Try buying a Roman amphora, an Etruscan vase, or a (pompous) baroque oil painting on the internet. If you do, there’s a good chance there’s an Italian policeman looking over your shoulder.
Dozens of policemen scour the internet day after day in search of looted art. They are part of the Carabinieri Commando for the Protection of Cultural Heritage; (Comando Carabinieri per la Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale), or art squad for short. “Unlike my colleagues who deal with criminals, our main task is to track down and recover looted art,” says Nicola Candido, the head of the operative department in Rome. If in the meantime, criminals – thieves, fencers, buyers, sellers – are also tracked down, that’s fine, too. “But our absolute priority is to get the art back to Italy,” says the 53-year-old Lieutenant Colonel.
100,000 churches
After the Second World War (and also during that war, but that is another story) a massive amount of art and illegally excavated archaeological finds were stolen in Italy and taken abroad. That this could happen (and is still happening), is not so strange. Italy is probably the country with the richest cultural heritage in the world and ranks number one on Unesco’s list of world heritage sites. Italy has more than 4,000 museums and almost 300 archaeological parks, not to mention the countless sites with Etruscan tombs (not yet or illegally excavated) and remains of Greco-Roman culture. There are also some 100,000 Roman Catholic churches, many with art from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Because of the seriousness of the situation, the Italian art squad was set up in 1969, which was assigned to the carabinieri, the military police. It was the first art squad in the world. Although other countries subsequently set up similar investigative units, the Italian art squad is still considered the world’s benchmark. This is due to the experience of this department, its large number of staff (300 people), its regional presence (15 branches across the country) and, above all, its database of looted art.
Database
When the art squad was first formed in May 1969, they immediately started systematically gathering information about looted art. This developed into a database with detailed data on 1.3 million objects of art, the heart of the art squad. The database is, in fact, anchored in a law from 2004. As long as the Italian Parliament does not decide otherwise, the development and maintenance of this database are obligatory. However, the art squad will never be disbanded because they provide a demonstrable cultural and economic advantage. In 2019, art objects worth more than 100 million euros were recovered.
Luigi Spadari shows a cardboard map measuring 20 by 15 centimeters. “This is what our first database looked like,” says the Lieutenant Colonel, who heads the data processing department. On one side of the cardboard is a photo of and information about a stolen work of art, while the other side features data about the crime. The card held up by the 58-year-old officer is the ‘data entry’ of one of the most sought-after works of art in the world. On the back of the card it says that on the night of 17 October 1969, unknown thieves stole the oil painting “Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence” from a church in Palermo. The work is by the Italian painter Caravaggio. If it were put on the market now, it would easily fetch 200 million euros. But there is no trace whatsoever of the work.
The paper archive was computerized in 1980. But because computer memory was limited in those days, only the texts in the digital database were available. The photos were too big. This was, of course, remedied in a subsequent version. Over the course of decades, the system has developed in such a way that advanced photo recognition is now possible, among other things. Spadari’s team uses this to search the internet. They check international marketplaces and auction sites online for similarities with the database’s data. Thanks to this activity, 623 investigations were launched in 2019.
The Darknet
Most of the stolen art is Italian. Yet ten percent are of foreign origin. For example, in 2015 the French police asked the Italians to enter Banksy’s stolen work from the Bataclan theater in Paris into their database. As a result, the painting was found during a search of a farm in central Italy last June.
The database will be updated shortly (the last update was in 2017). A special search engine is also being built to enable the art squad to automatically obtain information about (potentially illegal) works of art on offer. The new version should also cover the darknet. The art squad has also developed a free app (iTPC Carabinieri). Among other things, people can use their phones to photograph a piece of art and have that photo compared to data from the database.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
