The US Supreme Court has refused to grant a final appeal to a Florida company that discovered treasure on a sunken Spanish vessel but was then ordered to return the gold and silver to Spain.

The Court did not give a reason for refusing the request from salvage specialist Odyssey Marine Exploration, which recovered 17 tons of silver and gold from the wreck of the “Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes” five years ago. 

The decision effectively confirmed a February 1 ruling by a federal court in Atlanta that the ship, which was sunk in 1804 near the Strait of Gibraltar during a battle with the British fleet, remained the property of Spain. 

The ship was found in May 2007 at a depth of 1,700 feet in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal. It was returning from Peru.  The Court also refused an appeal from Peru, which had sought to prevent the treasure being returned to Spain.

Read old posts on the Black Swan case on CPAL.

McGuigan explained, “This is nonsense. This is the FBI. Are you trying to tell me they missed something the first time? They’re trying to find $500 million of stolen artwork. … All they’re going to find is night crawlers.”

In 1990, thieves looted half a million dollars worth of paintings by Rembrandt, Manet, Degas, and Vermeer from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Gentile told authorities that he does not have any information about the heist.

Read the full article Agents swarm reputed mobster’s home in Conn.

Thanks to Kristina Bauer for her assistance with this post.

Italy claims the bronze statue of a victorious athlete was illegally exported from Italy before the museum bought it for $4 million in 1976. The statue is one of the rare complete bronzes and believed to have been made by Alexander the Great’s personal sculptor Lysippus.

In 1964, Italian fisherman found the statue caught in their nets in international waters and brought it ashore in the small town of Fano. They then buried it in a cabbage field and hid it in a priest’s bathtub instead of declaring it to the custom officials. For some time, the statue was missing but then resurfaced in London during the early 1970’s, which is when Mr. J. Paul Getty was first captivated by the piece. Getty never authorized the purchase of the statue, aware of the potential legal issues. After his death, that his museum purchased the statue.

In 2007, a criminal case was filed in an Italian court concerning the statue after Italy’s requests for return of the statue from the museum were denied. In 2010, a judge ordered the statue be seized, but Getty appealed the ruling to Italy’s highest court. Getty argued that the seizure order is not valid because no crime has been proved. Even if Italy’s high court upholds the seizure order, Italy will still need to convince U.S. authorities to enforce it.

Read Settlement Negotiations in the Getty Bronze Dispute (with a great narrative of the statue’s origin)

Read the full article Italian court upholds claim on Getty Bronze

Thanks to Kristina Bauer for her assistance with this post.

The museum is located in an area of Naples which is strongly influenced by the Camorra mafia, which has been buying out businesses in the area. The museum receives no public funding– only private funding but with the recession in Italy those funds are now gone.  Manfredi told Reuters, “I don’t know who to turn to anymore for money, and I refuse to ask the Camorra.” He says the only thing that is worse than the lack of funding is the politicians’ lack of interest in the worsening condition of Italy’s cultural wealth while the mafia’s influence only grows.

Although the plight of museums is nationwide, not everyone agrees with actions Manfredi has taken. Achille Bonito Oliva, one of Italy’s most prominent contemporary art critics, stated, “Burning art is adolescent exhibitionism. It’s a Neapolitan parody, where one man is taking advantage of the severe crisis for visibility.” These two men do agree on one thing—that public funding could be cut from political parties and instead channeled into museums.

Read the full article Italy museum burns art to protest against crisis at the Guardian.

Thanks to Kristina Bauer for contributing this post.

During the 1965 Normalization Treaty, Korea requested the return of the Okura Collection due to the fact that the artifacts were illegally taken into Japan. Japan refused, claiming that it was a private collection. The Okura collection was assembled by Japanese businessman Okura Takenosuke during the colonial period. In 1981, Takenosuke’s son donated the entire collection to the Tokyo museum.

According to Japan’s national cultural heritage authority, four national museums in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, and Kyushu house 4,422 artifacts from the Korean Peninsula. Some have said that Japan has more Korean cultural property than Korea does, thanks to Japan’s imperialist expansion in the first half of the 20th century. Japan’s rule of Korea officially lasted from 1905 to 1945, during which time great quantities of ancient objects were removed from Korea. Korea has sought return of these objects with little success given the 1965 Normalization Treaty, which was supposed to recompense Korea for Japan’s imperial rule.

Read the full article Tokyo Museum Admits Holding More Korean Artifacts.

Thanks to Kristina Bauer for her assistance with this post.

In 2007,  Yeager worked for the museum as a collections manager.  At auction in Melbourne, Australia, he sold an 1813 “Holey” dollar which he’d stolen for $155,755. He sold more of his loot for $492,535 at an auction in Germany.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark ordered that Yeager pay $945,505 in restitution.

Read the full article California man sentenced for theft of rare coins.

Thanks to Kristina Bauer for her assistance with this post.

Leila and Tom Flynn chat on my terrace in Amelia.

So many law students and lawyers have contacted me in the last few years asking how to break into the field of art law that I knew I had to come up with a good response. The truth is, I’m far more of a cultural property law aficionado than an art lawyer! So I solicited my friend and fellow student from ARCA’s Masters program in International Art Crime Studies, Leila Amineddoleh, to answer the question. She’s a real, live art lawyer in New York City!

So, I asked her, I says, “Leila, how does one become an art lawyer?” Here’s what she had to say:

“Becoming an art lawyer is difficult since the field is small. Whereas areas such as patent, bankruptcy, real estate, divorce, and tax law have a steady stream of clients, art law is a niche practice. So how can students and practitioners break into this narrow field?

“My advice to all lawyers is to be a good lawyer. Do as much “lawyering” as possible. Whereas publishing articles and gathering art degrees may be helpful, the most valuable resume entries involve actual lawyering, whether in litigation or in transactional matters. To gain valuable experience, there are a few areas that are especially helpful for art law. I began my career as an intellectual property attorney as it is the area most closely associated with art law (issues related to trademarks, publicity, and copyrights often appear in art law matters). Experience in that field is helpful.

“In addition, there are other areas that are of great interest to artists, arts institutions, and private art collectors. Major art collectors must protect their assets and their charitable contributions, thus tax issues and estate planning are of particular relevance to these individuals. Many artists consult lawyers to safeguard their work: they need advice on maintaining their intellectual property rights and protecting their physical property. This requires that attorneys draft contracts indemnifying galleries for damages, insuring the value of
the art, and protecting the artist from unequal bargaining partners. All of these considerations require strong negotiating and contract drafting skills. For that, experience drafting contracts is necessary.

“In the realm of litigation, some issues appear more frequently than others. There have been a plethora of recent cases involving art forgeries and fraud. In addition, there is the realm of cultural heritage law that often revolves around criminal actions (such as art theft, customs incongruities, and international law violations) and civil improprieties (dealers providing sellers with incomplete provenance history and inaccurate warranties).

“For individuals looking to gain experience in art law, there are countless volunteer opportunities available. Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, a national non-profit organization with locations in dozens of cities through the US, offers many volunteer and internship opportunities for interested parties. For those without a regional VLA office, I suggest contacting local arts venues (music performance spaces, art galleries, and local museums) and volunteering legal assistance. In addition, students and practitioners should consider contacting art law firms and volunteering their services in order to gain art related law firm experience. In addition, lawyers at larger law firms may inquire as to pro bono opportunities within their own law firms.

“Entering into the field of art law is more challenging than in other areas of the law since it is a very niche field.  However, with determination and creativity, it is possible to find rewarding and substantive work in the exciting realm of art law.”

Much thanks to Leila for her contribution and unique, valuable insight.

I just love this photo.

Local media has reported that Serbian police have located Cezanne’s Boy in the Red Vest, stolen in 2008 during a raid on a Swiss museum and valued at $109 million. Other works stolen in the raid were by Monet, Van Gogh, and Degas. The Serbian police are waiting until an expert can verify the authenticity of the 1888 painting before releasing an official statement.

Three people have been arrested in association with the theft. The raid on the Zurich’s Emil Buehrle Collection was one of the biggest art heists in the last decade.

Read the full article Stolen Cezanne found by Serbian Police.

Thanks to Kristina Bauer for her assistance with this post.

Late in 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization when the latter voted to give full membership to the Palestinians. This ratification represents that Palestine wishes to participate fully in the international discussion on the protection of cultural property.

The United States is the 50th signatory to the 1970 Convention and has implemented the convention via the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act.

Read related CPAL posts:

United States Cuts off Funding to UNESCO

State Department Seeks to Return Funding to UNESCO

Or the UNESCO Announcement

According to the Local Admiralty Rule 7.03-(g), Spain should have petitioned for fees at the same time it moved to have the arrest vacated, which it never did. In the motion for fees, Spain argues that because a hearing on the arrest was never requested or held, the requirement does not apply. Fees are not generally given in admiralty claims.

Melinda MacConnel, Odyssey’s General Counsel commented, “While we expected this motion based on past comments to the press, Spain has no statutory or contractual right to attorney’s fees in this case. We intend to vigorously defend our interests and will file an appropriate response.”

My personal opinion is that the case was decided erroneously, twice, and on political rather than legal considerations. So I would hope that Spain’s motion will not be successful. But time will tell, and I’ll report further as updates become available.

Read the full article Odyssey Marine Exploration Provides Comments on Motion to Recover Fees in “Black Swan” Case