Latest news with #NationalStolenArtFile
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Boston Globe
A 500-year-old receipt for supplies to conquer an empire is returned to Mexico
The FBI said that it returned the document Wednesday, and that no one would face prosecution in the theft because the document had changed hands many times since it vanished. The document 'outlines the payment of pesos of common gold for expenses in preparation for discovery of the spice lands,' Special Agent Jessica Dittmer, a member of the FBI's Art Crime Team, said in a statement, 'so it really gives a lot of flavor as to the planning and preparation for unchartered territory back then.' Those 'spice lands' were eastern and southeastern Asia. European explorers sailed west in the hopes of finding a faster route to the region, and instead landed in the Americas. Advertisement In 1993, while archivists at the General Archive of the Nation in Mexico were creating microfilms of their collection of documents signed by Cortés, they discovered that 15 pages of the manuscript were missing. The archive used a distinctive wax numbering system from 1985 to 1986, which helped FBI investigators to authenticate the stolen page, the FBI said. The archivists had noted which numbered pages had been stolen and had recorded the precise rip pattern in the torn pages. Advertisement 'This 1527 manuscript, signed by Hernán Cortés, captures a pivotal moment when the Pacific routes were opening and New Spain sought to connect the Americas with Asia,' a spokesperson from the Mexican Embassy in Washington said in a statement Thursday. 'Linked to an expedition to the Spice Islands (Maluku Islands, in present-day Indonesia), it is part of the legacy of the Hospital de Jesús, founded by Cortés.' Cortés founded the hospital in 1524. Investigators said they believed that the archivists' careful accounting would help them find the pages that were still missing. They said that they had added this missing page to the National Stolen Art File, an FBI database of artworks and cultural artifacts known to be stolen. Though they did not detail their investigative process, they said that open-source research had revealed that the document was in the United States, though they did not say who had it. Last year, Mexico asked that the Art Crime Team help to search for this particular page, the FBI said. The New York City Police Department, the U.S. Justice Department, the Mexican government and the FBI's office in Atlanta took part in the investigation, officials said. The document, dated Feb. 20, 1527, contains a full accounting of the logistical details related to Cortés' journey to what would eventually become the territory of New Spain, which included present-day Mexico and parts of the United States, Central America and the Caribbean, Dittmer said. New Spain, a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire, was founded in the early 16th century and existed until Mexico declared its independence in 1821. 'Pieces like this are considered protected cultural property and represent valuable moments in Mexico's history, so this is something that the Mexicans have in their archives for the purpose of understanding history better,' Dittmer said in a statement. Advertisement Cortés reached the shores of present-day Mexico in 1519, aiming to overthrow the emperor Montezuma in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, which is now Mexico City. The Aztecs initially beat back the Spanish invasion, but Cortés made alliances with local groups that opposed the Aztecs and returned in 1521. His second siege was successful, and he took over the city after burning it to ruins. The Spanish ruler, Charles V, named Cortés the governor of New Spain in 1522. Cortés and the Spanish settlers brought with them diseases like smallpox, which ripped through the native population. Within five years, disease had killed as many as 15 million Aztecs. 'The United States, for better or for worse, is one of the largest, if not the largest, consumer of art and antiquities,' said Veh Bezdikian, a supervisory special agent with the FBI in New York. This is the second Cortés document that the FBI has returned to Mexico in recent years. In 2022, the FBI discovered another page of the purchase order signed by Cortés that had made its way to private auction blocks across the United States. The Art Crime Team is still looking for other missing pages from Mexico's national archives.
CBS News
01-04-2025
- CBS News
Stolen painting of President George Washington recovered in Colorado after burglary
A historic painting of George Washington is back in proper hands more than a year after an art theft in Englewood. The painting, a valuable copy on reverse glass of a well-known image painted by American artist Gilbert Stuart, was turned over to Englewood police after a tip to Crime Stoppers. "I think this painting is amazing. It's really high quality," said Englewood Police Detective Christian Contos. The painting is done on glass, explained Monica Brown, managing director of fine arts for Freeman's | Hindman, an auction and appraisal company. Brown looked up the history of the painting and explained that the original was purchased by an American captain who took it to Guangzhou, China, in 1798. There unnamed Chinese artists created about 100 copies. He brought them back in the early 1800s and sold them when interest in patriotic-themed art was strong. Only about six are known to exist today. Four are in museums, and a couple of others are in private hands. "Chinese artists used the reverse glass painting technique, with large sheets of imported European glass as the canvas," explained Brown. The front is glass and smooth. Like a mirror, if the back were scratched, it could potentially be seen through on the other side. The value could vary widely on condition and whether it had much of a story to go with it Brown explained, like it had been owned by a famous person. But art and mementos of the Founding Fathers are solid sellers. "All of those founding fathers are very marketable. They're market darlings, you could almost say," she said. She thought the value at retail could range from $60,000 to $150,000. The painting had been stolen from a storage unit in an Englewood storage facility in January of 2024. The trail had gone cold. When he started pursuing the case, Contos was in new territory. "I'll preface that by saying this was the first art theft that I've ever worked," he said. He contacted the FBI's Art Crime team for advice. There were different avenues to pursue and clues to check on. The painting was added to the database at the National Stolen Art File. Art dealers and appraisers like Brown's firm check paintings through the database to ensure art is not stolen. Contos took information from the Crime Stoppers tip in which a person mentioned two names they said were associated with the missing painting and eventually had a phone conversation with a person who said he had the missing artwork. "He said he had had it for almost a year. That at the time he was staying in a hotel and a hotel employee gave him the painting saying they found it in a room abandoned that they were cleaning." But they didn't offer a lot. "They would not tell me where the hotel was or the person who worked for the hotel gave it to him." Contos wanted it back, but the person possessing it was worried about possibly being arrested. "That type of negotiation went on for like two weeks. Back and forth. Multiple phone calls, multiple texts," said Contos. The detective said he had no reason to doubt the story he got about the discovery of the painting in a hotel. There was no arrest when the painting was turned over to the police. It adds up to Brown as well. "If you're stealing something out of a storage unit, are you really thinking that you're going to find an expensive painting?" Brown wondered. It's possible the thief did not know its value and abandoned it after realizing the trouble it might be. Stolen art is not exactly something that can be easily posted for sale on the internet. "There certain art heists where the theory is that it would then go onto the black market, but it's not something that can trade publicly," she noted. Police say, fortunately, the artwork does not appear to have significant damage other than some frame damage. The painting's owner is thrilled said Contos. But technically, the painting now belongs to an insurance company that paid the owner a claim, and what happens to it will be up to the insurance company. Back in proper hands, it is now a painting with a story. And detective Contos said he liked the idea of getting his own copy of the work to put up in his office.
