protective measures undertaken by museum staff.

Tomorrow, 28 June 2025, marks the official implementation date of Regulation (EU) 2019/880 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the introduction and the import of cultural goods. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/06/regu...

🗣️ Our second speaker of our fifth panel: George Katz (
Bellingcat) presents:
 “Bellingcat’s Justice and Accountability Unit: A Case Study for Making Open-Source Investigations Legally Sound”.

🗣️ For our 5th panel of today we explore “Truth in the Spotlight: Criminologists, Open-Source Evidence, and the Public Gaze”. Our first speaker John Kerr presents to us “Please could you focus more on the “psychic” Detective?’ Crimertainment and criminologists’ public engagement through media work”

🗣️ Our fourth panel continues the theme: “Criminal Custodians? Legal and Ethical Fault Lines in Museum Work”
 Our first speaker: Steven Gallagher (BA, LLB, Professor of Practice in Law, Faculty of Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
 presents to us: 
“The Southeast Asia Connection”

🗣️ Our third panel explores “Criminal Custodians? Legal and Ethical Fault Lines in Museum Work”. Our guest speaker Camilla Brunazzo Chiavegato will present to us: “Curators’ Big Little Crimes. Criminological, Ethical, and Legal Perspectives on Museum Curators’ Involvement in Art Crime” #MuseumEthics

🗣️ Our second speaker of the second panel is Katy Newton (ARGUS Cultural Property Consultancy), who presents to us: “After the Courtroom: Cultural Heritage Consulting Through a Legal Lens” #ArtCrime #ARCA2025

🗣️For our second panel this morning Dawn Rogala (PhD, Program Manager & Conservation Team Lead, Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution) presents to us: “Cultural Heritage Anti-Trafficking Training for U.S. Federal Agencies”

🗣️ Our second speaker of this morning’s first panel Yasmine Zahir (LLB, PCLL, Barrister-at-Law, Liberty Chambers, Hong Kong) presents to us: “The Controversies of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond: Should It Be Repatriated?”

🗣️ Our first speaker of today Mirta Aktaia (MA, LLM, Art Advisor & International Lawyer) presents to us “David vs. Goliath: The Fight for Survival of the Legal Antiquities Market Against the Superpowers of the State”

📢 DAY 2 of the ARCA Conference 2025 is underway! This morning's compelling panel examines: "From Courtrooms to Collections: Legal Challenges in Cultural Property Disputes" #ARCA2025 #ArtLaw #CulturalHeritageProtection Stay tuned as we continue the conversation at #ARCA2025

📢 Our second speaker of our fourth panel: “Due Diligence or Denial? Transparency in Museums and the Art Trade” Elena Vassilika presents: “Artful Deceptions: How One Trafficker Corrupted Museums Internationally (With Some Help from Scholarly Enablers)”

This afternoon at the ARCA Conference 2025, we continued with our fourth panel: “Due Diligence or Denial? Transparency in Museums and the Art Trade” Our first speaker Morgan Belzic presents: “Fighting Illicit Trafficking: From Identifications to Restitution”

📢This afternoon at the ARCA Conference our third panel on: “Reckoning with the Past: Rethinking Art, Antiquities, and the Role of Experts” Our first speaker Yağmur Koyuncu presents: “The Changing Role of Museums and Institutions in Response to Problematic Art and Antiquities in Their Collections.”

This afternoon at the ARCA Conference 2025, we continue with our second panel: “Gods on the Market: The Theft and Trafficking of Nepal’s Sacred Art” Our guest speaker🇳🇵Sanjay Adhikari presents: “Dear Art Curators: That’s Not ‘Art’, That’s Our Aji’s Beloved God.”

This afternoon at the ARCA Conference 2025, we continue with our second panel: “Gods on the Market: The Theft and Trafficking of Nepal’s Sacred Art” Our guest speaker:🇳🇵Sanjay Adhikari Presents: “Dear Art Curators: That’s Not ‘Art’, That’s Our Aji’s Beloved God.” See our LinkedIn post.

📢 Our second speaker for our first panel today:🇨🇭Tania Esposito (Deputy Head, Specialised Body for the International Transfer of Cultural Property, Switzerland) Presents: “Switzerland’s fight against illicit trafficking: 20 years of the 1970 UNESCO Convention in action.”

📢 Our first speakers Ala’a Otain (Team Lead, 1970 Convention, Heritage Commission, Saudi Arabia) & Sofia Cecchi (Advisor, Heritage Commission, Saudi Arabia) present: “Balancing cultural property protection with a thriving arts sector: the 1970 UNESCO Convention in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

📍 Today DAY 1 of the ARCA Conference 2025 begins! We open with a powerful panel theme exploring: "Possession, Protection, and Progress: National Realities of the 1970 UNESCO Convention." Stay tuned as we continue the conversation #ARCA2025 #ArtCrime #CulturalHeritageProtection

Crime Pays in Versailles: Bill Pallot’s Fake-Chair Scandal and Its Broader Lessons. art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/06/crim...

In 15 minutes, our researcher @mabl2k.bsky.social will take on the latest Bellingcat challenges live on Patreon. Do you think he can solve all five within the hour? Join us for free here: www.patreon.com/posts/bellin...