Crime in the Art and Antiquities World

Crime in the Art and Antiquities World PDF Author: Stefano Manacorda
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1441979468
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 446

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Book Description
The theft, trafficking, and falsification of cultural property and cultural heritage objects are crimes of a particularly complex nature, which often have international ramifications and significant economic consequences. Organized criminal groups of various types and origins are involved in these illegal acts. The book Crime in the Art and Antiquities World has contributions both from researchers specializing in the illegal trafficking of art, and representatives of international institutions involved with prevention and detection of cultural property-related crimes, such as Interpol and UNESCO. This work is a unique and useful reference for scholars and private and public bodies alike. This innovative volume also includes an Appendix of the existing legal texts, i.e. international treaties, conventions, and resolutions, which have not previously been available in a single volume. As anyone who has undertaken research or study relating to the protection of cultural heritage discovers one of the frustrations encountered is the absence of ready access to the multi- various international instruments which exist in the field. Since the end of the Second World War these instruments have proliferated, first in response to increasing recognition of the need for concerted multinational action to give better protection to cultural property during armed conflict as well as ensuring the repatriation of cultural property looted during such conflict. Thus the international community agreed in 1954 upon a Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. That Convention, typically referred to as the Hague Convention of 1954, is now to be found reproduced in the Appendix to this book (Appendix I) together with 25 other important and diverse documents that we believe represent a core of the essential international sources of reference in this subject area. In presenting these documents in one place we hope that readers will now experience less frustration while having the benefit of supplementing their understanding and interpretation of the various instruments by referring to individual chapters in the book dealing with a particular issue or topic. For example, Chapter 9 by Mathew Bogdanos provides some specific and at times rather depressing descriptions of the application in the field of the Hague Convention 1954, and its Protocols (Appendices II and III), to the armed conflict in Iraq. Reference may also be had to the resolution of the UN Security Council in May 2003 (Appendix VI) urging Member States to take appropriate steps to facilitate the safe return of looted Iraqi cultural property taken from the Iraq National Museum, the National Library and other locations in Iraq. Despite such pleas the international antiquities market seems to have continued to trade such looted property in a largely unfettered manner, as demonstrated by Neil Brodie in Chapter 7. Fittingly, as referred to in the Preface to this book, the last document contained in the Appendix (Appendix 26) is the “Charter of Courmayeur”, formulated at a ground breaking international workshop on the protection of cultural property conducted by the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council (ISPAC) to the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Program in Courmayeur, Italy, in June 1992. The Charter makes mention of many of the instruments contained in the Appendix while also foreshadowing many of the developments which have taken place in the ensuing two decades designed to combat illicit trafficking in cultural property through international collaboration and action in the arena of crime prevention and criminal justice.

Trafficking Culture

Trafficking Culture PDF Author: Simon Mackenzie
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315532190
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Trafficking Culture outlines current research and thinking on the illicit market in antiquities. It moves along the global trafficking chain from ‘source’ to ‘market’, identifying the main roles and routines involved. Using original research, the authors explore the dynamics of this ‘grey’ market, where legal and illegal goods are mixed and conflated. It compares and contrasts this illicit trade with other ‘transnational criminal markets’, such as the illegal trades in wildlife and diamonds. The analytical frames of organized crime and white-collar crime, drawn from criminology, provide a fresh perspective on a problem that has tended to be seen as archaeological, rather than criminological. Bringing insights from both disciplines together, this book represents a productive discourse between experts in these two fields, working together for several years to produce the evidence base that is reported here. Innovative forms of regulation are the most productive way to explore crime control in this field, and this book provides a series of propositions about practical crime reduction measures for the future. It will be invaluable to academics working in the fields of archaeology, criminology, art history, museum studies, and heritage. The book will also be a vital resource for professionals in the field of cultural property protection and preservation.

Chasing Aphrodite

Chasing Aphrodite PDF Author: Jason Felch
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 0547538022
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 397

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Book Description
A “thrilling, well-researched” account of years of scandal at the prestigious Getty Museum (Ulrich Boser, author of The Gardner Heist). In recent years, several of America’s leading art museums have voluntarily given up their finest pieces of classical art to the governments of Italy and Greece. Why would they be moved to such unheard-of generosity? The answer lies at the Getty, one of the world’s richest and most troubled museums, and scandalous revelations that it had been buying looted antiquities for decades. Drawing on a trove of confidential museum records and candid interviews, these two journalists give us a fly-on-the-wall account of the inner workings of a world-class museum, and tell a story of outlandish characters and bad behavior that could come straight from the pages of a thriller. “In an authoritative account, two reporters who led a Los Angeles Times investigation reveal the details of the Getty Museum’s illicit purchases, from smugglers and fences, of looted Greek and Roman antiquities. . . . The authors offer an excellent recap of the museum’s misdeeds, brimming with tasty details of the scandal that motivated several of America’s leading art museums to voluntarily return to Italy and Greece some 100 classical antiquities worth more than half a billion dollars.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “An astonishing and penetrating look into a veiled world where beauty and art are in constant competition with greed and hypocrisy. This engaging book will cast a fresh light on many of those gleaming objects you see in art museums.” —Jonathan Harr, author of The Lost Painting

Illicit Antiquities

Illicit Antiquities PDF Author: Neil Brodie
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134568223
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
The exploitation of archaeological sites for commercial gain is a serious problem worldwide. In peace and during wartime archaeological sites and cultural institutions, both on land and underwater, are attacked and their contents robbed for sale on an international 'antiquities' market. Objects are excavated without record, smuggled across borders and sold for exorbitant prices in the salesrooms of Europe and North America. In some countries this looting has now reached such a scale as to threaten the very survival of their archaeological and cultural heritage. This volume highlights the deleterious effects of the trade on cultural heritage, but in particular it focuses upon questions of legal and local responses: How can people become involved in the preservation of their past and what, in economic terms, are the costs and benefits? Are international conventions or export restrictions effective in diminishing the volume of the trade and the scale of its associated destruction?

Transnational Crime and the Interface Between Legal and Illegal Actors

Transnational Crime and the Interface Between Legal and Illegal Actors PDF Author: Antonius Johannes Gerhardus Tijhuis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789058501950
Category : Antiquities
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This study focuses on the interfaces between legal and illegal actors engaging in transnational crimes. These interfaces can be quite complex as the cases of Udo Proksch and Cornelius M. illustrate. Due to this complexity, such cases and the related interfaces cannot be caught easily with clear-cut and mutually excluding categories like 'transnational (organized) crime' versus 'legitimate' businesses and government agencies. The boundaries between transnational crime, terrorism, corporate crime and state crime fade away as one focuses on such concrete cases. As the rest of this study will show, the characteristics of these cases appear to be far more representative of transnational crimes in general than usually assumed. For a number of reasons, a study that focuses solely on interfaces can be an important and necessary addition to the existing criminological studies. The first reason has to do with the mentioned lack of systematic studies of the interfaces between legal and illegal actors. The second reason has to do with the observation mentioned above. By studying interfaces between legal and illegal actors, the rather thin boundaries between transnational crime, corporate crime and other types of crime become clear. Only after these boundaries are crossed, or even leveled, transnational crimes can be understood from a broader perspective. From such a perspective, transnational crimes are always taking place against a specific background of economic factors, state policies and legislation, as well as other factors. Thirdly, a systematic study of interfaces can help to indicate the different types and causes of interfaces that can be found in different types of transnational crime. Finally, as the role of legal actors with all kinds of transnational crimes is clarified, more effective legislative and policy instruments can be designed to counter this role. The first half of this study will be based on the literature on transnational crimes. The second half will describe the empirical research of the illicit art and antiquities trade that was done specifically for this study. The illicit art and antiquities trade was chosen for several reasons. On the one hand because it is a type of crime that is known for its interfaces between legal and illegal actors and on the other hand because empirical studies of this type of crime have been scarce, especially from a criminological perspective.

Tracking and Disrupting the Illicit Antiquities Trade with Open Source Data

Tracking and Disrupting the Illicit Antiquities Trade with Open Source Data PDF Author: Matthew Sargent
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 1977404138
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 167

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Book Description
The illicit antiquities market is fueled by a well-documented rise in looting at archaeological sites and a fear that the proceeds of such looting may be financing terrorism or rogue states. In this report, the authors compile evidence from numerous open sources to outline the major policy-relevant characteristics of that market and to propose the way forward for developing policies intended to disrupt illicit networks.

Stealing History

Stealing History PDF Author: Roger Atwood
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1429901357
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Roger Atwood knows more about the market for ancient objects than almost anyone. He knows where priceless antiquities are buried, who is digging them up, and who is fencing and buying them. In this fascinating book, Atwood takes readers on a journey through Iraq, Peru, Hong Kong, and across America, showing how the worldwide antiquities trade is destroying what's left of the ancient sites before archaeologists can reach them, and thus erasing their historical significance. And it is getting worse. The discovery of the legendary Royal Tombs of Sipan in Peru started an epidemic. Grave robbers scouring the courntryside for tombs--and finding them. Atwood recounts the incredible story of the biggest piece of gold ever found in the Americas, a 2,000-year-old, three-pound masterpiece that cost one looter his life, sent two smugglers to jail, and wrecked lives from Panama to Pennsylvainia. Packed with true stories, this book not only reveals what has been found, but at what cost to both human life and history.

Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, and the Antiquities Trade

Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, and the Antiquities Trade PDF Author: Neil Brodie
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780813033396
Category : Antiquities
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A collection of essays, this work investigates the ways that commodifying artifacts fuels the destruction of archaeological heritage and considers what can be done to protect it. It argues that the antiquities market impacts cultural heritage around the world and is a burgeoning global crisis.

Introduction to Object ID

Introduction to Object ID PDF Author: Robin Thornes
Publisher: Getty Publications
ISBN: 0892365722
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 73

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Book Description
The illicit trade in art and other cultural objects now constitutes one of the most prevalent categories of international crime. Law-enforcement agencies have long recognized that documentation is critical to the protection and recovery of these objects. Standards were needed that would make it possible for information on stolen objects to move easily across electronic networks and, at the same time, that would be intelligible to law enforcement and art communities alike. Developed through the collaboration of museums, police and customs agencies, the art trade, the insurance industry, and appraisers of art and antiques, Object ID is an international standard that defines the minimal information needed to identify art, antiques, and antiquities. Introduction to Object ID summarizes the evolution of Object ID, explains its nine categories, and offers guidelines for using them. The book provides suggestions for writing descriptions of objects and includes a brief discussion of five additional categories that some institutions opt to employ. The second part of the book sets out guidelines for choosing viewpoints, selecting backgrounds, and positioning lighting when documenting cultural objects with photography. The Introduction to series acquaints professionals and students with the complex issues and technologies in the production, management, and dissemination of cultural heritage information resources.

Fighting the illicit trafficking of cultural property

Fighting the illicit trafficking of cultural property PDF Author: Boz, Zeynep
Publisher: UNESCO Publishing
ISBN: 9231002899
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description