Latest news with #antiquities
Arab News
10 hours ago
- Business
- Arab News
EU antiques import clampdown could gut trade, warn dealers
Dealers wishing to import goods such as archaeological treasures will have to provide documentation and proofThe regulation is a European response to developments spanning terrorism in the Middle East to changing attitudes to cultural appropriationPARIS: New European rules designed to crack down on the trafficking of stolen antiques and art are causing alarm among gallery owners, with some dealers warning of suffocating red tape that will affect sector is bracing for the implementation of Regulation 2019/880 on June 28 which will introduce strict new requirements for imports into the European Union from non-EU wishing to import goods such as archaeological treasures will have to provide documentation and proof that they have been exported from their country of origin items including artworks, coins or books that are worth more than 18,000 euros ($20,500) and are more than 200 years old will also be subject to the restrictions.'We'll end up buying nothing outside the European Union,' warned Antonia Eberwein, vice president of the National Union of Antiques Dealers (SNA) in warned that the markets for archaeological items, as well as pre-Columbian, Chinese or Indian art 'risk being depleted, without putting an end to illicit trafficking, which by nature is invisible and undeclared.'Pierre Valentin, an art and heritage specialist at London-based law firm Fieldfisher, believes the aim of the regulation is 'laudable' but that implementing it could lead to an 'evidential nightmare for collectors.'In some cases, goods will have left their country of origin centuries ago before changing hands several times among collectors, with today's owners left needing to prove their property was exported legally.'We're being asked to provide things that don't exist,' said Eberwein, calling the regulation 'absurd' and the evidence requirement 'a total lack of understanding of the realities' of the regulation is a European response to developments spanning terrorism in the Middle East to changing attitudes to cultural links between organized crime, terror groups and trafficking in cultural goods have been repeatedly raised by international police group Interpol and the United and Daesh group were both found to have looted archaeological sites under their control in Iraq and Syria to help fund their EU regulation, which was first proposed in 2017 following years of Daesh attacks in Europe, refers to the pillaging of archaeological sites reaching 'an industrial scale.'The European Commission estimated in 2017 that the illicit trade in cultural goods could be worth up to 6.0 billion euros a year, putting it on a par with drugs, arms or counterfeit goods trafficking.'Money is the life blood of war for the terrorists who attack our continent or who fight in Iraq and Syria,' then EU economic affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici said at the is also growing sensitivity in Europe about the continent's colonial history and its role in looting artistic and cultural major European institutions from the British Museum to the Louvre in Paris are analizing their collections and, in a small number of cases, returning items to their countries of de Lamaze, president of France's Council of Auction Houses, which regulates auction houses, said the changes would have some positive effects and 'will enhance transparency for buyers and collectors, and strengthen the role of auctioneers.'But it also risks bringing 'a heavy administrative burden and a slowdown in activity.'Auctioneers 'will now have to systematically rely on experts to trace the history of artworks — a task that is difficult, if not impossible,' especially in the case of inherited items with no documentation, he countries, such as Mexico, 'ban all exports and claim their entire archaeological heritage,' noted Alexandre Giquello, head of France's Drouot auction views the regulation 'very unfavorably' and warned of 'significant economic losses.''While the aim is commendable, it could penalize a large part of the market by introducing a very convoluted process that is slow to implement and will drastically increase delays,' he gallery owner David Ghezelbash, who specializes in archaeological items from Greece, Egypt and Italy, said he was 'not concerned,' operates outside the EU, including with American museums, and he already regularly commissions independent experts 'to trace the history of each work, as far as possible.'He acknowledged that 'a grey area' would be formed for objects without documented provenance, however, especially inherited pieces which risk being discredited.
South China Morning Post
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Lanterns, typewriters, film cameras, you name it, Indian collector has it in home museum
Cameras from a bygone era. Rusty typewriters. Vintage radios. Matchboxes once used to light contraband cigarettes. In an age of new technology and artificial intelligence, a visit to the New Delhi home of Aditya Vij is like stepping into a time machine. Every corner of his museum feels like a carefully constructed chapter of history. The anthropologist is an avid collector of artefacts and has dedicated his life to antiquities. Over decades, he has doggedly collected thousands of items that span several centuries, and documented their relevance and the impact they have had on society. Each collectible he has salvaged feels like a victory against time, Vij said, underscoring his belief that maybe one individual's attempts can quietly resist their erasure from people's memory. Vij with a handheld camera made by American brand Graflex that was used by the US Army during World War II. Photo: AP Old tin boxes and cigarette cases stacked up in Vij's home. Photo: AP 'The deepest emotion I feel while collecting these items is the sense of satisfaction that I managed to save a piece of history,' said Vij, during an interview surrounded by his collection of vintage cameras and gramophones.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Stolen artifacts returned to Egypt, Pakistan from Manhattan
Fifty priceless artifacts looted from Egypt and Pakistan — and trafficked through Manhattan by two notorious antiquities dealers — have been returned to their home countries, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has announced. The repatriation of the artifacts, some of which are as old as 3300 BCE, is the result of two separate investigations into criminal trafficking networks linked to the convicted traffickers Robin Symes and Subhash Kapoor, respectively. Symes, who died in 2023, was one of the most notorious antiquities smugglers in the last century. Kapoor, 76, was convicted of running a $100 million international smuggling racket, including stealing 19 ancient idols and illegally transferring them to his art gallery in Manhattan. In total, 11 artifacts were returned to Egypt and 39 to Pakistan. Among the artifacts returned were a 'mummy mask of a youth,' a funerary mask dating to the Roman rule of Egypt, around 100-300 CE, one of the 'Fayum Portraits' famous for their realism and modernity. A terracotta vessel with painted red, black and blue fish — dating to between 3300 and 1300 BCE — seized from a Manhattan dealer in 2025 has been returned to Pakistan. Since its creation in 2017, the Antiquities Trafficking Unit has convicted 17 individuals of cultural property-related crimes, recovered more than 6,000 antiquities valued at more than $470 million, and has returned more than 5,500 of them so far to 30 countries, according to the DA's office.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
India's self-proclaimed 'history hunter' is on a drive to salvage the past for future generations
NEW DELHI (AP) — Cameras from a bygone era. Rusty typewriters. Vintage radios. Matchboxes once used to light contraband cigarettes. In an age of new technology and artificial intelligence, a visit to the New Delhi home of Aditya Vij is like stepping into a time machine. Every corner of his museum feels like a carefully constructed history chapter. The anthropologist is an avid collector of artifacts and has dedicated his life to antiquities. Over decades, he has doggedly collected thousands of items that span several centuries and documented their relevance and the impact they have had on society. Each collectable he has salvaged feels like a victory against time, Vij says, underscoring his belief that maybe one individual's attempts can quietly resist their erasure from people's memory. 'The deepest emotion I feel while collecting these items is the sense of satisfaction that I managed to save a piece of history,' said Vij, during an interview surrounded by his priceless collection of vintage cameras and gramophones. The excitement of the hunt Fossils of fish, snails, tadpoles and fern leaves that date back millions of years are Vij's most ancient items. But he has a passion for another trove of objects that date back to around 1915: thousands upon thousands of matchboxes. His obsession began at the age of 8 when he discovered his first matchbox while wandering on the roads with his father. Today, the 51-year-old possesses more than 22,000 matchboxes. A few of them are over a century old and their cover labels showcase different forms of religious representations and political scenarios of the times they were produced. 'It is not just the possession of these trinkets, but the process of hunting for them is what adds a layer of excitement for me,' Vij said, adding that matchboxes symbolize different cultures at different times. 'Vigilance and quick action' He says the preservation of memory through these collectables pushes people to think about the craftsmanship of a time where life was slower and decisions were more deliberate. Some of his possessions were acquired by a chance. Many years ago, Vij says, he spotted a scrap dealer about to break an old radio with a hammer. He shouted from across the street and stopped the man. The scrap dealer, taken by surprise, explained how he would get good money out of the parts. Vij offered to buy it. Today, that radio sits amongst his existing collection of vintages. 'Thirty more seconds and I would have lost it, and sometimes that's what it takes — vigilance and quick action,' he said. Vij describes his journey that of a man 'who links the past to the future' and aspires to create a museum out of his house that will act as a physical space where younger generations get to learn about innovations from the past. Otherwise, Vij says, these unassuming objects would be forever lost in the vast expanse of new technology. 'What was once familiar has become rare, often forgotten, and has left behind only traces of nostalgia and memories,' he said. 'Urgency to preserve history' Vij also gets requests from parents who want him to show their children how his collectables were put in use during the past. Some want their children to see how a typewriter works, or how pictures were clicked using a film camera. Others come to see how some household devices used to operate, like the rotary telephones, tube radios, pressing irons, ice cream makers, and lanterns. 'When they (kids) tell me how they had no idea about the existence of these objects, that is when I feel a stronger urgency to preserve history,' he said. Over the past few years, Vij says, technology has evolved rapidly and the gadgets from his childhood were made obsolete overnight. He believes archiving them is necessary. 'I hope the younger generations realize the importance of history and carry it forward by preserving it,' he said
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
India's self-proclaimed 'history hunter' is on a drive to salvage the past for future generations
Cameras from a bygone era. Rusty typewriters. Vintage radios. Matchboxes once used to light contraband cigarettes. In an age of new technology and artificial intelligence, a visit to the New Delhi home of Aditya Vij is like stepping into a time machine. Every corner of his museum feels like a carefully constructed history chapter. The anthropologist is an avid collector of artifacts and has dedicated his life to antiquities. Over decades, he has doggedly collected thousands of items that span several centuries and documented their relevance and the impact they have had on society. Each collectable he has salvaged feels like a victory against time, Vij says, underscoring his belief that maybe one individual's attempts can quietly resist their erasure from people's memory. 'The deepest emotion I feel while collecting these items is the sense of satisfaction that I managed to save a piece of history,' said Vij, during an interview surrounded by his priceless collection of vintage cameras and gramophones. The excitement of the hunt Fossils of fish, snails, tadpoles and fern leaves that date back millions of years are Vij's most ancient items. But he has a passion for another trove of objects that date back to around 1915: thousands upon thousands of matchboxes. His obsession began at the age of 8 when he discovered his first matchbox while wandering on the roads with his father. Today, the 51-year-old possesses more than 22,000 matchboxes. A few of them are over a century old and their cover labels showcase different forms of religious representations and political scenarios of the times they were produced. 'It is not just the possession of these trinkets, but the process of hunting for them is what adds a layer of excitement for me,' Vij said, adding that matchboxes symbolize different cultures at different times. 'Vigilance and quick action' He says the preservation of memory through these collectables pushes people to think about the craftsmanship of a time where life was slower and decisions were more deliberate. Some of his possessions were acquired by a chance. Many years ago, Vij says, he spotted a scrap dealer about to break an old radio with a hammer. He shouted from across the street and stopped the man. The scrap dealer, taken by surprise, explained how he would get good money out of the parts. Vij offered to buy it. Today, that radio sits amongst his existing collection of vintages. 'Thirty more seconds and I would have lost it, and sometimes that's what it takes — vigilance and quick action,' he said. Vij describes his journey that of a man "who links the past to the future" and aspires to create a museum out of his house that will act as a physical space where younger generations get to learn about innovations from the past. Otherwise, Vij says, these unassuming objects would be forever lost in the vast expanse of new technology. 'What was once familiar has become rare, often forgotten, and has left behind only traces of nostalgia and memories," he said. 'Urgency to preserve history' Vij also gets requests from parents who want him to show their children how his collectables were put in use during the past. Some want their children to see how a typewriter works, or how pictures were clicked using a film camera. Others come to see how some household devices used to operate, like the rotary telephones, tube radios, pressing irons, ice cream makers, and lanterns. 'When they (kids) tell me how they had no idea about the existence of these objects, that is when I feel a stronger urgency to preserve history," he said. Over the past few years, Vij says, technology has evolved rapidly and the gadgets from his childhood were made obsolete overnight. He believes archiving them is necessary. "I hope the younger generations realize the importance of history and carry it forward by preserving it,' he said
