Trafficking Culture latest updates

Conference review - Objects and Landscape: Understanding the medieval through finds recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:32:33 +0000

In most years the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS – http://finds.org.uk) has organized a conference at London’s British Museum (where its central office is also based), which in previous years has covered various themes, including marking ten years of PAS in 2007, and a conference comparing management of portable antiquities in other European jurisdictions in 2009. PAS operates across England and Wales, and through its network of Finds Liaison Officers (FLOs) allows finders of archaeological material, primarily metal-detector users, to report and record their discoveries. It was established in 1997, initially as a pilot scheme, to complement the Treasure Act 1996, which also came into force that year in England and Wales (in Scotland the legislation is different).

Access to full content of The European Archaeologist 38.

Getty ships Aphrodite back to Sicily

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:41:37 +0000

The J. Paul Getty Museum’s iconic statue of Aphrodite was quietly escorted back to Sicily by Italian police last week, ending a decades-long dispute over an object whose craftsmanship, importance and controversial origins have been likened to the Parthenon marbles in the British Museum.

The 7-foot tall, 1,300-pound statue of limestone and marble was painstakingly taken off display at the Getty Villa and disassembled in December. Last week, it was locked in shipping crates with an Italian diplomatic seal and loaded aboard an Alitalia flight to Rome, where it arrived on Thursday. From there it traveled with an armed police escort by ship and truck to the small hilltop town of Aidone, Sicily, where it arrived Saturday to waiting crowds.

The Ancient World meets the Modern World: A Primer on the Restitution of Looted Antiquities

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:01:17 +0000

Countries whose borders encompass the rich culture of ancient lands have struggles for decades to prevent the unauthorized excavation and smuggling of their cultural artifacts, and to attempt to reclaim them after they are discovered in the possession of museums, galleries, and collectors. A few recent developments serve merely as illustrations of the increasing number of claims being asserted by so-called “art-rich” countries around the world.

Recent UK measures against the international illicit trade in cultural objects: outlining the UK strategy

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:27:53 +0000

Until recently Switzerland and the UK were branded as centres for the trafficking in art and antiquities unlawfully removed from monuments and sites around the world.

Images of looting at Apamea added to Data – Updated

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:00:23 +0000

Trafficking Culture has been given permission to disseminate two images captured using Google Earth showing Apamea in Syria.

The two images show the same archaeological site, the remains of the ancient city of Apamea, firstly as captured by Google Earth on 20th July 2011, and then on 4th April 2012. The scale of looting in between the months when the images were taken can be seen clearly.

The images, added to our ever-growing Data section, are reproduced with kind permission from Dr Ignacio Arce, Director of the Spanish Archaeological Mission to Jordan, who originally took the images from Google Earth.

*Update*

Following publication on our website of these images, further Google Earth images of Apamea, spanning from December 2003 to April 2012 have been sent to us for dissemination. These have been added to the Data section on the same page as the other Apamea images. Thanks to Daniel Pett from the British Museum for allowing us to share these images here.

If you have any information which you feel would appropriate for inclusion in the Data section of our website, please contact us to discuss.

The Amazing Catch They Let Slip Away

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:15:52 +0000

FANO, Italy — On a summer day in 1964, the 60-foot trawler Ferruccio Ferri pushed off from this port before dawn. It motored southeast, cutting through the Adriatic Sea toward a submerged outcropping where fish gathered, 32 nautical miles out.

Neil Brodie and Donna Yates talking at Amherst

Sat, 04 May 2013 19:20:25 +0000

Neil Brodie and Donna Yates are both speaking at the forthcoming conference, “The past for sale? New Perspectives on the Economic Entanglements of Cultural Heritage”, taking place at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Center for Heritage and Society, May 15-17.

Donna presents a paper titled “Sticks v. Stones: A Comparative Discussion of the Commericialization and Regulation of Palaeontological and Archaeological Material”, on Wednesday 15th May, which is co-authored with Ross A Elgin from the Department of Geology, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe (SMNK).

Neil gives the Plenary paper on Thursday 16th May: “The Antiquities Market: It’s All In A Price”.

Donna will also be conducting research in Boston (USA) for a short period from Monday 6th May, and is happy to make contact with anyone in the area who would like to discuss her research or the wider research of Trafficking Culture.

There is a preliminary programme available for the conference.

Internship opportunity in Cambodia

Fri, 03 May 2013 07:26:41 +0000

This summer, Tess Davis will lead Tulane University law students to the Southeast Asian Kingdom of Cambodia, where they will work to study and combat the illicit antiquities trade.

In recent years, looters have have decimated Cambodia’s archaeological heritage in search of buried treasures to sell on the global art market. The trafficking of these artefacts has developed into a criminal industry that spans the world. To counter this plunder, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (MOCFA) partnered with Tulane to create an internship, through which US law students would work to better protect the kingdom’s heritage using national, foreign, and international law. The first program took place last summer in Phnom Penh.

To learn more about this year’s opportunity, visit http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsAbroad/Siena.aspx?id=16520.

'Walking a fine line: Obtaining sensitive information using a valid methodology

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:25:21 +0000

In the global marketplace for cultural objects there are illegal elements at every stage. Individuals clandestinely pillage archaeological sites. The artefacts then move through a series of both legal and illegal conduits to arrive at a salesroom or auction house for sale to private collectors or museums that turn a blind eye to the question of provenance (archaeological findspot).

Vulnerability and Cultural Heritage conference, Leicester

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:42:33 +0000

Simon Mackenzie, Neil Brodie and Jessica Dietzler are all giving papers at the forthcoming conference “Vulnerability and Cultural Heritage I: heritage crime, illicit trade, stewardship and ethics“, to be held at the University of Leicester, UK, on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th May.

On the 9th of May Neil talks about “Provenance and price: The invisible hand of the antiquities market?”, and Simon talks about “Conditions for guilt-free consumption in a transnational criminal market”. Then on the 10th Jessica gives a paper titled “On antiquities and wildlife trafficking: similarities and peculiarities of regulation and control in two transnational criminal markets”.

The two-day conference features a range of specialist speakers, including several Friends of Trafficking Culture: Janet Ulph (who is also the organiser of the event); Kathy Tubb; Derek Fincham, and Mark Harrison.

A poster about the event can be found here: Vulnerability and Cultural Heritage.

Booking details to attend are available via the conference website.

The Fundamental Importance of Archaeological Context

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 23:36:34 +0000

This piece offers some reasons why law and law enforcement agencies should be spending their resources on the preservation of our collective past.

Anti-Looting posters from Belize added to our Data section

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:02:01 +0000

In early 2013 Belize’s Institute of Archaeology, a division of the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) launched an anti-looting campaign and were kind enough to share two of their posters with us. We are very interested in popular media campaigns against looting and look forward to sharing more examples from around the world.

The posters are available in the Data section of our website at:

http://traffickingculture.org/data/anti-looting-campaign-posters-from-belize/

Trafficking Culture Launches Tumblr

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:50:37 +0000

We have a new addition to our social media! In an effort to reach a wider audience of students, scholars, and the general public, we will now be sharing entries from our encyclopedia on the official Trafficking Culture Tumblr: traffickingculture.tumblr.com

You can expect bi-weekly updates, as well news and reblogs of related objects and issues. If you’re on Tumblr, be sure to follow us!

“Plunder!” a talk by Neil Brodie on 25 April in Liverpool

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:45:36 +0000

Neil Brodie will give a talk on the trade in looted antiquities in Liverpool on 25 April. The talk will be at 6:30pm at Cafe 17, 17 Hatton Garden, L3 2HA. All are welcome to attend.

Recent UK initiatives against illicit trade in antiquities, including accession to the 1970 UNESCO Convention

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 09:47:56 +0000

Britain has the second largest art market in the world, second only to the USA. In 1998, art market sales in the United Kingdom totalled just under £3,300 million.

SCCJR Working Lunches

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:46:08 +0000

The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, in which Trafficking Culture is based, recommences its Working Lunch series of seminars next week. These are a regular opportunity, usually on Wednesdays between 12.30 and 2pm, at the Meeting Room, Ivy Lodge, 63 Gibson Street, Glasgow.

The Working Lunches offer an opportunity to hear about and discuss current criminological research from within SCCJR itself and from further afield. The next few Working Lunches are as follows:

24 April International Law and the Fight against Impunity: From Nurenberg to Today (Prof. Mark V. Vlasic, Senior Fellow & Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University)

1 May Criminal Justice and Health and Wellbeing (Sally Wyke, Institute of Health and Wellbeing) Professor Sally Wyke, Deputy Director of the IHW, will be joining us for an open discussion to explore the potential for future collaboration and research activities. Further information about Sally’s current work is available at: http://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/socialsciences/ourstaff/sallywyke/

15 May Scottish Justice Matters (Mary Munro, Scottish Consortium for Crime and Criminal Justice) Mary is coming to discuss the SCCCJ’s new publishing venture, Scottish Justice Matters. For further details, please see: http://www.scccj.org.uk/index.php/scccj-publications/scottish-justice-matters/

29 May TBC

12 June People with Learning Disabilities and the Criminal Justice System (Jayne Porter, Autism Network Scotland) Jayne Porter is Network Adviser at the Autism Network Scotland, a government-funded organisation which supports the development of a better understanding of autism (see: www.autismworkscotland.org.uk). Jayne is currently developing an autism specific Criminal Justice Network across Scotland and is keen to develop links with SCCJR and explore the possibility of future research collaborations.

26 June Violence in Young Offender Institutions for Young Women (Dr Anke Neuber, University of Kassel) SCCJR Visiting Fellow, Dr Anke Neuber, will be discussing her ongoing qualitative longitudinal study of young women in Young Offenders Institutions in Germany.

Tea, coffee and biscuits are provided. All are welcome, however, the Meeting Room has a limited capacity, and therefore we ask potential attendees to contact the convenor, Dr Susan Batchelor (susan.batchelor@glasgow.ac.uk), in advance of the Working Lunch to ensure their place at the seminar.

Ex-Getty Curator Received 2nd Loan

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:56:18 +0000

The J. Paul Getty Museum’s former antiquities curator, Marion True, received a $400,000 personal loan from two wealthy art collectors just days after the museum closed a deal to acquire their collection, records and interviews show.

Suzie Thomas presenting in Reykjavik

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:56:25 +0000

On Monday 22nd April, Suzie Thomas talks about her research for Trafficking Culture at the Nordic TAG conference, hosted by the University of Iceland, Reykjavik.

In the session, ‘Behind the (Iron) Curtain: Looking back on Soviet Archaeology’, Suzie speaks last, discussing ‘The trafficking of cultural objects in post-Soviet Russia’, drawing on her recent qualitative and literature research.

On Tuesday 23rd April she is involved presenting in and co-chairing a session titled ‘Community Archaeology and the University’.

Nordic TAG runs from 21st to 25th April and while this year is hosted in Reykjavik, is an annual event inspired by the primarily UK-based Theoretical Archaeological Group, and is hosted by a different academic institution in a Nordic nation. Previous Nordic TAGs have been held in Aarhus (Denmark), Trondheim (Norway), Kalmar (Sweden) and Oulu (Finland).

Markets and Responsibilities: Forgeries and the Sale of Goods Act 1979

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:00:19 +0000

This article discusses the position where a seller innocently sells a forged painting or other cultural object to another. It considers the application of the Sale of Goods Act 1979. The article argues that an independent statute or a code of practice would be desirable to provide guidance to buyers and sellers of cultural objects, to encourage sellers to be more vigilant in checking the provenance of an object, and to address the difficult question of what should be done with an object once it is discovered to be a forgery.

A life in shards: A passion for art, a perilous pursuit

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 06:53:38 +0000

‘Scholar’s quest leads through war, addiction and hardship to arrest.’

Three part series of articles profiling Southeast Asian ceramics expert Roxanna Brown.