The Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) is a nongovernmental civil society organisation (CSO) that conducts scholarly research and training within the discipline of combatting cultural property crime.[1] Established in 2009 with the aim of exploring the gaps in the international legal framework which addresses art and antiquities crimes. ARCA was founded by Dr. Noah Charney, an art and art crime historian, as well as a published author.
Internationally recognized as an agency working in the highly specialized field of art crime research, ARCA's affiliate researchers have been interviewed in the press and asked to provide commentary on criminal incidents affecting the art market as well as to comment on incidences where art crimes overlap with other criminality such as: money laundering, organized crime, and terrorist financing.[2]
The Association's work has also been documented by governmental and nongovernmental institutions as a useful resource in further understanding and interpreting art crimes. To do so, ARCA also maintains cooperative relationships both intergovernmental and non-governmental, through cooperation agreements with international organizations including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Observatory of Illicit Trafic.[3][4][5]
History and activities
ARCA was established in 2009 with the aim of exploring the gaps in the international legal framework which addresses art and antiquities crimes, ARCA was founded by Dr. Noah Charney, an art and art crime historian and author.[6][7]
One of the earliest volunteer-driven forums of its kind, the Association focuses on bringing together experts from diverse art, archaeology, criminal justice, and law backgrounds to collaborate and share knowledge, research, and resources, with the intent to better analyze and address the nuances of cultural property crime more efficiently. Its goals include raising awareness and fostering dialogue concerning the complexities of transnational cultural property-related crimes including its etiology, prevention, and control. It also seeks to demonstrate how stolen art objects, as well as looted cultural items, may be a source of profit which fuels other crimes.[citation needed]
International advisory
In March 2018 ARCA was invited to participate at UNESCO's Paris Headquarters for their Category 6 expert committee meeting and conference in order addressed to engage the European art market and sensitize relevant stakeholders to the implications of illicit trafficking of cultural property – from the consequences regarding the protection of cultural heritage to terrorism financing and money laundering.[8] In 2023, addressing an audience of diplomats, policymakers, and stakeholders from attending a United Nations event organized by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), ARCA spoke on the topic of emerging trends relating to the destruction of cultural heritage and illicit trade of cultural property, and their linkages with terrorism.[9]
Criminal justice advisory
ARCA's research has been acknowledged to have supported law enforcement and public prosecutor efforts in the protection of cultural heritage and in upholding the rule of law. In one notable public case, the Association's work was accredited by the State of New York - District Attorney's Office in Manhattan for having provided assistance in the Grand Jury Investigation into the private New York antiquities collector Michael Steinhardt regarding his acquisition, possession, and sale of antiquities which constituted stolen property under New York law. This acknowledgement is public record, and available via the New York Courts.[10]
ARCA also serves as an advisory for Operation Pandora, an annual European police operation which is carried out in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). Launched in 2016 to target the illicit trafficking of looted or stolen cultural goods in circulation in the European market, this multi-country police action is coordinated by Europol, Interpol and the World Customs Organization and utilizes experts working in the field of art crime research, including the Association's forensic analysts, who help law enforcement agencies by facilitating the identification of illicitly trafficked art.[11][12]
In furtherance of their outreach goals, researchers whose work has been supported by ARCA have identified a number of looted or stolen cultural property in circulation within the legitimate art market.[13][14] They have also drawn attention to fraudulent art schemes involving US dealers who falsify an object's provenance record in order to launder illicit antiquities.[15]
Training
Since 2009 the Association has offered a professional development Postgraduate Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection consisting of eleven courses held annually over the course of one summer in Amelia, Italy.[16] In 2017 the Association began a second in person initiative, providing advanced and introductory provenance research training courses, in partnership with the Holocaust Art Restitution Project.[17]
During the stringent COVID-19 lockdowns in Italy, ARCA created a grouping of online training courses, in keeping with health and safety regulations designed to reduce transmission of the virus. During this period, the Association offered online courses were highlighted by The International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) as being "useful, accurate, and up to date topics on the subject of art crime and cultural heritage protection."[18]
ARCA has also provided bespoke training in partnership with UNESCO via the agency's Heritage Emergency Fund in 2018 in Beirut, Lebanon. [19] From 15 to 18 March 2021 ARCA provided training modules for Twenty four Customs officers from Eastern and Central Europe who took part in a virtual specialized PITCH (Preventing Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage) training, organized jointly by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).[20]
Sponsorship and outreach
When funding is adequate, ARCA has sponsored the documentation and exploration of new methodologies, approaches and interactions which underscore art and antiquities crime and steps towards its mitigation. In 2012 the Association awarded its 2012 Writer's Residency to Dr. Laurie Rush, a US-based archaeologist, and Cultural Resource Manager, working at Fort Drum whose work with the military advocates for Cultural Property Protection as a force multiplier in stability operations. During her summer residency with ARCA, the Association introduced the officer to officers working with Italy's Carabinieri art crime police unit, who in turn authorised the first book of its kind, in English, highlighting the work carried out by the Italian military's Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Property.[21]
Since 2010 the Association has hosted its eponymous international art crime conference in Amelia, Italy, an event geared towards academic researchers, provenance researchers, law enforcement officials, museum professionals, legal experts and public prosecutors grappling with ethical and legal complexities of art and antiquities crime and cultural property protection.[22]
In 2016 a weekend-long conference forum highlighted the concept of Cultural Rights and Value Education.[23][24] In 2018, this event emphasized art crimes which had occurred during incidences of asymmetrical warfare in the Middle East and supported the presence and presentations of archaeologists working within the conflict zones of Syria and Iraq.[25] More recently, in 2023 an ARCA-affiliated forensic researcher was appointed to serve on the international panel of experts tasked with assisting the British Museum's recovery project, aimed at recovering artefacts stolen from the British Museum.[26][27]
Publications
ARCA has published the peer-reviewed Journal of Art Crime (JAC) on a biannual basis since 2009, which is geared toward interdisciplinary academic articles related to art and antiquities crimes, their investigation and long term repercussions. Some of this journal's articles represent the first publication of forensic work conducted by leading art crime-focused archaeologists who work to track and identify looted antiquities in circulation in the art market.[28] The JAC also highlights "cold cases", some of the lessor seen work of law enforcement investigators who often are restricted from commenting on investigations until long after a case investigation has been closed.[29]
Subject to paywall, the JAC is available to subscribers in paper and ePaper format as well as through university digital research lending platforms with access to the HeinOnline Law Journal Library.[30] The JAC may also be accessed via the Metropolitan Museum of Art's library collection, and the regional interlibrary loan system known as UBorrow.[31]
ARCA also hosts an art crime blog which provides free opensource access to scholars, law enforcement professionals, museum curators, and the general public on issues related to cultural property crime and the organization's activities. Geared at providing an understanding of the complexities of art crime and its broader implications for society, the Association has produced more than 2000 articles since 2009 on topics ranging from provenance, to looting, and illicit trafficking, to forgery, vandalism, and iconoclasm.[32][33]
In the media
In 2021, ARCA's work was highlighted in two film documentaries one originating the United States and the other in the UK. The first "Lot 448", was directed by Bella Monticelli and premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival as part of the film festival's Female Trailblazers film series.[34] Focused on highlighting females working in traditionally male roles, the film highlighted one of ARCA's forensic researchers who gathered evidence in an attempt to stop the auction of a looted Etruscan antefix and to returning the artifact back to its country of origin.[35][36] The second documentary was produced by TIWI for SkyArts and is titled Art Traffickers - Treasures Stolen From the Tombs. This documentary features commentary from an ARCA researcher discussing the historic looting and plunder conducted by some of Italy's notorious antiquities trafficking networks.[37]
Notes
↑ Kila, J.D. (2012). Heritage under siege: military implementation of the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property. Brill. p.57. ISBN978-9004215689.
Art theft, sometimes called artnapping, is the stealing of paintings, sculptures, or other forms of visual art from galleries, museums or other public and private locations. Stolen art is often resold or used by criminals as collateral to secure loans. Only a small percentage of stolen art is recovered—an estimated 10%. Many nations operate police squads to investigate art theft and illegal trade in stolen art and antiquities.
Archaeological ethics refers to the moral issues raised through the study of the material past. It is a branch of the philosophy of archaeology. This article will touch on human remains, the preservation and laws protecting remains and cultural items, issues around the globe, as well as preservation and ethnoarchaeology.
Repatriation is the return of the cultural property, often referring to ancient or looted art, to their country of origin or former owners.
Archaeological looting in Iraq took place since at least the late 19th century. The chaos following war provided the opportunity to pillage everything that was not nailed down. There were also attempts to protect the sites such as the period between April 9, 2003, when the staff vacated the Iraq Museum and April 15, 2003, when US forces arrived in sufficient numbers to "restore some semblance of order." Some 15,000 cultural artifacts disappeared in that time. Over the years approximately 14,800 were recovered from within and outside Iraq and taken under the protection of the Iraqi government.
Robert Emmanuel Hecht, Jr. was an American antiquities art dealer based in Paris.
American Council for Cultural Policy (ACCP) was a not-for-profit organization formed in 2002 by a group of politically influential antiquities dealers, collectors and lawyers in the United States, with its headquarters in New York and representatives in Washington D.C. The goal of the organization was described by Ashton Hawkins as "informing the public on arts issues." The organization is now defunct and its website (culturalpolicycouncil.org) has been removed from the web. Some of its members now actively take part in Cultural Policy Research Institute.
Looted art has been a consequence of looting during war, natural disaster and riot for centuries. Looting of art, archaeology and other cultural property may be an opportunistic criminal act or may be a more organized case of unlawful or unethical pillage by the victor of a conflict. The term "looted art" reflects bias, and whether particular art has been taken legally or illegally is often the subject of conflicting laws and subjective interpretations of governments and people; use of the term "looted art" in reference to a particular art object implies that the art was taken illegally.
The Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage is a treaty that was adopted on 2 November 2001 by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The convention is intended to protect "all traces of human existence having a cultural, historical or archaeological character" which have been under water for over 100 years. This extends to the protection of shipwrecks, sunken cities, prehistoric art work, treasures that may be looted, sacrificial and burial sites, and old ports that cover the oceans' floors. The preservation of underwater cultural heritage is significant as it allows for the retelling of numerous historical events. As part of its duty to conduct scientific research and provide continuous education on the importance of underwater cultural heritage, UNESCO strives to maintain these sites for the enjoyment of current and future generations. The convention may provide a customary framework to help raise awareness and seek to combat the illegal looting and pirating occurring in waters worldwide. As an international body, member states of the convention agree to work towards the preservation of sunken cultural property within their jurisdiction and the high seas.
The antiquities trade is the exchange of antiquities and archaeological artifacts from around the world. This trade may be illicit or completely legal. The legal antiquities trade abides by national regulations, allowing for extraction of artifacts for scientific study whilst maintaining archaeological and anthropological context. The illicit antiquities trade involves non-scientific extraction that ignores the archaeological and anthropological context from the artifacts.
ARCA's Postgraduate Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection is a multidisciplinary postgraduate certificate program that specializes in the study of art crime and cultural property protection. The course programming consists of 10–11 weeks of academic instruction at the postgraduate level and is hosted in Amelia, Italy. The instruction covers a wide variety of theoretical and practical elements of art and heritage crime and examines art crime's interconnected world of art criminals, investigators, lawyers and art historians. The courses include comprehensive lectures and discussions exploring art crime, its nature and impact, as well as what is currently being done to mitigate it.
The Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, better known as the Carabinieri T.P.C., is the branch of the Italian Carabinieri responsible for combatting art and antiquities crimes and is viewed as an experienced and efficient task force.
UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects is the international treaty on the subject of cultural property protection. It attempts to strengthen the main weaknesses of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. The UNIDROIT Convention seeks to fight the illicit trafficking of cultural property by modifying the buyer's behaviour, obliging him/her to check the legitimacy of their purchase.
The UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property is an international treaty to combat the illegal trade in cultural items. It was signed on 14 November 1970 and came into effect on 24 April 1972. As of February 2024, 143 states have ratified the convention.
Subhash Kapoor is an Indian American art smuggler who was convicted for running a $100 million international smuggling racket. He was previously the owner of the Art of the Past gallery in Manhattan. His sister business, Nimbus Import/Exports, specialised in selling antiquities from across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia to major museums around the world.
Geneva Freeport is a warehouse complex in Geneva, Switzerland, for the storage of art and other valuables and collectibles. It is the oldest and largest freeport facility, and the one with the most artworks, with 40% of its collection being art with an estimated value of US$100 billion.
Archaeological looting is the illicit removal of artifacts from an archaeological site. Such looting is the major source of artifacts for the antiquities market. Looting typically involves either the illegal exportation of artifacts from their country of origin or the domestic distribution of looted goods. Looting has been linked to the economic and political stability of the possessing nation, with levels of looting increasing during times of crisis, but it has been known to occur during peacetimes and some looters take part in the practice as a means of income, referred to as subsistence looting. However, looting is also endemic in so-called "archaeological countries" like Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and other areas of the Mediterranean Basin, as well as many areas of Africa, South East Asia and Central and South America, which have a rich heritage of archaeological sites, a large proportion of which are still unknown to formal archaeological science. Many countries have antique looting laws which state that the removal of the cultural object without formal permission is illegal and considered theft. Looting is not only illegal; the practice may also threaten access to cultural heritage. Cultural heritage is knowledge about a heritage that is passed down from generation to generation.
"The Spoils of War—World War II and Its Aftermath: The Loss, Reappearance, and Recovery of Cultural Property" was an international symposium held in New York City in 1995 to discuss the artworks, cultural property, and historic sites damaged, lost, and plundered as a result of World War II. The three-day event was sponsored by the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. The conference was organized by Elizabeth Simpson, an archaeologist and professor at the Bard Graduate Center.
The coffin of Nedjemankh is a gilded ancient Egyptian coffin from the late Ptolemaic Period. It once encased the mummy of Nedjemankh, a priest of the ram-god Heryshaf. The coffin was purchased by the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art in July 2017 to be the centerpiece of an exhibition entitled "Nedjemankh and His Gilded Coffin." The Metropolitan Museum of Art repatriated Nedjemankh and his coffin to Egypt in 2019, before the scheduled closure of the exhibition.
Donna Yates is an archaeologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology at Maastricht University. Her research considers transnational illicit trade in cultural objects, art and heritage crime including Looted art and the Antiquities trade, and white collar crime.
Apsara Iyer is an American art crime investigator and the 137th president of the Harvard Law Review. She is the first Indian American woman to be elected to that position.
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