"One Hundred Missing Objects. Looting in Europe"

STOLEN PAINTING RECOVERED 

A 16th century Italian painting published on page 80 of the ICOM publication
One Hundred Missing Objects. Looting in Europe was recovered on 25 September
2002.

This polyptych representing a Madonna and Child with saints had been listed
by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Property as one of the 800 most
important works of art to retrieve.

Stolen on 9 May 1997 from the Church of St Benedict, Angri (Italy), it was
found by the Carabinieri of the Salerno province in an abandoned house on
the Amalfi coast. 

This is the third restitution since the publication of Looting in Europe in
January 2001. ICOM considers this to be a great success. Two other objects
stolen from the Czech Republic have already been recovered and restituted.

Looting in Europe  is the fourth volume in the ICOM series "One hundred
Missing objects".

European countries are not spared the theft and looting of cultural
heritage. Religious objects in particular are the main targets of
traffickers. Looting in Europe is devoted to the looting that affects
religious heritage. Crucifixes, church furniture, gold and silver plate,
paintings and other items full of historical and spiritual significance are
torn from their original contexts to feed the illicit traffic in cultural
property and end up adorning the interiors of private houses.

The book describes the situation in four countries: France, Hungary, Italy
and the Czech Republic. Unfortunately these countries are not the only
victims of the illegal traffic in religious objects, but they are
representative of a situation that is widespread in Europe. 

These restitutions are very encouraging. However they must serve as a
reminder to potential buyers that they should exercise the greatest
vigilance with regard to other similar objects that are offered on the
market.

By buying such items, people contribute to the destruction of a country's
heritage, and they run the risk of becoming partners in illicit trade. 

More information at :
http://icom.museum/list_thanks_europe.html
http://icom.museum/100objects.html
http://icom.museum/release.europe.html
http://icom.museum/illicit.traffic.html
http:///icom.museum


Contact :

Valérie Jullien : ICOM
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Tel (33) 1 47.34.05.00

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