Stolen Art Watch, Group of Seven Swiped As Joshua Knelman's Hot Art Up For Yet Another Award

Arthur Ellis Award Winner Best Crime Nonfiction, Hot Art Up For Another Award

Group of Seven paintings stolen from Toronto gallery

Also taken was Harbour Scene #2 by late Montreal artist

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/08/31/toronto-paintings-stolen.html

Two Group of Seven paintings and a painting from a renowned Montreal artist have been stolen during a break-in at a gallery in Toronto's tony Yorkville neighbourhood.

The paintings that are missing are:

• Group of Birches by Frank Johnston.
• Beach Litter by Arthur Lismer.
• Harbour Scene #2 by the late Montreal artist Sylvia Lefkovitz.

Police say the thief or thieves broke the front bay window and entered an art gallery on Hazleton Avenue. The three paintings are valued at about $50,000.

The break-in happened Sunday, but details were only released on Friday morning.

Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction shortlist (Canada)

The shortlist for the 21st annual Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction has been revealed. The $10,000 prize, administered by Wilfrid Laurier University, recognizes a first or second published work of creative non-fiction by a Canadian author that has a Canadian setting or significance. The award was established in 1991 by literary journalist Edna Staebler to encourage Canadian talent:

Joshua Knelman, Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives through the Secret World of Stolen Art (Douglas and McIntyre)

Robyn Michele Levy, Most of Me: Surviving My Medical Meltdown (Greystone Books)

Andrew Westoll, The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery (HarperCollins Canada)

Stolen Art Watch, Guarnerius Violin Theft Leads To Indictments

Two men charged in connection with the theft of Guarnerius violin in Cricklewood

Two men have been charged in connection with the theft of a Guarnerius violin which was stolen in a Cricklewood burglary.

Dean Barton, 23, of Brassey Road, Kilburn, and John Powles, 24, from Belsize Park, are due to appear in Hendon Magistrates’ Court this morning (Saturday).

Barton is accused of two counts of handling stolen goods including the instrument which is worth £500,000.

Powles is charged with breaking into the Cricklewood property on August 17 from where the violin was stolen.

Stolen Art Watch, Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

Ex-household staffer sought in $3M Bryn Mawr art theft

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20120826_Ex-household_staffer_sought_in__3M_Bryn_Mawr_art_theft.html

For a brief period this summer, Andrea Lawton worked on the housekeeping staff of their home, according to a Bryn Mawr couple. Now, say Lower Merion police, she is suspected of cleaning them out of a rare bust of Benjamin Franklin said to be worth more than $3 million.

Lawton, 46, of Philadelphia, learned her employers' routine during her month working at their residence on the 600 block of Black Rock Road, according to homeowner George A. D'Angelo.

Police responded to a call by the household staff, which reported the burglary about 12:30 p.m. Friday, while he and his wife, Brenda, were not home, D'Angelo said. But the porcelain bust and a small, framed portrait were already gone, he said.

The bust is 28 inches tall and weighs 25 pounds, including its brass supporting structure, D'Angelo said. Made by Jean-Antoine Houdon in 1778, while Franklin was visiting Paris, the bust is one of four in existence, he said.

"It sat on the pedestal and just dominated the drawing room," D'Angelo said.

The three other busts are at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Louvre in Paris, according to D'Angelo. The Louvre version is made of terra cotta; the two others are marble.

When the marble bust was donated to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, it was valued at about $3 million, said D'Angelo, who believes the stolen work is worth at least as much.

It is unique, he said, because Franklin's expression seems to vary from different angles. The work is part of a collection of historical objects his family has collected, D'Angelo said.

Lawton and another woman were seen leaving the house Friday by a staff member, D'Angelo said. But because both had been recent employees there, their presence did not raise suspicion, he said.

The residence's housekeeper soon realized that the artwork was missing.

"It was a great shock," said D'Angelo, who reported that the intruder or intruders entered through a sun-porch window.

Township spokesman Thomas Walsh said Lower Merion police were working with Philadelphia authorities on the case. It was not known Saturday whether police were searching for a second suspect.

D'Angelo said he was considering offering a reward as an incentive for the safe recovery of the historic Franklin bust.

"I just hope it's returned," he said. "It's our history - American history."

Prince's gifts among £7,000 of stolen Padstow antiques

THIEVES got away with £7,000 worth of antiques when they raided Prideaux Place in Padstow last weekend.

Detectives say the burglary happened in the early hours of last Saturday morning at the home of Peter and Elizabeth Prideaux-Brune.

Bodmin CID are also investigating a burglary at Pencarrow House between Bodmin and Wadebridge that could be connected.

Elizabeth Prideaux-Brune said all the items stolen were of great sentimental value.

"The music box that was taken was a present from my husband on our first wedding anniversary, and the candlesticks and a rose bowl were presents from Prince Chula Chakrabongse of Thailand and his wife, Princess Chula, when they lived at Tredethy,'' she said.

"The antiques were all incredibly special to us, not only sentimentally but historically too.''

Detective Constable Sarah Northcott said 13 items were known to have been stolen from Prideaux Place.

She said: "The alarm was activated at 2.15am on August 18 when the offender or offenders gained entry by forcing a ground floor library window. They removed items from the library and then the dining room."

Items stolen were: A 19th-century skeleton clock 9 inches tall; A mahogany mantle clock 14in tall inscribed on clock face with Squire and Son, Bideford; A silver salver 22in in diameter with the Prideaux Brune coat of arms in the centre; two silver cigarette boxes - one 7in square the other 7in long and both inscribed with Prideaux coat of arms; a silver rose bowl 10in in diameter inscribed inside the bowl in Thai writing and is highly decorated; a silver candle snuffer 9in long with a wooden handle; two silver soldier figures 9in high both dressed in armour one carrying a lance; a silver wine coaster; a music box with a clock on one side and a small bird that comes out of the top, manufactured by Halycon Days; a silver pheasant figurine; two Corinthian candlesticks 10in high; a silver owl and a pepper and salt pots with a grouse design.

Detectives say earlier in the month there was a burglary at Pencarrow House when thieves smashed a rear first floor window to gain entry on August 4. A silver tray and two antique pieces of china were stolen.

Stolen Art Watch, Theft By Numbers !!

Gallery paintings ‘stolen to order’ for collector

http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/gallery-paintings-stolen-to-order-for-collector-1-2479723

PAINTINGS seized during a heist at an Edinburgh art gallery are believed have been stolen to order for a private collector, the Evening News can reveal.

Works by the acclaimed Scots artist Peter Howson were seized during a late night raid on the Art Mart in May.

Police chased two men seen running from the scene with some of the paintings and apprehended them, recovering the remainder from a white van nearby.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday, George Mountford, 27, pleaded guilty to breaking into the London Road store on May 5 this year and stealing the paintings, worth £16,000.

His co-accused, Gary McKenzie, 28, a prisoner in Saughton, admitted reset of one painting.

Today art dealer Douglas Fyfe, proprietor of the store, said it was believed that the paintings had been stolen to order rather than being an opportunistic crime.

He said: “They were organised and the paintings were by Peter Howson, the well-known Scottish painter, so I think they were done to order.

“One painting was hidden behind some of the others and couldn’t have been seen from outside, so I think someone had been in before to check out the place.”

Mr Fyfe, who has operated his art business on London Road for 13 years, said it was extremely rare for paintings to be stolen in such a manner in Scotland.

He added: “I was phoned at 2am by the police and when I went down there were police cars there and they had already been caught.

“I have been there 13 years and its the first time anything like this has happened. It’s very rare, I haven’t heard of anything like this at all in Edinburgh or Scotland even.”

Yesterday, at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, fiscal depute Michelle Young told Sheriff Michael O’Grady QC, that Mr Fyfe had secured the building after 6pm on May 4, locking the front door and securing metal gates with two padlocks.

At 2.43am the following morning, a member of the public phoned police to say the front door of the premises was wide open and Mr Fyfe was contacted.

Officers searched the surrounding area and two men were seen in Alva Place carrying paintings. Police followed and found two paintings discarded on the road. Mountford had turned into Rossie Place, where he was arrested.

McKenzie had gone into Easter Road where officers in a police car found him standing outside a Scotmid store “sweating and out of breath”.

Ms Young said a white van, belonging to Mountford, was found in Rossie Place, in which four paintings were found. Also in the van were various items, including gloves, a crow bar, pliers, hammer and bolt cutters.

Ms Young said none of the paintings had been damaged. The glass on one had been broken and two had broken frames. She added that the damage to the premises had cost £135 to repair.

Sheriff O’Grady deferred sentence on both men while reports on their background were carried out.

LS Lowry painting thieves to pay back just £6,500

TWO Merseyside crooks caught with stolen LS Lowry paintings and drugs will pay back less than £6,500 of their ill gotten gains.

Malcolm Shield and Kevin Marlow were jailed in March for their part in a plot involving artwork by the iconic painter, which was stolen in a vicious armed robbery in 2007.

Despite being caught red handed with the original artwork, worth an estimated £1.7m, and a massive cache of drugs at Marlow’s flat they pleaded poverty and will have to pay back a fraction of the cash they were judged to have made.

Shield, 41, was arrested when officers from the north west regional crime team Titan raided his home, in Arncliffe Road, Halewood, last year.

Working on a tip-off, detectives watched a betting shop in Bootle where they saw local men Kevin Marlow, 29, and Gerard Starkey, 50, meet up.

Starkey brought the missing paintings for Marlow who was then tailed back to Halewood and arrested at Shield’s flat with two Lowry classics – The Viaduct and Tanker Entering The Tyne – along with 40,000 ecstasy tablets and amphetamine worth around £250,000.

The rest of the missing paintings stolen from art dealer Ivan Aird were found in Starkey’s lock up in Bootle.

In March Shield received seven and a half years in jail, Marlow got six and a half years, and Starkey was jailed for three years and three months.

At a proceeds of crime hearing at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday Judge Graham Morrow QC found Kevin Marlow, of Halby Road, Bootle, to have benefited to the tune of £851,027 based on a reduced valuation of £450,000 for the two paintings which had been damaged by the way they had been stored, and £393,000 based on a pair of cocaine “tick lists” found in his house showing money owed from drug dealing, plus some cocaine and cannabis.

He will have to pay back £2,430 based on some cash already seized and the resale value of a Renault Scenic.

Shield was judged to have benefited to the amount of £149,839 based on the lowest estimated value of the drugs in the house.

He was said to be “merely a custodian” of the paintings.

He was ordered to pay back £3,960 of his available assets, made up of cash seized by police at the time.

The amount Starkey, of Southport Road, Bootle, has to pay will be decided later today .

Shield’s girlfriend, 33-year-old Erin Edwards, was found guilty of possession of amphetamine and received a suspended prison sentence.

She was ordered to pay back a nominal £1 sum.

LS Lowry, who famously painted scenes of the industrial north with match stick figures, was a friend of Ivan Aird’s parents.

When Mr Aird became an art collector like his dad he hung Lowry’s paintings in his home.

But early in May 2007 a bogus postman and three other thugs tied up his wife and threatened his daughter, then two, with a knife before stealing the paintings.

Hired muscle Casey Miller, from Denton in Manchester, was jailed indefinitely in 2009 was after being convicted of being the fake postman.

None of the rest of his gang, or the mastermind behind the raid, have yet been caught.

Stolen Art Watch, Lee Collins The Truth Behind The Myth

Lee Collins, Family Man Trying To Earn A Crust !!!


Art Hostage has discovered the truth behind the myth about Lee Collins.

First of all back in 2006 there was a trial at Southark Crown court where working class Lee Collins was accused of duping high profile, Upper Class people out of high value art and antiques, despite the undisputed fact Lee Collins paid good money for them.

In some instances he paid tens of thousands of pounds for antiques and admittedly doubled his money.

However, throughout the art and antiques trade the accepted profit margin is three-four times or 300-400% profit.

The jury in the Southark crown court case accepted this and acquitted Lee Collins.

Subsequently, Police have been targeting Lee Collins ever since and they, together with prosecutors have over-egged any complaint to try and get convictions against Lee Collins.

The first chance came in 2010 when Lee Collins bought some jewellery from a woman in Portsmouth and she complained he had stolen some articles.

However, this confused elderly lady was encouraged to give evidence against Lee Colllins and he was convicted and sentenced to 10 months jail.

Having served his time Lee Collins went about his business and again another elderly lady, confused, was convinced to make a complaint against Lee Collins that he stolen some jewellery and did not pay her full £80 for jewellery she had agreed to sell to him. Instead she alleged Lee Collins only gave her £60.

There was a first trial in May of this year 2012 and the jury could not reach a verdict and in normal circumstances the Prosecution would have left it at that.

However, because of the pursuit of working class Lee Collins the Prosecution went for a retrial and this week at Harrow Crown Court has seen Lee Collins convicted and given 16 months jail plus 4 months jail for breaching a previous suspended sentence. Total is 20 months jail.

The moral of this tale is when Police/Prosecutors get the bit between their teeth they will move heaven and earth to get a conviction no matter how unsafe and how unjust.

When the banks steal millions from pensioners pension funds they get bailed out by the govt, but when a working class antiques dealer buys antiques from the Upper classes they get pursued until they are convicted and jailed.

There are two sides to every story and this is the one you normally never hear.

Stolen Art Watch, Lee Collins, Brighton Antiques Mafia Soldier Guilty After Re-Trial, Jailed 20 Months, HMP Ford Awaits

Lee Herbert Collins, the notorious Brighton Antiques Mafia Soldier was found guilty yesterday at Harrow Crown Court of theft from elderly people regarding high value antiques. He was sentenced to 16 months jail-time and an extra 4 months jail for breaching a previous suspended sentence for antiques theft. 20 months jail in total.

This means Lee Herbert Collins will serve 5 months jail and 5 months on electronic tag and the remainder on license.

Lee Herbert Collins will be released January 2013 from HMP Ford Open jail, where he is headed within the next couple of weeks.

This was a re-trial as the first trial was deadlocked when the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on May 4th 2012.

Back-story:
http://arthostage.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/stolen-art-watch-brighton-knocker-boy.html

More to follow.............

Stolen Art Watch, Robert Wittman Reward Offer, Miami Nice

Cat burglar steals silver snail, giraffe in Miami Beach art heist

In a scene reminiscent of "The Pink Panther," the cat

burglar sneaked in through a second-floor bathroom window and pounced on the snail and the giraffe.

The silver animals were part of an art collection of many shiny sculptures — possibly valued at more than a half-million dollars.

This is no make-believe case starring Chief Inspector Clouseau.

The burglary is being investigated by Miami Beach police, who are seeking the public's help for clues. A reward of up to $25,000 is being offered by the victim and a security firm for the recovery of the antiques.

Thursday, authorities released photographs of the collectibles stolen in early May from Jean Boulton's pink house on the exclusive La Gorce Island. The heirlooms were gifts from Boulton's husband, Andres Boulton, a millionaire industrialist who died in 1998.

"She got them from her husband, and she's had them for many years," said Robert Wittman, 56, a retired FBI agent serving as a consultant on the case. "They mean a lot to her beyond the monetary value."

The day of the heist, a thief broke a second-floor window to enter Boulton's home. Stolen were two animal-shaped items: A silver giraffe as well as a nautilus shell wrapped with silver adornment. Also purloined were a bowl and soup tureen, each lined with jewel stones and made by Buccellati, a jewelry company.

The collectibles are insured and valued at $400,000, police said. But these days, they could be worth more than $500,000, police said. As detectives investigated, they didn't find fingerprints or witnesses.

Andres Boulton and his family ran companies that included shipping, cement, tile, iron mining and steel, according a 1998 article from The Miami Herald. Andres and Jean Boulton, married for 25 years, were avid travelers and one of their many homes was in Miami Beach. In 1993, Jean Boulton reportedly had $1 million in jewels stolen from her atJohn F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Today, she typically has a full-time staff of eight or nine when living in South Florida. But she was away in Venezuela during the theft in May, causing her staff to be "relieved of the 24-hour-type duties," a police report said.

Detectives must consider all possibilities, so they haven't ruled out Boulton's staff as suspects, said Detective Vivian Hernandez, spokeswoman for Miami Beach police. "You have to explore those avenues," Hernandez said. "Staff do get questioned."

The thief may have a tough time selling the antiques, Wittman said. "These pieces are so unique they're going to be very difficult to move on an open market," he said. "Anyone who sees these, they're going to recognize them right away."

Though the theft of high-value artwork is uncommon in Miami Beach, it does happen with so many rich residents living there, authorities say. There are "affluent residents who have collections," so burglars sometimes "get certain items at those types of prices," Hernandez said.

Wittman, who runs Robert Wittman Inc., a Philadelphia-based security consulting firm, said art thefts have kept him busy across the country. "At any given time I'm probably working 40 of these things," he said. "The criminals watch TV, too. They have an idea of what things are worth, and that's why they're going after them."

Big reward offered for stolen antiques

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) -- A ritzy rip-off at a Miami Beach home has inspired the victim to offer a huge reward.

Police released photos of the four antique sculptures stolen from a Miami Beach home in May. The pieces of art, which include some precious stones, were valued at nearly $500,000.

Police said a subject broke into the home in the gated community of La Gorce to break into the home.

A $25,000 reward has been offered for any information leading to a recovery of the sculptures.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of these items, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.

WSVN-TV -

Stolen Art Watch, Derby Museum Depot Raid, Watching The Detectives

Derby Museum theft: Items worth £53,000 taken from depot

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-19096945

Coins, medals and watches with an estimated value of £53,000 have been stolen from Derby's museum service.

The artefacts were taken from a city storage depot between 2 May and 19 June but the theft only came to light when another museum asked to borrow an item.

The haul included 20 gold and silver watches from the 18th and 19th Century worth up to £3,000 each.

Coins dating back more than 800 years were also taken as well as 19th Century football medals.

Police said watches by renowned clockmaker John Whitehurst, a contemporary of famous Derby artist Joseph Wright, were among the stolen artefacts.

A rare collection of 17th Century trade tokens were also taken along with medals from the 1888 Derbyshire Football Cup.

'Lost forever'

Derbyshire Police, which is investigating alongside the Metropolitan Police Arts Crime Unit, said it was keeping an open mind about the theft.

Det Con Dee Hornblower said: "There has been no sign of a break in at the premises so the possibility that this was carried out with inside knowledge has at this stage not been ruled out.

"We have circulated details of the stolen items to every police force in the county in the hope that they can be traced."

Security at the storage facility, in an undisclosed location, has been stepped up.

Martin Repton, Derby City Council's member for Leisure and Culture, said: "The issue here is not just about the values of the stolen items but also the historical importance of many of the pieces.

"Our ultimate fear is that some of these items could potentially be discarded by the culprit or culprits meaning they would be lost forever."

Stolen Art Watch, Fitzwilliam & Durham Museum Jade Heists, Jail Looming, Recovery Partial !!

Four admit part in museum raid - but precious items 'may never be recovered'

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Four-admit-part-in-museum-raid-but-precious-items-may-never-be-recovered-31072012.htm

A boy aged 15 is among four people who have admitted a role in the daylight raid of up to £15 million worth of Chinese artefacts from the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Marvin Simos, from London, has admitted breaking into the Trumpington Street museum and taking valuable Chinese art worth between £5 million and £15 million – none of which has been recovered.

He appeared at Cambridge Crown Court yesterday jointly charged with Patrick Kiely, 29, Steven Coughlan, 25, both of Eleanor Street, London, and Robert Smith, 24, of Rosedale Stables, Swanley, Kent.

Kiely, Coughlan and Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle the museum – after they were caught on CCTV casing the joint the day before the raid.

They were seen examining two cabinets containing the Chinese artefacts as well as the window that was smashed to get into the building.

Simos, of Victoria Dock, London, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burgle – which was accepted by the Crown.

The break-in occurred at about 7.30pm, on Friday, April 13, taking just a matter of minutes.

CCTV footage showed Simos arriving at the museum with three other men in a white VW Caddy van, which was parked near the museum and thought to have been stolen from Tower Hamlets in London on April 7.

The gang walked around the back to a ground floor window and used cutting equipment to cut through metal shutters before breaking the window and entering.

They then smashed through two strengthened glass cabinets before leaving with the artefacts, which are mostly jade, and driving off in the van, which was seen near the Hotel du Vin at 7.38pm.

The artwork was part of the museum’s permanent collection – none of which has been recovered despite police forces being alerted worldwide.

Taxi drivers and diners were initially called upon by police in the hunt for the suspects as 25 dedicated officers and staff undertook the high-profile investigation, called Operation Tundra.

Specialist officers from the fine art and antiques division of the Metropolitan Police assisted Cambridgeshire detectives in the case.

CCTV images were shown on BBC1’s Crimewatch programme in an appeal for information.

Det Ch Insp Jim McCrorie yesterday praised officers who worked on the operation for their “hard work” and said they would continue to search for the stolen art.

He said: “Today’s guilty pleas follow a large-scale police operation and a lot of hard work to ensure those involved in this burglary were caught and convicted.”

The defendants have been remanded in police custody and will be sentenced on or around September 28.

>> ART experts say the artefacts were probably stolen “to order” and are unlikely to ever be recovered.

Guy Schooling, managing director of Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers in Stansted Mountfitchet, thinks they are likely to be in China – bought by buyers determined to see their heritage repatriated.

He said: “The end market for these objects is mainland China.

“The increase in values of Chinese works of art is driven by Chinese buyers themselves.

“I think they see it as a matter of honour to buy back their heritage which is now in the West and quite a lot of this was acquired during our occupation of China during various military campaigns.”

The haul of 18 artefacts included Qing, Qianlong and Ming artworks, including a jade 16th century carved buffalo which alone could be worth £4 million.

Jade is supposed to bring good fortune in Chinese culture.

The majority of the stolen treasure was bequeathed to the museum by Oscar Raphael in the 1940s and included six pieces made during the Ming dynasty.

Peter Crabbe, an expert in oriental antiques, has a shop in Pembroke Street opposite the museum and estimated that most of the pieces are “probably worth £250,000” adding a similar recumbent buffalo “went for £4 million at auction”.

He added: “They have obviously gone for the high quality stuff and probably to order.”

David Battie, a British expert in Chinese and Japanese ceramics, who has worked for Sworders as well, said the objects would have been made for the Chinese Literati – scholars who ran China and developed works of art, poetry and calligraphy.

The items would have been designed to use on a writing table – brush pads to hold brushes and recumbent animals to rest brushes on.

The BBC’s Antiques Roadshow star previously told the News “without a doubt these have been clearly stolen to order for the Chinese market”.

However, Mr Schooling disagrees as he thinks it was more of an “opportunistic crime”.

He said: “The defendants have seen the items there, realised that it would be possible to steal them now that there is a pretty ready market for these things and not too many questions asked.

“I would have thought they (artefacts) would have been out of the country very quickly but you never know how well organised these men are.”

Fitzwilliam Museum Jade art theft: Four plead guilty

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-19052807

A 15-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to stealing "culturally significant" art from a Cambridge museum.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted burgling "ancient Chinese antiques" from the Fitzwilliam Museum in April.

Three men - Patrick Kiely, 29, Steven Coughlan, 25, both from east London, and Robert Smith, 24, from Swanley in Kent - admitted conspiracy to burgle.

All four will return to Cambridge Crown Court in September to be sentenced.

Kiley and Coughlan, both of Gypsies Residential Site, in Eleanor Street, Bow, east London, and Smith, of Rosedale Stables, Swanley, were remanded in custody, as was the boy.

'Great blow'

Eighteen items, mostly jade and from the Fitzwilliam Museum's permanent collection, were stolen.

No value was placed on the haul during the latest court hearing but it was estimated to be worth several million pounds by police.

The University of Cambridge museum described their loss as a "great blow".

A spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire Police said the "culturally significant" art had not been recovered.

Among the stolen items in Cambridge were six pieces from the Ming dynasty, including a jade 16th Century carved buffalo, a carved horse from the 17th Century and a green and brown jade carved elephant.

A jade cup and vase which is carved with bronze designs was also stolen along with an opaque jade brush washer.

A Volkswagen Caddy van stolen from the Tower Hamlets area of east London on 7 April was used in the raid, which happened at about 19:30 BST on 13 April.

The gang entered the museum via a back entrance after using a disc cutter to create a hole in a back wall.

Cambridge News Names Teenage Fitzwilliam Burglar

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Four-admit-involvement-in-Fitzwilliam-Museum-burglary-30072012.htm

Three men and a teenage boy have admitted their involvement in a burglary which saw millions of pounds worth of ancient Chinese artefacts stolen from a Cambridge museum.

Marvin Simos, 15, of Hanameel Street, Victoria Dock, London, has admitted breaking into the Fitzwilliam Museum on April 13 this year and taking items worth between £5 million and £15 million.

He appeared at Cambridge Crown Court today jointly charged with Patrick Kiely, 29, Steven Coughlan, 25, both of Gypsies Residential Site, Eleanor Street, London and Robert Smith, 24, of Rosedale Stables, Swanley.

Kiely, Coughlan and Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle the museum.

They have been remanded in police custody and will be sentenced on or around September 28.

Det Chief Insp Jim McCrorie said: "Today’s guilty pleas follow a large scale police operation and a lot of hard work to ensure those involved in this burglary were caught and convicted. Sadly the items, which are of huge cultural significance, have still not been traced but we remain committed to pursuing new lines of enquiry that could lead to us recovering them.”

Six admit part in Oriental Museum raid

SIX people have admitted their part in the theft of rare artefacts from Durham University’s Oriental Museum.

The gang, from Walsall in the West Midlands, smashed a hole in the wall of the museum in Elvet 
Hill and snatched a jade bowl and porcelain ornament valued at £2million.

Police used CCTV footage and number plate recognition cameras to track the gang, first to Meadowfield on the outskirts of Durham City and then to Walsall.

The stolen ornaments were found by a member of the public under bushes on waste ground at Browney, a small settlement near Durham City.

They had been lying unwrapped for eight days.

At Durham Crown Court yesterday, Adrian Stanton, 32, of Telford Road and Lee Wildman 35, of Remmington Road, admitted conspiracy to burgle between January 1 and April 6.

Justin Oliver Clarke, 32, of Tamar Close, admitted two charges of assisting an offender.

The court heard he was 
in Durham when the theft took place on April 5 and helped the others by driving cars.

Fallon Arrowsmith, 19, of Walker Road, Charmaine Wilkes, 27, of Cornwall Close, and Natasha Partridge, 21, of Remmington Place, also admitted assisting an offender, between April 5 and May 11.

Judge Paul Sloan adjourned the case for pre-sentence reports and told the gang: “You will all have been advised that the circumstances of this case make custody extremely likely.”

Stanton and Wildman were remanded in custody. The other four were bailed to return to the court to be dealt with on August 31.

Stolen Art Watch, Montreal Molinari, Cops Hot For Hobin

Police looking for stolen Molinari paintings

Worth $800,000; Only 10 people knew location of pieces, which were not insured

Video: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Police+looking+stolen+Molinari+paintings+worth+with+video/6990330/story.html#ooid=B3c29oNTq6wZ5az58TkmHMwJq6yuGcem

Guido Molinari's son believes whoever stole eight of his late father's paintings - worth a total of $800,000 - last week must have been pretty frustrated during the heist, since they had to cut some of the large canvases to get them out of the building.

The thief or thieves snatched the only remaining works Guy Molinari had from his dad's hypnotic, diamond-shaped series, painted not long before he died in 2004. Because his father was an acknowledged giant of Quebec abstract art, the theft also tore a hole in our collective artistic heritage, he said.

"The canvases they cut into can never be restored to the way he created them," Molinari, 52, added.

"He created a unique pictorial space," Molinari said about his father's contribution to the art world during a 45-year career starting in 1954. His abstract minimalist paintings proposed a new way to perceive foreground and background, he explained, by blending them to create alternate layers and trick the eye.

"It is similar to the space of your imagination," he said.

The heist took place on the night of July 17 to 18 in Notre Dame de la Merci, about 110 kilometres north of Montreal, where Molinari lives and stored the works. The stolen canvases include some as large as two metres by three metres, he said.

Based on recommendations Molinari got from police to reinforce the security of the storage space, a few years ago he installed metal bars on all the doors to the room. The doors were also padlocked behind metal plates. The thief or thieves got in through a window and could not take away large framed pieces. That is probably why they had to cut them out, Molinari said.

Only about 10 people knew the elder Molinari's works were stored in the room, which is adjacent to a print shop. The works were not insured because when Molinari inherited them in 2008 there were 50 of them worth $4 million and the cost of insuring the lot was exorbitant, he said.

Guido Molinari also taught art at Concordia University for nearly 20 years, his son noted.

"When you're the son of someone like that you always admire them," Molinari said. "Now that he's gone I need to still protect him, and his image and his work."

The Sûreté du Québec's art theft specialists are actively hunting for the canvases, SQ Sgt. Gino Paré said. He declined to provide details of the investigation.

Alain Lacoursière, a former Montreal police officer and a consultant who specializes in artwork security, told The Gazette this year there is a demand on the global black market for well-known Quebec and Canadian art.

"It is sometimes given instead of cash to crime bosses to pay for drug debts," Lacoursière said. "The art could be used in a new hotel" in South America or the Middle East, for example.

Julian Cargnello, a 24-year-old Montreal painter having his third gallery show, said Molinari has been a huge influence on generations of artists.

"It takes a lot of work and a lot of perseverance to build a career," Cargnello said. Someone who steals art "isn't only taking away something that can be sold and make money. They're also taking away something that is part of your legacy."

Police recover 8 stolen paintings, worth $800K

Suspected thief from Saint-Sauveur, about an hour's drive south of the workshop.

Police have recovered eight stolen paintings by Montreal artist Guido Molinari.

Last week, thieves stole the pieces from Molinari's former workshop in Saint Donat, about 150km north of Montreal.

Police said the suspected thief is a man in his 40s, from Saint-Sauveur, about an hour's drive south of the workshop.

He is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 17 on charges of possession of stolen goods.

The artist's son, Guy Molinari, will examine the state of the eight works, the value of which is estimated at $800,000.

The abstract artist died in 2004. He is well known for his use of contrasting colours and geometry in paintings.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Police+looking+stolen+Molinari+paintings/6990536/story.html#ixzz21jSQ6y4c

Stolen Art Watch, Henry Moore Sundial, Reward Claim Led To Criminal Charges

Two men charged with theft of Henry Moore sundial sculpture

Liam Hughes, 22, and Jason Parker, 19, accused of taking artwork, worth up to £500,00, from artist's former home in Hertforshire

Two men have been charged with the theft of a sculpture taken from the former home of British artist Henry Moore.

Hertfordshire police said Liam Hughes, 22, and 19-year-old Jason Parker had both been charged with stealing the sundial sculpture and a bronze plinth.

The sundial, created by Moore in 1965 as a working model for a larger sculpture, was taken from the grounds of the Henry Moore Foundation in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, overnight between 10 and 11 July.

Said to be worth up to £500,000, the distinctive artwork was found at an undisclosed location after a televised appeal for information last Thursday.

Hughes and Parker, both of Coltsfield, Stansted, Essex, have been bailed to appear before magistrates in Stevenage on 3 August. A third man, aged 22 and also from Stansted, has been released without charge

Stolen Art Watch, Moore The Merrier As Travellers Stung By One Of Their Own

Stolen bronze Henry Moore sculpture worth £500,000 recovered following TV appeal

A bronze sculpture worth £500,000 stolen from the former home of British artist and sculptor Henry Moore has been recovered by detectives after a televised appeal for information.

The Sundial, created by Moore in 1965 as a working model for a larger sculpture, was found at an undisclosed location after an inquiry by Hertfordshire Police led to the arrest of three men on suspicion of theft.

A bronze sculpture by Henry Moore, valued at up to £500,000, was stolen from the grounds of a Hertfordshire museum dedicated to the artist

The distinctive 22in-high artwork was taken from the grounds of The Henry Moore Foundation, near Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, overnight between July 10 and July 11.

A senior officer appeared on BBC1’s Crimewatch on Thursday to appeal for information about the theft.

British artist Henry Moore, who died in 1986, became well known for his large-scale abstract cast bronze and carved marble sculptures.

Following the programme, a member of the public called in regarding the sculpture, which was recovered along with a bronze plinth taken from the foundation last Sunday.

Three men, two aged 22 and one 19, all from Essex, have been arrested on suspicion of two counts of theft and are in police custody.

Lesley Wake, chief operating officer at The Henry Moore Foundation, said: ‘The foundation is thrilled about the return of model for Sundial.

'We are hugely grateful to Crimewatch, the public and Hertfordshire Police.’

The Sundial is the latest work by Moore, who died in 1986 aged 88, to be targeted by thieves.

The foundation carried out a security review after the theft of the two-ton Reclining Figure in December 2005.

In 2010, Moore’s £45,000 painting Three Reclining Figures On Pedestals was stolen from a gallery in Broadway, Worcestershire.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2177140/Stolen-bronze-Henry-Moore-sculpture-worth-500-000-recovered-following-TV-appeal.html#ixzz21LyyJUSq

Stolen Art Watch, Matisse Malaise Solved In Miami

Matisse On Menu

Miami is known as an up-and-coming art town thanks to local art stars, vibrant Wynwood galleries, and Art Basel Miami Beach. But as it turns out, it's also home to black market art dealing as well.

Two people were arrested Tuesday on Miami Beach after trying to sell what is believed to be Henri Matisse's 1925 painting "Odalisque in Red Pants" to undercover agents for $740,000, according to the FBI. The painting has been missing from the Sofia Imber Contemporary Art Museum in Caracas, Venezuela since 2002, having famously been swapped for a fake that went unnoticed for what some speculate might have been several years.

The FBI identified the accused as Pedro Antonio Marcuello Guzman, 46, of Miami, and Maria Martha Elisa Ornelas Lazo, 50, of Mexico City, Mexico. According to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Wilfredo Ferrer, Marcuello admitted to the agents during a meeting that he knew the $3 million painting was stolen before negotiating a deal.

Once the price was agreed upon, Ornelas carried the painting in a red tube from Mexico through Miami International Airport before she and Marcuello met the undercover agents to transfer possession. According to Local10, the two were arrested after the deal was completed at the Loews Hotel in Miami Beach.

It is not yet known if Marcuello and Ornelas were involved in the original theft of the painting, details of which have never been pinned down despite intense work from Interpol and police from the Americas to Europe.

In 2002, Miami art collector Genaro Ambrosino, who is originally from Venezuela, contacted SICAM after hearing that the painting was for sale. Director Rita Salvestrini told him "Odalisque in Red Pants" wasn't on the market, and that's when museum officials discovered that the one in their collection had been swapped for a fake.

One Venezuelan newspaper argued the Matisse may have been swapped during an exhibition loan in Spain in 1997, according to the Daily Mail, while other evidence points to the exchange having happened in 2000.

Either way, “Odalisque in Red Pants” had been a fixture on Art Loss Register's list of most valuable missing artwork. If convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney's office, Marcuello and Ornelas each face a possible maximum statutory sentence of up to ten years in prison.

Unfortunately, most stolen artwork is rarely recovered. According to the Christian Science Monitor, only about 15 percent of missing or stolen art returns to its rightful owner.

In 2004, the FBI created an Art Crime Team and set up a National Stolen Art File database. In the past 9 years, they have recovered over 2,650 items that amount to over $150 million, according to the Daily Mail.

"Generally speaking, art thieves are fairly good criminals, but they're terrible businessmen," Robert Wittman, an art-security consultant and former investigator for the FBI's national Art Crime Team, told the Associated Press. "And the true art is not the stealing, it's the selling."

Undercover FBI agents recover stolen Matisse painting worth £2m in Florida 'sting'

• By Catherine Eade

A Matisse painting stolen more than ten years ago has been recovered in a sting by FBI agents.

Yesterday a man and a woman tried to sell the 1925 painting ‘Odalisque in Red Pants’ to undercover federal agents posing as art collectors at the Loews Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.

The masterpiece, worth nearly £2million, had been on display in the Sofia Imber Contemporary Art Museum in Caracas, Venezuela, but in 2003 it was discovered to be a fake.

Recovered: Odalisque in Pants, painted by Henri Matisse in 1925, had been missing for over 10 years when it was discovered the painting in the museum in Caracas, Venezuela was a forgery

The FBI have not yet named the pair, or revealed whether they are implicated in the theft of the painting, but its recovery is big news for those in the art world.

Agents from Interpol, the FBI and Venezuelan, British, Spanish and French police have been searching for the 1925 Henri Matisse painting for nearly 10 years, but no one knew where it was.

'Odalisque in Red Pants’ had been on tour to other museums several years previously and at some point been switched with a forgery.

The Sofia Imber Contemporary Art Museum had bought the original painting in 1981, but how and when the painting was replaced with a replica, and by whom are questions still unanswered.

Scene of the sting: The swanky Loews hotel on Ocean Drive, Florida, where undercover FBI agents posing as art collectors nabbed a man and a woman selling the Matisse painting that had been missing for over 10 years

The director of Caracas Museum, Rita Salvestrini, suggested that the switch many years ago had been done by an insider. She said in 2003, when the forgery was first discovered, ‘There had to be inside complicity. You can't just make the switch freely inside the museum.’

• Is this the Mona Lisa's skeleton? Archaeologists excited after discovery of bones in Florence convent

There are clear differences between the original and the replica, which Salvestrini explained at a press conference: The fake has a dark shadow behind the dancer, while the original does not. In the lower right hand corner, the genuine painting has seven green stripes. The fake has six.

The Sofia Imber museum purchased the painting from the Marlborough Gallery in New York in 1981 for $400,000. It has been on display ever since, except for a brief loan for a Spanish exhibition in 1997.

Spot the difference: The fake, right, has a dark shadow behind the dancer, while the original, left, does not. In the lower right hand corner of the genuine painting there are seven green stripes. The fake has six.

Portrait of the artist: Henri Matisse (1869 ¿ 1954) was a French artist known for his use of vibrant colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship

Caracas newspaper El Mundo speculated that the Matisse may have been swapped during the 1997 Spanish exhibition loan. Other clues suggest the painting may have been stolen in 2000.

In November 2002, Miami art collector Genaro Ambrosino heard the piece was up for sale and contacted Rita Salvestrini.

She pointed out that the painting was in the museum and was not for sale, but after experts examined it they declared it a forgery.

Salvestrini has subsequently discovered that over the years a handful of people in the art world had heard rumours that 'Odalisque in Red Pants' was being offered for sale.

Some gallery owners had been approached and been offered the painting but investigators have yet to name anyone thought to be complicit in the painting's theft and recent reappearance.

'The people who knew that the piece was being circulated around the world never informed us,' said Salvestrini. 'The thing is, it didn't occur to anyone the piece could have been authentic.'

‘Odalisque in Red Pants' is not the only painting by Henri Matisse to have been logged in the FBI's National Stolen Art File (NSAF) database of stolen art and cultural property:

In 2006 the French painter's 1904 masterpiece Luxembourg Gardens was stolen from a Rio de Janeiro museum during the carnival, along with paintings by Picasso, Dali and Monet.

A SERIES OF SUCCESSFUL STINGS: THE FBI ART CRIME TEAM EXPLAINED

The FBI's rapid deployment Art Crime Team was created in 2004 and is composed of 14 special agents, each responsible for art and cultural property crime cases in specific geographic regions.

The Art Crime Team is coordinated through the FBI’s Art Theft Program in Washington, D.C. where agents receive specialized training in art and cultural property investigations.

Once trained they can assist in art-related investigations worldwide in alongside foreign law enforcement officials and FBI legal attaché offices.

Stolen objects are submitted for entry to the National Stolen Art File (NSAF) by law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. When an object is recovered, it is removed from the database.

Since its inception, the Art Crime Team has recovered more than 2,650 items valued at over $150 million including:

Francisco de Goya’s 1778 painting Children With a Cart. The painting was stolen while being transported from the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio to the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Around 100 paintings stolen from a Florida family’s art collection in a fine art storage facility, including works by Picasso, Rothko, Matisse and others, were recovered from Chicago, New York and Tokyo.

Rembrandt’s Self Portrait (1630) was recovered in a sting operation in Copenhagen carried out in cooperation with ICE and law enforcement agencies in Sweden and Denmark. The FBI had also previously recovered Renoir’s The Young Parisian. Both paintings had been stolen from the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm in 2000.

700 pre-Colombian artifacts were recovered in Miami in a sting operation in coordination with the Ecuadorian authorities.

Three paintings by the German painter Heinrich Buerkel (1802-1869), stolen at the conclusion of World War II and consigned for sale at an auction house near Philadelphia in 2005.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2175275/Stolen-Matisse-painting-recovered-Undercover-FBI-agents-recover-stolen-Odalisque-Red-Pants-Florida-sting.html#ixzz20ylXnoe9

Stolen Art Watch, Art Crime Has No Borders

Brazilian masterminds art thefts from behind bars

http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/art-and-theatre/brazilian-masterminds-art-thefts-from-behind-bars_115455.htm

Rio de Janeiro: A convicted art thief was found by the Brazilian police to be running an international ring from a prison in Rio de Janeiro, selling stolen art works in neighbouring countries, a media report said.

Laessio Rodrigues de Oliveira, who studied information science, began serving a 12-year prison sentence in 2007 for stealing and falsifying art works, a newspaper reported on its website.

Rodrigues de Oliveira, 39, has been running the ring from the Bangu prison in Rio de Janeiro.

The ring stole art works from museums and libraries in the Brazilian states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, selling them to collectors in Argentina, Uruguay and even Brazil.

Rodrigues de Oliveira, who staged robberies at the request of collectors, "is the biggest thief of rare works in the country", police said.

The convicted art thief used cell phones, letters and messages carried by visitors to run the ring.

Rodrigues de Oliveira first gained notoriety in 1998, when he stole 14 antiquarian magazines and newspapers worth $750,000 from the National Library in Sao Paulo.

Lady on the Terrace replaces damaged Monet painting

http://www.herald.ie/news/lady-on-the-terrace-replaces-damaged-monet-painting-3168980.html

This is the painting that has replaced the Monet masterpiece damaged after an alleged attack in the National Gallery.

The work, called Lady On The Terrace, is by another French artist who was inspired by Monet himself.

Paul Signac was so impressed by Monet that he gave up his training in architecture to pursue a career as a painter after attending an exhibition of Monet's work.

The damaged Monet painting, Argenteuil Basin With A Single Sailboat, is currently with gardai as they investigate an alleged attack on it on June 29.

It will have to undergo extensive examination and restoration by the gallery's conservation department before it can be put on view again.

Andrew Shannon (47) of Willans Way, Ongar, was remanded in custody after he was charged with causing criminal damage to the valuable Monet oil-painting.

The Signac painting chosen to replace the Monet in the Millennium Wing of the National Gallery is proving popular among visitors and tourists.

Signac's uses dots of colour which are blended by the eye of the viewer, rather then the broad brushstrokes favoured by Monet.

The painting from 1898 depicts a scene in St Tropez.

"We have tried to replace the Monet with another European painting in a similar style," said Valerie Keogh of the National Gallery.

Antiques thefts in Brighton and Hove could be work of organised gang

An organised gang could be behind a series of linked antique burglaries.

Homes across Brighton and Hove have been targeted.

On one occasion a widower in his 90s was targeted. As he slept a large number of antiques were stolen.

A thief or thieves forced the window of his home in Roedean Road open and stole two-inch brass clocks, a solid silver tea set, solid silver greyhound and brass candlesticks.

They also took a vintage Mercedes car from his garage which had belonged to his wife who had died.

Police said the man was devastated by the loss of such a sentimental item.

The man’s home was targeted during the early hours of Sunday, July 8.

Distressing On Friday, July 6, at around 10.30am a high value Georgian clock along with solid silver items thatincluded rose vases, coasters, bowls and an Edwardian silver sweet dish plus an original Staffordshire figure were stolen from a house in Vale Avenue, Patcham, Brighton, while the owner had popped to the shops.

On this occasion entry was gained via the back door.

Around the same time an antique charmbracelet with a little fork and trowel charm, was stolen from a property nearby in King George VI Avenue, Hove.

Detective Sergeant KateWitt said it was likely there was more than one offender because of the “bulk and weight” of the items stolen.

She said: “We don’t have any specific intelligence as to why these houses have been targeted.

“It is likely an organised group.

“The offendersmight have been looking in the area in the run-up to the offences.”

She said the elderlyman was “very, very upset”. “He associates the car with his wife,” she said.

“These burglaries have been incredibly distressing for all three victims. The antiques were not only of high monetary value but also incredibly sentimental to their owners.

“We are not ruling out that all three burglaries may be linked and that the homes were specifically targeted.”

Stolen Art Watch, Henry Moore Sundial, Hotter Than July

Henry Moore sculpture stolen from Hertfordshire museum

A bronze sculpture by Henry Moore, valued at up to £500,000, has been stolen from the grounds of a Hertfordshire museum.

The 22in-high Sundial, 1965, was taken from The Henry Moore Foundation in Much Hadham on Tuesday night.

Seven years ago, a bronze statue worth £3m was stolen from the same museum - the sculptor's former home - and was never recovered.

Police later said they believed it had been melted down for its scrap value.

CCTV pictures of the 2005 theft showed three men loading the statue of "a reclining figure" on to the back of a Mercedes lorry using a crane.

Police are appealing for anyone with information about the latest incident to come forward.

Detective Inspector Paul Watts said: "This Sundial sculpture is a valuable piece and we are very keen to speak to anyone who may have seen it since 16:30 on 10 July."

The son of a coalminer, Castleford-born Henry Moore (1898-1986) is regarded as the UK's most famous sculptor.

Picasso and Renoir paintings worth $21 million stolen from Czech businessman

Czech police are searching for Picasso and Renoir paintings stolen from a local businessman in the town of Olomouc. The art is reportedly worth $21 million.

The robbers got away with a Renoir and ten Picasso drawings in mid June. The police have only released the information as part of their investigation, the Ria Novosti news agency reports.

"Unknown suspects broke into the house of the 51-year-old businessman in Olomouc and after resorting to violence forced him to hand over the keys for his safe-deposit," the local police spokesperson said. “He was seriously injured, but managed to call the police.”

The businessman was reportedly tied and beaten up.

Apart from the art the criminals also stole other valuables.

Stolen Art Watch, Dublin Monet, A Hole Lotta Trouble

Man in court over damage to painting

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/man-in-court-over-damage-to-painting-3161174.html

A 47-YEAR-OLD man has been refused an application to have independent analysis carried out on a Monet oil painting that he is accused of damaging.

Andrew Shannon, of Willans Way, Ongar, Co Dublin, is charged with criminal damage to the painting at the National Gallery in Dublin on June 29.

Gardai arrested him after damage had been inflicted to Claude Monet's 'Argenteuil Basin With A Single Sailboat', which is believed to be insured for up to €7m.

Mr Shannon was before Cloverhill District Court yesterday, having been remanded in custody on Monday.

His solicitor, Eleanor Leane, requested independent analysis of the painting.

Judge McHugh refused the application but said it could be made again when Mr Shannon is next in court.

Mr Shannon has not yet indicated how he will plead to the charge.

Stolen Art Watch, Codex Liberated From Disgruntled Handyman

Santiago Codex Calixtinus, Priceless Stolen Book, Found In Handyman's Garage

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/priceless-santiago-codex-_n_1651670.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

A priceless 12th-century illuminated manuscript stolen from the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, and considered one of Spain's most treasured cultural and religious treasures, was found in the garage of a former employee, according to news reports.

The Codex Calixtinus, believed to be the first guidebook for religious pilgrims to Santiago, disappeared almost exactly a year ago from the cathedral in Galicia in northern Spain, according to the BBC. It had been locked in a closely guarded room accessible by only a few people.

A collection of sermons and liturgical passages, the codex was used by pilgrims to Santiago, the reputed burial place of St. James the Greater, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. Tradition says that he went to Spain to preach Christianity and is buried in Santiago. The codex, which is comprised of five volumes, tells how the apostle's remains were transferred to Santiago de Compostela, and also outlines for pilgrims the various routes to the city.

The stolen codex is thought to date from around 1150 and is so famous that it would have been unsellable on the open market without alerting the police.

The Guardian reports that police arrested a freelance handyman and electrician who worked at the cathedral for 25 years before being fired for forging a work contract. The man claimed he was owed more than $50,000 for unfair dismissal. His name has not been released; three of his relatives also were arrested.

Besides the codex, police also found other old books stolen from the cathedral, including its book of hours, a popular type of devotional book in the Middle Ages. Also recovered were keys to nearby buildings, documents related to church officials and the equivalent of at least $1.5 million in euros.

Stolen Art Watch, Monet Damage Dublin Was Dry Run

Shannon Brothers, Andrew left, William right

Man accused of damaging painting is remanded in custody

Monday, July 02, 2012 - 05:21 PM

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/man-accused-of-damaging-painting-is-remanded-in-custody-557630.html

A 47-year-old man was remanded in custody this evening - and is to get medical treatment - after he was charged with causing criminal damage to a valuable Claude Monet oil painting at the National Gallery of Ireland last week.

Gardaí arrested him after damage was inflicted last Friday to Monet's Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat painting, which is believed to be insured for up to €7m.

Andrew Shannon with an address at Willans Way, Ongar, was charged with criminal damage to the painting at the National Gallery of Ireland, in Dublin city-centre, on June 29 last.

The 1874 impressionist oil-painting had been exhibited at the gallery's room 10 but has since been removed for examination.

Dublin District Court was told this morning that Mr Shannon was charged at 8.14pm on Saturday.

Detective Conor O'Braonain of Pearse St Garda station told the court that after caution Mr Shannon replied: “My solicitor has all the details.”

On Sunday evening, while in garda in custody, he complained that he was feeling ill and was brought to St James's Hospital.

Judge Cormac Dunne had been told that Mr Shannon was taken into the care of a cardiologist at the hospital and could not be brought to court this morning.

The case was adjourned until a late sitting of the court and Mr Shannon was then brought before Judge Denis McLoughlin.

The presiding judge was told that there would be an objection to bail. However, defence solicitor Aine Flynn said Mr Shannon was not making a bail application at this stage.

Mr Shannon, who did not address the court, was wearing a black “Pubs of Dublin” T-Shirt, blue jeans and black shoes.

Ms Flynn asked the judge to grant free legal aid to him and explained that he was in receipt of a disability payment. The judge agreed after noting that there was no garda objection.

He remanded Mr Shannon, who has not yet indicated how he will plead to the charge, in custody to appear again at Cloverhill District Court on Friday.

A second charge was also brought against Mr Shannon for trespassing and attempted theft at a house on Merrion Square, in central Dublin, on February 24 last. Garda Shane Noone said Mr Shannon made no comment when that charge was also put to him on Saturday.

Judge McLoughlin agreed to a request from the defence solicitor to direct medical attention for Mr Shannon, which Ms Flynn said he has required since the time of his arrest.

Man charged for damaging Monet painting

A MAN arrested on Friday on suspicion of seriously damaging the National Gallery of Ireland’s only painting by French impressionist Claude Monet has convictions relating to the theft of collectable artefacts.

A large hole was made in the 1874 painting, Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat, when a man lunged at it in the gallery between 11.30am and noon. The man then fell to the ground, telling security guards he had chest pains. He was taken to hospital by ambulance and was discharged after being assessed.

Gardaí confirmed last night a man had been arrested in connection with the attack and taken to Pearse Street station.

The incident at the gallery was captured on CCTV while a number of people in the room at the time are believed to have witnessed it. Gardaí said some of them had not yet been traced and they were asking them to contact the investigating team at Pearse Street station.

The arrested man, who is Andrew Shannon 47 of Willans’ Way in Clonsilla , is originally from Ballymun, Dublin. He has convictions in Britain relating to thefts from stately homes in which rare books, paintings and antiques were stolen.

He had travelled to Britain with an accomplice and, when caught in a private section of a stately home in Yorkshire he was found to have a walkie-talkie, which he was believed to be using to communicate with the other man. A sat-nav unit with the addresses of other stately homes was also found in his possession.

He was being questioned last night under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

The damaged painting was bequeathed to the National Gallery by the musicologist – and one of the founders of the Abbey Theatre – Edward Martyn, along with six other works by Degas, Corot and others, in 1924.

Martyn was a cousin of George Moore. On a visit to Paris, Moore took him to art dealer Durand-Ruel’s and, according to Peter Somerville-Large, “persuaded him to buy a sparkling river scene by Claude Monet and two pastels by Edgar Degas”.

The painting is the epitome of serenity. Bathed in soft sunlight, a boat sails close to a leafy bank of the Seine, the suburban town of Argenteuil visible in outline in the distance.

National Gallery director Seán Rainbird said: “It is a shocking and very regrettable incident and I would like to praise the Garda Síochána and the NGI staff in dealing promptly with the matter.”

Market values for substantial works by Monet are now well into the tens of millions. A Water Lilies painting exceeded £40 million at auction in 2008. Smaller, less iconic works of quality are unlikely to fetch below the £10 million mark.

Shannon History Back-story :

http://arthostage.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/stolen-art-watch-shannon-goose-loose-in.html

Stolen Art Watch, Duke of Wellington, Art Attack Apsley House, Regiment Disbanded

Artworks stolen from Apsley House in Hyde Park Corner

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18636049

Three paintings, a bronze sculpture and ceramic objects have been stolen from Apsley House in central London.

The artworks were stolen from the private apartments from the home of the First Duke of Wellington and his family on 14 June, police said.

Among the items stolen were 19th Century paintings by Luigi Eusebi and a bust of the Duke of Wellington.

The Hyde Park Corner house was given to the nation by the seventh Duke in 1947, but the family retain the apartments.

The items stolen were a painting by Luigi Eusebi, After Romano: 'The Madonna and Child'; another painting by Eusebi, After Correggio 'La Zingarella'; a small miniature portrait of the Duke of Wellington painted on ivory and framed in ebony; a bust of the duke mounted on a black marble base and some small ceramic objects.

Police said they were studying CCTV footage from the property.

Apsley House is run by English Heritage.

It was given to Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington to celebrate of his role in the victory of Waterloo in 1815, according to its website.

The website adds: "It boasts one of the finest art collections in London, with paintings by Velazquez and Rubens as well as a wonderful collection of silver and porcelain."

The theft is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police art and antiques unit.

Apsley House was given to the nation by the 7th Duke of Wellington in 1947.

The house is administered by English Heritage on behalf of the government.

Waterloo battalion
‘gets the axe’

Cameron nukes Duke's Regiment

THE Duke of Wellington’s Regiment which has stood up to history’s most fearsome tyrants could finally be beaten — by swingeing cuts to our Armed Forces.

The battalion — whose modern-day heroes are fighting in Afghanistan — is threatened by plans to cut troop numbers from 102,000 to 82,000.

It took its name from the general who led his men to victory over Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo 197 years ago tomorrow.

And it’s gone into battle against the armies of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein.

But now up to 650 soldiers will lose their jobs if David Cameron rubber-stamps plans by Army chiefs to disband the unit.

The PM has put off any announcement while The Dukes — now part of the Yorkshire Regiment — are on active service in Helmand.

Five of their soldiers were killed in an explosion in March and earlier this month Private Gregg Stone, 20, was shot dead by insurgents.

Mr Cameron would face a backlash if he axed the battalion so close to the 200th anniversary of Waterloo.

But he is under pressure to protect Scottish regiments to avoid playing into the hands of nationalists.

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said: “Many of those who fought in the dust and danger of Afghanistan are being rewarded with P45s

“The country will be worried about the military impact and will want those made redundant to be given opportunities for work elsewhere.” The Dukes, then known as the 33rd Regiment of Foot, were involved in heavy fighting during the defeat of the French at Waterloo in 1815.

After his surrender, Napoleon admitted: “These dogs of English never know when they are beaten.”

The hero troops were given the honour of being renamed The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment on June 18, 1853 — on the anniversary of the battle after Wellington’s death.

In 2006, The Dukes were merged with two other regiments — The Prince of Wales’s Own and the Green Howards — to form the Yorkshire Regiment. Three battalions were set up and each of the old regiments kept its original name.

An MoD spokesman said: “We need to ensure Britain continues to have the best, most adaptable Armed Forces in the world. This means restructuring our Army in a way that has not been done for many years.

“It is right that time is taken to consider the military advice before final decisions are taken on the best structure to meet the Army’s operational needs for the future.”

Centuries of brave heroes

THE Dukes dates back to 1702 when it was known as Huntingdon’s Regiment.

Since it was renamed after the Battle of Waterloo, It has seen action in the Crimea and two world wars.

It was awarded a Battle honour for its part in the Battle of Monte Ceco in 1944.

The 1st Battalion was deployed to Korea in 1952, Bosnia in 1994 and Iraq in 2003, along with tours of Northern Ireland during the troubles. Its soldiers have collected a total of nine Victoria Crosses.