#art-trafficking

#art-trafficking

Scams involving antiques and collectibles are almost as old as some of the items. But internet sales now mean fraudsters have a much wider audience.

The Helmet of Cotofenesti, a priceless gold artefact from Romania, was stolen in January 2025 during a robbery at the Drents Museum in the Netherlands.

A man broke into the victim's home and stole more than $600,000 worth of property, including designer handbags and jewelry. After weeks of investigating, including working with San Diego and Glendale police, authorities executed a search warrant on the suspect's home in Temecula on Feb. 25 and found the victim's property and a whole lot more.

The 40-year-old suspect, identified as Alexander Taylor Weis, allegedly caused $240,000 worth of damage to multiple plant-shaped glass artworks on Monday night, March 16. He was later arrested on suspicion of burglary and assault after police arrived at the venue, which is directly adjacent to the city's Space Needle observation tower.

The exquisite, jewel-encrusted boxes were badly damaged in 2024, after they were among seven treasures stolen from Paris's Musée Cognacq-Jay by a gang of axe-wielding thieves. The perpetrators broke into the temporary exhibition, titled "Luxe de Poche," or "Pocket Luxury," on November 20, making off with goods that were, at the time, reported to be worth more than €1 million.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote about the "inalienable" rights of man in the US Declaration of Independence 250 years ago, it's possible he lifted the term from the French. And long before it was ever used as an adjective to describe human rights, it defined royal property. To this day, "inalienability" remains a cornerstone of public collections in France-and many other countries-impacting museums and their ability to deaccession, including for purposes of restitution.

Dating back multiple centuries, the sculptures had been stolen from Tamil temples and smuggled out of India in the mid-20th century, leaving murky provenance records before the Smithsonian's acquisition. The museum said that one of the three bronzes, "Shiva Nataraja" (Chola dynasty, c. 990 CE), will remain at the NMAA for an ongoing exhibition on a long-term loan agreement, sparking questions about the Indian government's capacity to make decisions on what is technically the religious property of the temple of origin.