Latest news on art and antique theft. Data about stolen artworks and looted artifacts collected from art insurance brokers, auction houses, museums, and government agencies.
The Interior Ministry reported that in a 12 year period ranging from 2001 to 2013, nearly 800 churches and 53 mosques in Macedonia have been robbed by thieves taking religious and archaeological relics. In the first four months of 2013 alone, law enforcement reported nearly 40 churches having items stolen from their property.
Source: Aleksandar Pavelvski, “Macedonia Police Deal Blow To Organized Crime And Artifact Theft,” Eurasia Review, May 10, 2013.
In the Southern United States, officials have begum to notice people digging up graves in order to steal uniforms and other items that Confederate soldiers were buried in.
According to an article by the Augusta Chronicle, items stolen by grave diggers can be sold at a high price to antique collectors. A single button from the uniform of a Confederate solider can fetch up to $150. Full uniforms and service medals are sold between $500 to up to several thousands dollars. A sword used by a General can earn the grave digger between $20,000 to $30,000.
Source: Wesley Brown, “Grave-looting part of new black market for artifacts,” Augusta Chronicle, April 26, 2013.
According to art experts in Europe, as of 2013 there are still roughly 100,000 artworks that were stolen by the Nazis that are still missing. The value of the artwork based on modern-day valuations is $10 Billion.
Source: Patricia Cohen and Tom Mashberg, “Family, ‘Not Willing to Forget,’ Pursues Art It Lost to Nazis,” New York Times, April 26,2013.
The founding director of the Association for Research into Crimes against Art estimates that about 75 percent of art crimes involves antiquities. The high rate of antiquities is due to the retail sale value. A stolen painting is only able to get about 10 percent of its auction value due to its high-profile nature and the well-documented ownership trail. Antiquities, on the other hand, are able to fetch its full price on the market by forging its history and ownership.
Source: Ian Johnston, “New ‘intelligence’ body set to fight illicit trade in world’s priceless treasures,” NBC News, November 14, 2012.
According to the former head of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, a looter who steals antiques and artifacts only receives 1 percent of the final sale price. The other 99 percent in earnings are shared by the middleman and dealer.
Source: Associated Press, “Pakistan Struggles With Smuggled Buddhist Relics,” ABC News, October 4, 2012.
An artifact smuggler working out of Pakistan stated that he is able to sell a Buddha statue weighing between 40 to 80 kilograms for $20,000 on the global black market.
While digging, the smuggler says that he pays the local police station a bribe of $106 (10,000 Pakistani Rupees) as an advance, and $10.62 (1,000 Rupees) for each day of digging.
Source: AFP, “Millionaires unveil Pakistan’s artefact smuggling secrets,” DAWN, August 9, 2012.
As of April 2012, there were 350,000 stolen artworks from around the world listed in the database of the Art Loss Register.
The artwork is traded in the black market and used as a collateral for roughly 5 to 10 percent of its appraised value.
In a report by ABC News, the most highly valued art pieces have a value of over $1 Billion.
Source: Collen Curry, “The Most Valuable Works of Stolen Art No One Can Find,” ABC News, April 14, 2012.
According to the Art Loss Register, 40 percent of all art thefts takes place within Britain, and 19 percent occur in the United States.
Source: Rob Copper, “Picasso is the most stolen artist in the world with more than 1,000 of his pieces of work missing,” Daily Mail, January 27, 2012.
The Art Loss Register reported in January 2012 that the artist with the most stolen artwork was Pablo Picasso, with 1,147 pieces either stolen, missing or in dispute over ownership. The number of pieces for Picasso was double the amount of the second most stolen artist of Nick Lawrence, where 557 art works are missing.
Source: Rob Copper, “Picasso is the most stolen artist in the world with more than 1,000 of his pieces of work missing,” Daily Mail, January 27, 2012.
The black market in stolen art in the Canadian province of Quebec is valued at $19.5 Million (20 Million Canadian Dollars).
Source: “The world of stolen art,” CBC, September 27, 2011.
