Stolen; Smuggled Sold: On the Hunt for Cultural Treasures tells the dark and compelling stories of iconic cultural objects that were stolen; smuggled or sold; and eventually returned back to their original owner. There are many books about museum heists; Holocaust artwork; insider theft; trafficking in antiquities; and stolen Native American objects. Now; therersquo;s finally a book for the general public that covers the entire terrain. The book includes full-color photos of the objects.Stolen; Smuggled; Sold features seven vivid and true stories in which the reader joins the author as she uncovers a cultural treasure and follows its often-convoluted trail. Along the way author and reader encounter a cast of fascinating characters from the underbelly of the cultural world: unscrupulous grave robbers; sinister middlemen; ruthless art dealers; venal Nazis; canny lawyers; valiant academics; unstoppable investigative reporters; unwitting curators; and dedicated government officials. Stories include Gustav Klimtrsquo;s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer 1; the typeset manuscript for Pearl Buckrsquo;s The Good Earth; a ceremonial Ghost Dance short from the massacre at Wounded Knee; the theft of 4;800 historical audio discs by a top official at the National Archives; a missing original copy of The Bill of Rights; the mummy of Ramses I; and an ancient treasure from Iraq.While each story is fascinating in and of itself; together they address one of the hottest issues in the museum world: how to deal with the millions of items that have breaks in the chain of ownership; suspicious ownership records; or no provenance at all. The issue of ownership touches on professional practices; international protocols; and national laws. Itrsquo;s a financial issue since the illicit trade in antiquities and cultural items generates as much as $4 billion to $8 billion a year.
#294341 in eBooks 2015-06-01 2015-06-01File Name: B010C79IOY
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