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theft

  • SOURCE: The Art Newspaper
    8-15-13

    Medieval panels stolen from Devon church

    The Henrician and Cromwellian iconoclasms destroyed most British medieval religious art, making any survivals very precious. The theft last month of two panels from the rood screen in the church of Holy Trinity, Torbryan, Devon, is, therefore, a major tragedy for the art world.The stolen panels show St Victor of Marseilles and St Margaret of Antioch. The thieves also damaged a neighbouring panel of a female saint.The oak rood, otherwise intact, was constructed and painted between 1460 and 1470, and the artistry is of a very high quality. The church is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), a national charity that aims to protect historic churches at risk....

  • SOURCE: WaPo
    8-8-13

    In search for stolen art, Romania finds traces of 19th-, 20th-century paint in ash from oven

    BUCHAREST, Romania — A Romanian museum official says some of the paint pigments recovered from an oven of a woman whose son is charged with stealing seven multimillion-dollar paintings in the Netherlands contain chemicals from colors used in the 19th and 20th century, but aren’t commonly used anymore.Forensic scientists at Romania’s National History Museum examined ash from the stove of Olga Dogaru, whose son is the chief suspect in last year’s theft of paintings, which include a Matisse, a Picasso and a Monet.Authorities said Dogaru initially admitted burning the paintings to protect her son, but later denied it....

  • SOURCE: Pacific Standard
    7-30-13

    How common is theft at archaeological sites?

    ...How common is tomb raiding? It turns out the archaeologists on the Wari site [a new archaeological find in Cusco, Peru] were right to keep their mouths shut about their discovery. A University of Glasgow project, “Trafficking Culture,” has attempted to document the market for antiquities stolen from archaeological digs. The numbers are huge. Here’s a typical entry from an air-based survey of looting patterns, in this case from sites in the Sahara:

  • SOURCE: Kansas City Star
    7-9-13

    Theft of pioneer woman statue grabs attention

    Independence wants its pioneer woman back.The recent theft and apparent destruction of the 6-foot bronze statue that for more than 20 years stood sentinel outside the National Frontier Trails Museum has been taken personally by residents and overland trails buffs.Museum officials are discussing a possible fundraising campaign to finance a replacement pioneer, and three sculptors already have volunteered their services....Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/07/09/4337559/replacement-considered-for-stolen.html#storylink=cpy

  • SOURCE: WaPo
    5-14-13

    NARA returns Landau docs

    BALTIMORE — FBI and National Archive officials are returning to their rightful owners more than 10,000 important historical documents seized during a massive theft investigation involving a well-known collector of presidential memorabilia.Barry Landau and assistant Jason Savedoff were caught stealing documents from the Maryland Historical Society almost two years ago. An investigation led authorities to a cache of thousands of stolen documents in Landau’s New York City apartment, including some containing a who’s who of American and international history. Both men pleaded guilty to their crimes and are serving prison sentences.Now, officials are returning the documents to 24 identified victims nationwide, including university libraries and historical societies in New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. On Monday, they returned 21 items to the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore....