- Another wall collapsed in Pompei, and though an additional $140 million in funding has been approved for the site, another unfair report of Italian cultural resource management in the British press.
- A new dispute in San Diego County over 10,000-year-old human remains. An attorney representing UC San Diego, James McManis, may want to choose his words with more care than these: “The idea that we’re going to turn this incredible treasure over to some local tribe because they think it’s grandma’s bones is crazy.”
- Put some drugs (or art) on the damn table: Making a case is hard, it takes funding, institutional commitment, and takes much longer than a simple seizure. Veteran police and prosecutors know this, and sometimes voice criticism over showy returns and recoveries that don’t build a case or actually target and take down criminal networks. Rick St. Hilaire has a great discussion of Homeland Security’s “seize and send” policy which sent a number of seized objects back to Italy this week.
- Art stolen in 1976, now recovered, will be sold at Sotheby’s on May 17.
- The art of patent applications.
- A “looted” stelae goes on display in Detroit (previously discussed here).
- Is there a “best Scream“?
- A roundup of Fisk’s victory: “The Collection will now disappear into the private home of an anonymous Russian oligarch, never to be seen … ”
Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com