Antiquities
Alleged head of Egyptian antiquities trafficking ring arrested in Paris
Serop Simonian was arrested in his hometown of Hamburg and transferred to France
British Museum antiquities thief alleged to be veteran curator Peter Higgs
Higgs, who was sacked earlier this year, is alleged to have sold uncategorised items from the museum's collection on eBay as early as 2016
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office returns two looted statues to Libya from the collection of disgraced former dealer Robin Symes
The artefacts, valued at a total of $1.26m, changed hands with a repatriation ceremony
Italy seeks the return of seven possibly looted works from the Louvre
The museum's director says works with dubious provenance are 'a stain in the collections of the Louvre'
'The most illiquid property you can have is a Greek vase': Vincent Geerling on the challenges facing the antiquities trade
The chairman of the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art reflects on an increasingly scrutinised industry as the organisation marks its 30th anniversary
‘Easily recognisable fakes’ among artefacts repatriated to Italy from the US
Forged objects have been identified among the 60 antiquities returned amid much fanfare earlier this year
Looted artefacts linked to disgraced British dealer Robin Symes returned to Italy
Restitution follows the return of 350 Neolithic and Byzantine objects from the same source to Greece
In Burkina Faso and Mali, pilot scheme builds defences against illegal trafficking of cultural antiquities
Icom and Aliph’s $250,000 project is providing training and security measures for 22 museums in countries ravaged by war
Antiquities dealer Ali Aboutaam given 18-month suspended sentence by Geneva court
Decision brings the six-year investigation into the provenance of 15,000 antiquities from Phoenix Ancient Art to an end, with only a handful found to lack proper documentation
US returns stolen artefact to Palestine as part of investigation into New York collector Michael Steinhardt
The US government has returned a looted ivory spoon in the first repatriation exchange between the two countries
Qatari sheikh wins £4.2m lawsuit against prominent London dealer John Eskenazi
While the judge decided the defendant sold the works in good faith, he ruled that all seven objects purchased by the sheikh are fakes
Antiquities trafficking charges against former Louvre director Jean-Luc Martinez and curator Jean-François Charnier could be dropped
The ruling of the examining chamber, expected next year, could overturn the investigation against both curators in a case implicating the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Metropolitan Museum
American billionaire's Cycladic antiquities collection unveiled in Athens as Greece and Metropolitan Museum of Art reach agreement
The Greek state is now the sole owner of the artefacts but all 161 pieces will be on a 25-year loan to the Met from January 2024
Disgraced antiquities dealer Subhash Kapoor sentenced to ten years in prison by Indian court
The ruling culminates an extensive investigation into a smuggling ring headed by Kapoor
A 2,000-year-old Israeli coin minted during the ‘great Jewish revolt’ repatriated by US authorities
The coin, a Quarter Shekel valued at $1m, was looted in from Israel in 2002 and had been headed for auction before being recovered by US Homeland Security agents in 2017
French art dealer Didier Wormser stands trial for trafficking looted Egyptian antiquities
Owner of L’Etoile d’Ishtar gallery said artefacts from Saqqara necropolis “should be restituted to Egypt” but insists he purchased them in good faith
How partition divided a centuries-old manuscript between India and Pakistan—and continues to plague the region's heritage
Research on the Chandayan of Mulla Da’ud has suffered ever since 24 folios narrating the love story were split up across the border in 1947
The Getty Museum will return a set of illegally excavated life-size statues to Italy
The group of figures, known as “Orpheus and the Sirens”, is one of four artefacts the museum is repatriating to Italy based on new evidence
British tourist’s 15-year prison sentence for antiquities smuggling overturned by Iraqi appeals court
James Fitton, a 66-year-old retired geologist, had been convicted of antiquities smuggling after taking pottery shards from an ancient site
Jailing of British visitor to Iraq could jeopardise tourism and soft diplomacy
After years of conflict and sanctions, heritage trips have been taking off in the area. But potential visitors may be wary after geologist Jim Fitton was given a 15-year sentence for taking “a few worthless pieces of broken pottery”
Louvre launches civil action as part of art trafficking case involving former director Jean-Luc Martinez
A number of objects purchased by the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are now under scrutiny—including an ancient Egyptian marble head worth €35m
Former Louvre director Jean-Luc Martinez charged in connection with antiquities trafficking investigation
Martinez has been indicted for “complicity of gang fraud and laundering“ of objects purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Louvre Abu Dhabi
Qatari sheikh loses appeal over fake antiquities claim against Phoenix Ancient Art
Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah al-Thani had accused the New York- and Geneva-based dealership of selling him two allegedly fake statues for a combined $5.2m
Italian court calls for restitution of ancient marble statue from Minneapolis Institute of Art
The two-metre-tall statue, which the museum acquired for $2.5m in 1986, was allegedly excavated illegally in the 1970s
Dealer suspected of selling looted antiquities to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Louvre Abu Dhabi detained in Paris
The Hamburg-based dealer Roben Dib was arrested in Paris last week. His lawyers say he will "fully cooperate with the investigation"
Two lots withdrawn from Christie’s antiquities sale after possible ties emerge to dealers known to traffic in illicit artefacts
The artefacts were flagged by Christos Tsiogiannis, who has, since 2006, been identifying looted antiquities through photographic archives of suspected and convicted dealers in plunder
Archaeologist calls for repatriation of Roman fresco in Getty collection that came from known antiquities traffickers
Research published by forensic archaeologist Christos Tsirogiannis suggests the brilliant fresco fragment may have been illegally excavated near Pompeii
Antiquities dealers appeal restrictive New York ban on ivory
The appeal primarily challenges restrictions around the display of commercial ivory objects in the state
US bans import of art and antiquities from Afghanistan
Experts in the trade question whether items seized by US customs under the new four-year policy will be returned to the Taliban
US restitution of 200 Italian artefacts a 'watershed' moment, Carabinieri chief says, as looted art trove arrives in Rome
Repatriation could lead to resolution in other cases of looted art in museums