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$35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

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Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#211
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She's an antiques dealer. It's her job to buy old things and sell them for more. That's why she was in Goodwill. I think she likely wanted a payout. Also the terms of the deal are confidential. If she didn't get a payout, I don't see why they would be confidential.

Getting a payout seems fair. I doubt the Germans paid anybody when they took it from Italy.

You're assuming it was taken by force. What if... it was bought from an Italian goodwill in the 1800's?

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#212

The Germans don't really have any more right to it than she does. The most likely story of this bust is from the 5th century until the 18th or 19th centuries, it was buried in the ground somewhere in Italy or former Roman empire. The person who dug it up and sold it didn't really have an inherent right to it. They just found it. I say all this not from a legal perspective but from an inheritors of history and culture…

> The Germans don't really have any more right to it than she does. Article 56 of the Hague Convention of 1907 disagrees. Stealing art is a war crime. So do the Allies themselves, in their memorandum on January 5th, 1943. > The most likely story of this bust is from the 5th century until the 18th or 19th centuries, it was buried in the ground somewhere in Italy or former Roman empire. Given that the person depicted w…

> If you think Germans should hand back art stolen before or during WW2, you cannot really argue against restitution demands for art stolen by Americans.

The Germans lost

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#215

> She was in possession of a looted piece of ancient art. She couldn't keep it. I don't understand. Museums in the West are full of looted ancient art [1]. Why are they allowed to keep it, but this woman cannot keep this one item? [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/learning/should-museums-r...

> Why are they allowed to keep it

I own land in the UK, which in reality means I brought it from someone who brought it from someone who brought it from someone who brought it from someone who was given it by the king as a reward for helping kill the previous owner.

And if someone quarries marble on my land to make a statue, it has the same provenance.

So we've basically decided there's a sliding scale. If it was stolen at gunpoint 1960 you've got to return it, but if it was in 1690 you get to keep it.

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#216
post #4

Back at home, Young had a problem: She was in possession of a looted piece of ancient art. She couldn't keep it. She couldn't sell it. And giving it back to its rightful owners was a lot harder than it sounds. “At that point, I realized I was probably going to need some help,” Young says. “I was probably going to need an attorney.” So she hired a lawyer in New York who specializes in international art law, Leila Amin…

Under the 4th Geneva Convention - looting is a war crime. If you know you're in possession of ill gotten gains - one should always obtain legal advice -

Judging by the article, there is no way to prove that it was looted in the first place.

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The Germans don't really have any more right to it than she does. Article 56 of the Hague Convention of 1907 disagrees. Stealing art is a war crime. So do the Allies themselves, in their memorandum on January 5th, 1943. > The most likely story of this bust is from the 5th century until the 18th or 19th centuries, it was buried in the ground somewhere in Italy or former Roman empire. Given that the person depicted w…

I guess article 56 of the Hague convention does not apply to the British Museum?

Well they certainly have lawyered up!

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's talk to a lawyer first about that little concept of "concealment of stolen goods".

She didn't steal it and there's no way anyone could ever presume she knew it was stolen. IF she had kept her mouth shut.

This is actually an interesting question.

- If you find £10,000 cash in the street, do you keep it?

- If you find a watch in the street, do you keep it?

- If you bought a laptop from your cousin Vinny for $50 and found out it was stolen, do you keep it?

In my country of residence, all of these are crimes (theft by finding / knowingly handling stolen property).

Obviously, someone could choose to keep their mouth shut... but that would not change the fact of it being a crime punishable by law.

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting a payout seems fair. I doubt the Germans paid anybody when they took it from Italy.

You're assuming it was taken by force. What if... it was bought from an Italian goodwill in the 1800's?

Hell, maybe an Italian goodwill in the 400's.

Re: $35 sculpture found at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII

#220

The Germans don't really have any more right to it than she does. The most likely story of this bust is from the 5th century until the 18th or 19th centuries, it was buried in the ground somewhere in Italy or former Roman empire. The person who dug it up and sold it didn't really have an inherent right to it. They just found it. I say all this not from a legal perspective but from an inheritors of history and culture…

> The Germans don't really have any more right to it than she does. Article 56 of the Hague Convention of 1907 disagrees. Stealing art is a war crime. So do the Allies themselves, in their memorandum on January 5th, 1943. > The most likely story of this bust is from the 5th century until the 18th or 19th centuries, it was buried in the ground somewhere in Italy or former Roman empire. Given that the person depicted w…

> Stealing art is a war crime.

Is there anything that isn't a war crime at this point?

Declaring war? War crime.

Making a plan for war? War crime.

Deportation? War crime.

Blowing stuff up? War crime.

Stealing art? Believe it or not, also war crime.

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