Shall we also remember that the Iraqi National Museum was plundered and burned
in January 1991 at the beginning of the Gulf War by Iranian army troops.  The
Museum included the only full-scale orginal sailing ship from the third century
AD known to exist in the Arab world.  The Museum also lost thousands of blown
glass objects, written sacred texts, and hundreds of jewelry items--again most
dating from the first millenium.

Linda Nakamura
Museum of Ophthalmology
San Francisco
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______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: incidents with cultural property we tend to forget
Author:  Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> at Internet
Date:    4/17/97 12:24 PM


Since about three months we maintain a page meant to offer
information about cultural property incidents,  such as art theft,
looting of art in wartime, fire, forgery etc.. Reading the list of
reports we have collected (one report every two days) we discovered
that we tend to forget. Does anybody of you know by heart how many
years ago the Isabelle Stewart Gardner museum was robbed? A lot is
happening in the world of cultural property crime. All of us know
this, but individual facts are forgotten. We will keep adding new
reports to our list on a daily basis. Do visit
http://museum-security.org/ every now and then, see the list of
reports grow and be aware of the fact that the problem of art theft,
looting, and forgery deserves a lot attention. Do not hesitate to
send us your reports. Only a minor portion of all incidents can be
read in the newspapers. Research has shown that only a little over
10% of all thefts are reported to the police. How come? The amount of
money involved in art crime is second after the amount of money
involved in drug trading. The trade in stolen art is a favorite means
of money laundering. A succesfull fight against art crime starts with
a good inventory of incidents that occur. Please read the following
list and ask yourself two questions: 1.  How many of these incidents
did I hear about but did I forget? 2.  Do I have anything to add?

-the destruction of museums and libraries in Bosnia-Herzegovina
-Smuggling art out of Russia has become a thriving business April 17,
1997, Over 3,000 cases of art theft reported in Russia in 1996 April
17, 1997
-Oxford 'open university' for thieves April 16, 1977
-Murdered antiques dealer had reported a prowler April 15, 1997
-stolen from a local bookstore: Mather, Increase. Kometographia; or, A
Discourse Concerning Comets April 15, 1997
-Theft of painting from The Hague museum April 14, 1997
-a new form of theft in French museums April 14, 1997
-Revealed: looted Nazi pictures went to British museums April 13,
1997
-Famed Turin Shroud Escapes Fire for 2nd Time April 12, 1997
-Turin Shroud blaze linked to mafia April 13, 1997
-'Lost' art hoard is found in government collection April 12, 1977
-statue stolen--U.S. April 11, 1997 (reported by Steve Keller)
-Sculptor arrested after visitor to exhibition thought she recognised
relative's remains in a sculpture April 10, 1997, background article
April 10, 1997, Second man held in 'body parts' inquiry April 10,
1997
-Stolen 16th century statue returned to Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
April 10, 1997-Press Release Rijksmuseum april 11, 1997
-France hopes display of almost 1,000 paintings will restore works to
rightful Jewish owners April 9, 1997
-Wedgwood Museum's finest vases are stolen April 9, 1997
-Alexander the Great statue found defaced soon after unveiling April
8, 1997
-Hands Off The Degas, Doema decission about looted art April 7, 1997
-Russian Legislators Vote to Keep Looted German Treasures April 5,
1997, Yeltsin shrugs off Duma to give Kohl looted work of art April
16, 1977
-French put looted art on show to find Jewish owners April
3, 1977
-Italy Cops Recover Stolen Art March 30, 1977
-gold and silver relics stolen this Holy Week March 29, 1997
-archaeologists threatened with violence by looters March 28, 1997
-thefts from Library of Congress March 27, 1997
-historic site of Butrint vandalized March 25, 1997
-Familiy sues collector, says Degas work stolen by nazis March 24,
1997
-illicit trafficking in works of art in Africa March 21, 1997
-stolen Mendi Bible found in gym locker Nov.1996, Jan. 1997
-The Egyptian government has dropped its demand for the return of
ancient treasures of the pharaohs on display in the British Museum
since 1801 March 23, 1997
-Stolen book alert March 22, 1997
-Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Art Thef March 18, 1990
-Police find stolen eagle lectern March 21, 1997
-2 Paintings Stolen From Museum March 21, 1997
-Missing Renoir retrieved from US March 18, 1997
-Museum returns stolen art March 18, 1997
-Nazi art loot in British collections March 16, 1997
-Picasso thief  may have fled to Spain March 15, 1997
-A late classic, Navajo, serape has been stolen from the Museum of
Indian Arts & Culture, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
-Collectors blamed for looted antiquities March 13, 1997
-Turner painting stolen in Australia worth $3 million March 7,
1997
-Egypt checks for Sinai antiquity thefts March 11 1997
-Gunman takes =A3700,000 Picasso March 7, 1997
-Iraq Battles Against Archaeological Theft
-Art forgeries ring in northern Italy smashed by police March 1, 1997
-Rare book disappears from Oxford college Feb 26, 1997
-Paintings damaged in Ghent, Belgium Feb 25, 1997
-Theft KLIMT painting not discovered for several days!! Feb 24, 1997
-Egypt convicts 3 Britons on smuggling (16 Feb 97)
-Audit Say French Art Missing (15 Feb 97)
-Thieves get $1.3 million in Brussels art robbery (14 Feb 1997)
-Russia's New Rich Snap Up Art (18 Feb 1997)
-Spaniard pleads in Harvard book thefts (18 Feb 1997)
-Pulp Magazines Missing (19 Feb 1997)
-RESEARCH centre to fight the illicit trade in antiquities February
12, 1997
-Trade in the arts 'mired in fraud' February 11, 1997
-SOTHEBY'S announced a far-reaching review of its procedures February
11, 1997
-Specimen theft February 1997
-Malevich painting damaged Amsterdam, continued January 1997
-Malevich painting damaged in Amsterdam january 1997
-Egyptian antiquities in chaos
-smuggled art treasures from Italy to Britain Febr. 7, 1997
-Trader Admits Rare Shell Theft Febr.7, 1997
-FBI Probing Fake Art Jan. 28, 1997
-Art Auctioneer Accused Jan. 28, 1997
-vandalizing contemporary works of art by publically vomiting on them
Jan 2, 1997
-VALUABLE statuary is being stolen from the gardens of Britain's
stately homes December 1996






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The Museum Security Network
dedicated to all aspects of cultural property protection
http://museum-security.org/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
join the mailinglist:
mailto:[log in to unmask], or:
http://museum-security.org/mailing.html#form
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