#antiquitiestrafficking
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arca-artcrime.bsky.social
Explore the Frontlines of Art Crime: Join ARCA's 5-day professional development course on illicit antiquities trafficking in a global context & the Amelia Conference in Italy! www.artcrimeresearch.org/illicit-traf...

#ArtCrime #AntiquitiesTrafficking #Archaeology #ArtLaw #AmeliaConference
May 20, 2026 at 5:17 AM
ancienthistgeek.bsky.social
“Police finally swooped on the suspects after one of them posted on Facebook a picture of himself with a looted artefact, Cantone said.”
#AntiquitiesTrafficking #Etruscans #AncientBluesky🏺
www.reuters.com/lifestyle/it...
Italy recovers Etruscan artefacts dug up by 'amateurish' tomb raiders
Italian authorities have recovered precious 3rd century B.C. artefacts from an Etruscan necropolis looted by a couple of bungling tomb raiders in Umbria who stumbled across the haul on their land.
www.reuters.com
November 19, 2024 at 9:10 PM
efhoward.bsky.social
Serop Simonian, the alleged ringleader of an Egyptian antiquities trafficking network, has returned to Germany after being summoned by a French court. Looks like the art world has its own version of "Catch Me If You Can." 🏺✈️ #ArtCrime #AntiquitiesTrafficking #InternationalIntrigue​
Alleged Leader of Egyptian Antiquities Trafficking Ring Returns to Germany with French Court Summons
The 83-year-old dealer sold allegedly smuggled Egyptian antiquities to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
www.artnews.com
April 1, 2025 at 4:53 PM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
Manhattan District Attorney Office returned 36 looted antiquities valued around $5 million to Syria. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking #lootedartifacts #artfraud #artrecovery

www.artforum.com/news/new-yor...
New York Returns 36 Antiquities Worth $5 Million to Syria
The Manhattan District Attorney announced 36 trafficked or looted antiquities including mosaics and statuettes would be returned to Syria
www.artforum.com
September 28, 2026 at 2:57 PM
michaelblanding.bsky.social
COVER REVEAL! Proud to officially announce my next book, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO HOBBY LOBBY: Inside a Billionaire Family’s Quest to Craft a Christian Nation, to be published by PublicAffairs on July 14, 2026. #ChristianNationalism #Bible #Politics #Religion #ReligiousFreedom #AntiquitiesTrafficking
Book cover with the title "The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation" by Michael Blanding. The cover image shows a parking lot with a Hobby Lobby store in the bottom right corner, and a dark sky stretching upwards. A description of the book, starting, "A revelatory account of how the family behind Hobby Lobby rose to political prominence and used their influence—and fortune—to push a radical religious agenda" Further description of the book, ending, "Captivating and disturbing, The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby exposes the pivotal role the Green family has played in funding and empowering America’s dangerous, ascendant Christian nationalist movement."
November 12, 2025 at 7:53 PM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
Canada returns stolen manuscript pages to Turkey in first archaeological repatriation. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking

www.jpost.com/internationa...
Canada returns stolen manuscript pages to Turkey in ceremony | The Jerusalem Post
According to Ersoy, seven of the pages date to between the 17th-19th centuries, two are from rare printed works, and two are pages of modern calligraphy.
www.jpost.com
April 13, 2026 at 2:54 PM
michaelblanding.bsky.social
Support local independent bookstores by purchasing THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO HOBBY LOBBY through @bookshop.org --

Link: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
...
#booksky #nonfiction #investigative #christiannationalism #christianright #exvangelical #artcrime #antiquitiestrafficking
The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation
A revelatory account of how the family behind Hobby Lobby rose to political prominence and used their influence--and fortune--to push a radical religious agenda "Eye-opening . . . Blanding is at the h...
bookshop.org
August 12, 2026 at 1:54 PM
ancienthistgeek.bsky.social
“Based on the new evidence that was provided, the museum determined that the bronze was likely stolen and improperly imported, and has carried out the process of safely transferring the object."
AncientBluesky AntiquitiesTrafficking
www.telegram.com/story/news/l...
Worcester Art Museum transfers 'likely stolen' Roman bronze bust to Manhattan DA's office
Worcester Art Museum transfers 'likely stolen' Roman bronze bust 'Portrait of a Lady' to Manhattan DA's office after receiving new information.
www.telegram.com
September 3, 2023 at 5:26 PM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
"Christina’s World" by Andrew Wyeth, 1948. Currently located at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, U.S. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking #lootedartifacts #artfraud #artrecovery #paintingoftheday
November 21, 2025 at 2:37 PM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
"Farm Garden with Sunflowers" by Gustav Klimt in 1907. The painting is currently located at the Belvedere Palace and Museum in Vienna. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking #paintingoftheday
September 19, 2025 at 9:59 PM
ancienthistgeek.bsky.social
“The investigation into the sculpture's origins comes over a decade after the Turkish government's claimed that 21 objects at the Cleveland Museum of Art were linked to an illicit trade.”
AncientBluesky ClassicsBluesky AntiquitiesTrafficking
www.npr.org/2023/09/01/1...
www.npr.org
September 2, 2023 at 5:29 PM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Asian Art plans to return three looted bronze sculptures of Hindu gods and their followers to India. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking #lootedartifacts #artfraud #artrecovery

hyperallergic.com/smithsonian-...
Smithsonian to Return Three Looted Bronzes to Indian Government
The sculptures of Hindu gods and their followers were stolen from Tamil temples and smuggled out of India in the mid-20th century.
hyperallergic.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:57 PM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
"Tramp Steamer" by American artist Edward Hopper, 1908. Currently located at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking #lootedartifacts #artfraud #artrecovery #paintingoftheday
July 24, 2026 at 7:58 PM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the return of 147 antiquities totaling nearly $2.4 million to the people of Turkey, Pakistan, and Thailand. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking #lootedartifacts

manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-an...
D.A. Bragg Announces Return Of 147 Antiquities To The People Of Türkiye, Pakistan, And Thailand - Manhattan District Attorney's Office
“The breadth of these repatriations is a reminder of the global scope of antiquities trafficking,” said District Attorney Bragg. “None of this would be possible without the extraordinary investigative...
manhattanda.org
September 21, 2026 at 5:02 PM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
Greek art dealer, Giorgos Tsagkarakis, has been arrested on charges of art forgery and antiquities trafficking following a police investigation. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking

greekcitytimes.com/2026/03/21/g...
greekcitytimes.com
March 23, 2026 at 3:58 PM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
#WantedWednesday "A Study - The Bust of a Young Woman" by
Leon Wyczółkowski, 1884 - 1889. Originally displayed at the National Museum of Warsaw in 1939, the painting went missing under unknown circumstances. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking
August 27, 2025 at 2:27 PM
ancienthistgeek.bsky.social
CfP: ARCA’s 14th Annual Interdisciplinary Art Crime Conference
Abstracts accepted 1 Jan. 2025 – 30 Mar. 2025
#AntiquitiesTrafficking
www.artcrimeresearch.org/the-amelia-c...
The Amelia Conference – 2025 Call For Presenters | ARCA – Association for Research into Crimes against Art
www.artcrimeresearch.org
December 11, 2024 at 7:39 PM
gsnsp.com
Nancy Wiener Scandal: How a Global Antiquities Trafficking Network Fooled Museums for Decades #NancyWiener #AntiquitiesTrafficking #ArtCrime #StolenArtifacts #CulturalHeritageCrime #IllicitAntiquities #LootedArt #ArtSmuggling #MuseumScandal #ProvenanceFraud www.gsnsp.com/nancy-wiener...
Nancy Wiener: Art Dealer Who Trafficked History
True story of Nancy Wiener, the elite New York art dealer who masterminded a massive international antiquities trafficking ring.
www.gsnsp.com
April 30, 2026 at 8:09 AM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
#WantedWednesday Pablo Picasso painting recovered during raid. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking

www.goodnewsnetwork.org/e12-million-...
€12 Million Portrait of Picasso's 'Golden Muse' Recovered from Thieves After Paris Theft
At a house in Champagny-sur-Marne, police found bundles of cash, cannabis, some $230,000 worth of luxury fashion items, and the painting.
www.goodnewsnetwork.org
July 9, 2026 at 2:56 AM
ancienthistgeek.bsky.social
“The Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art in the Bronx has also relinquished a Turkish item to the Antiquities Trafficking Unit…the unit has removed “Young Caracalla Head,” also a bronze sculpture from the third century…”
AncientBluesky AntiquitiesTrafficking
Manhattan Prosecutors Seize a Bronze Bust Valued at $5 Million
The life-size sculpture, believed to represent the daughter of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, was in the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts.
www.nytimes.com
September 4, 2023 at 6:50 PM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
Four decades after culturally significant artifacts were stolen from the Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico, they have been recovered. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking

hyperallergic.com/1037100/deca...
Decades After “Heartbreaking” Thefts, Santa Ana Pueblo Recovers Stolen Artifacts
The repatriation effort is significant not just for the amount of time that has elapsed, but also because it is completely organized and funded by the Pueblo itself.
hyperallergic.com
October 13, 2025 at 5:11 PM
michaelblanding.bsky.social
Thanks to Lit Hub for including The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby on its list of Ten Great Nonfiction Titles to Read in July! “File this book into the category of stomach-churning and essential...” lithub.com/ten-great-no... #ChristianNationalism #Exvangelical #ArtCrime #AntiquitiesTrafficking
Ten Great Nonfiction Titles to Read in July
From the world’s wildest places to the origins of American fascism to memoirs of grief and recovery, July’s nonfiction has something for everyone. * The Savage Landscape, Cal Flyn Flyn’s 2021 book,…
lithub.com
July 3, 2026 at 5:26 PM
ancienthistgeek.bsky.social
Prove it: Cleveland Museum of Art lawsuit challenges New York DA to prove bronze sculpture was stolen - Analysis

AncientBluesky 🏺 AntiquitiesTrafficking
www.cleveland.com/news/2023/10...
Prove it: Cleveland Museum of Art lawsuit challenges New York DA to prove bronze sculpture was stole...
It's rare to see a major American art museum sue law enforcement over returning an allegedly looted antiquity.
www.cleveland.com
October 25, 2023 at 4:50 PM
ancienthistgeek.bsky.social
“Over the subsequent years, it was determined that as many as nine, possibly ten, life-sized bronze statues originating from Bubon had been sold onward…some were smuggled out of the country and into Switzerland, passing through the hands of Robert Hecht…”
AncientBluesky 🏺 AntiquitiesTrafficking
Seizure: The Emperor as Philosopher, probably Marcus Aurelius ha seized by the New York District Att...
"A blog about art crimes, illicit trafficking, forgery, art theft and cultural heritage protection."
art-crime.blogspot.com
September 4, 2023 at 8:01 PM
odysseygcllc.bsky.social
"Moonlight" by Knud Baade, 1869. Currently located at the KODE Art Museum in Bergen, Norway. #OGC #artdetective #artcrime #arttheft #antiquitiestrafficking #paintingoftheday
September 18, 2026 at 8:12 PM