Philosophy
General Eisenhower inspecting looted Nazi treasures.
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In July I wrote in reference to Zahi Hawass but it has thoughts for any country... The "State succession" is illogical and downright impossible to sustain. The "sins" of the father stop with the "father" and not passed on to succeeding generations. Reparations...
- Heinrich Schliemann, Priam’s Treasure, Troy, Anatolia, Hissarlik...real Or Not, Still A Good Story
The Love of Helen and Paris [Detail] Jacques-Louis David 1788 Sophia Schliemann wearing some of the treasure. Wikipedia... Priam’s Treasure is a cache of gold and other artifacts discovered by classical archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. Schliemann...
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What can one say...what can one do? Very little. Iraq is not unique in destruction and looting of archaeological sites and artifacts. Consider Afghanistan or Cambodia. "Damage sustained in the massive August attack on the Foreign Ministry adds to the...
Philosophy
Looted goods returned
General Eisenhower inspecting looted Nazi treasures.This is but a small token to lost national treasures and millions of pieces will remain missing [as those of Iraq] and the science of technology has certainly played a major roll in discovering the artifacts despite the fact that this enterprise will never be eliminated.
"Miami returns looted artifacts to Colombia
Pieces recovered in smuggler's stash"
by
Vanessa Blum
July 9th, 2008
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
There were emerald beads as large as thimbles. A ceremonial statue of a man chewing a coca wad. A gold filigree nose ornament and other jewelry buried in Colombian graves 1,000 years ago or more.
On Tuesday, U.S. officials in Miami returned to the Colombian government those relics and others recovered during a 2005 art smuggling investigation.
Experts described the cache of roughly 60 antiquities as a priceless cultural treasure, with some items dating back as far as 500 B.C.
"These pieces are part of the history, part of the identity of the Colombian people," said Diego Herrera, director of the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History. "They are not commodities."
Carol Damian, an art history professor at Florida International University, examined all of the artifacts and authenticated them as pre-Columbian — that is of the era preceding the exploration of the Americas by Christopher Columbus.
Damian said the items were ritual objects looted from Colombian grave sites. That authorities found many of the art pieces stored haphazardly in a 1985 GMC van belonging to Italian art dealer Ugo Bagnato shows "callous disregard" for their significance, Damian said.
South Florida law enforcement officials seized the artifacts during an undercover investigation that began after a Broward County drug suspect turned over five art pieces purchased from Bagnato. The suspect said Bagnato sold smuggled art from a "Winnebago-type" van, according to court records.
In September 2005 an undercover federal agent posed as a customer and met with Bagnato in a Broward warehouse. The agent purchased a clay vessel approximately 3,500 years old and a statue with a gold ring in its nose, each for $2,000, according to court records.
Authorities ultimately seized more than 400 items from Bagnato's van and Miami storage facility.
The Gemological Institute of America in San Diego, which planned to buy 16 Colombian emeralds from Bagnato, contacted authorities after learning of his arrest and turned over the gems. The emeralds, once strung as a necklace, range from .9 carats to more than 32 carats.
Bagnato pleaded guilty in 2007 to selling and receiving stolen goods. The Miami resident spent 17 months in prison before federal authorities deported him to Italy.
Last year authorities returned to the Peruvian government more than 400 antiquities recovered from Bagnato, including ancient pottery, burial shrouds and gold jewelry.
Anthony Mangione, special agent-in-charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in South Florida, said such artifacts should not be treated "as souvenirs to be displayed in somebody's house."
"The United States is not going to stand idly by while people plunder other nations' treasures," Mangione said.
"Miami returns looted artifacts to Colombia
Pieces recovered in smuggler's stash"
by
Vanessa Blum
July 9th, 2008
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
There were emerald beads as large as thimbles. A ceremonial statue of a man chewing a coca wad. A gold filigree nose ornament and other jewelry buried in Colombian graves 1,000 years ago or more.
On Tuesday, U.S. officials in Miami returned to the Colombian government those relics and others recovered during a 2005 art smuggling investigation.
Experts described the cache of roughly 60 antiquities as a priceless cultural treasure, with some items dating back as far as 500 B.C.
"These pieces are part of the history, part of the identity of the Colombian people," said Diego Herrera, director of the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History. "They are not commodities."
Carol Damian, an art history professor at Florida International University, examined all of the artifacts and authenticated them as pre-Columbian — that is of the era preceding the exploration of the Americas by Christopher Columbus.
Damian said the items were ritual objects looted from Colombian grave sites. That authorities found many of the art pieces stored haphazardly in a 1985 GMC van belonging to Italian art dealer Ugo Bagnato shows "callous disregard" for their significance, Damian said.
South Florida law enforcement officials seized the artifacts during an undercover investigation that began after a Broward County drug suspect turned over five art pieces purchased from Bagnato. The suspect said Bagnato sold smuggled art from a "Winnebago-type" van, according to court records.
In September 2005 an undercover federal agent posed as a customer and met with Bagnato in a Broward warehouse. The agent purchased a clay vessel approximately 3,500 years old and a statue with a gold ring in its nose, each for $2,000, according to court records.
Authorities ultimately seized more than 400 items from Bagnato's van and Miami storage facility.
The Gemological Institute of America in San Diego, which planned to buy 16 Colombian emeralds from Bagnato, contacted authorities after learning of his arrest and turned over the gems. The emeralds, once strung as a necklace, range from .9 carats to more than 32 carats.
Bagnato pleaded guilty in 2007 to selling and receiving stolen goods. The Miami resident spent 17 months in prison before federal authorities deported him to Italy.
Last year authorities returned to the Peruvian government more than 400 antiquities recovered from Bagnato, including ancient pottery, burial shrouds and gold jewelry.
Anthony Mangione, special agent-in-charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in South Florida, said such artifacts should not be treated "as souvenirs to be displayed in somebody's house."
"The United States is not going to stand idly by while people plunder other nations' treasures," Mangione said.
- Drug Sniffing Dogs And Civil Rights
Maybe a good idea, but I have seen people use a screwdriver as a hammer."Supreme Court to Decide if Cops Can Raid Homes Based on Drug-Sniffing Dog"byDavid Kravets January 6th, 2012WiredThe Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide for the first time whether...
- No Sense Of History For China's Tomb Raiders
"China's tomb raiders laying waste to thousands of years of history"Bulldozers and dynamite used to strip priceless artefacts from remote sites, with booty sold on to wealthy collectorsbyTania BraniganJanuary 1st, 2012guardian.co.ukChina's extraordinary...
- Aphrodite Statue On A Oneway Trip To Italy
In July I wrote in reference to Zahi Hawass but it has thoughts for any country... The "State succession" is illogical and downright impossible to sustain. The "sins" of the father stop with the "father" and not passed on to succeeding generations. Reparations...
- Heinrich Schliemann, Priam’s Treasure, Troy, Anatolia, Hissarlik...real Or Not, Still A Good Story
The Love of Helen and Paris [Detail] Jacques-Louis David 1788 Sophia Schliemann wearing some of the treasure. Wikipedia... Priam’s Treasure is a cache of gold and other artifacts discovered by classical archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. Schliemann...
- War And Cultural Heritage
What can one say...what can one do? Very little. Iraq is not unique in destruction and looting of archaeological sites and artifacts. Consider Afghanistan or Cambodia. "Damage sustained in the massive August attack on the Foreign Ministry adds to the...