Overview of Crimes and Antiquities

Organised crime in the art forgery market

“…Nowadays the art market is the kind of market where forgeries take its significant part but the real number of forgeries is unknown 30 . Last decade, some experts (representing European police structures) purported that even half the art in circulation on the international market could be forged 31 , some other experts specializing on the art market issues provided different evaluations, sometimes expressing even opinions that forgeries may cover much more than half the art market 32 . (For instance, it is observed that in case of graphic works of Salvador Dali even 90% of objects available on the art market are forged works; it is also observed that the market for Russian avant-garde works, for which really high prices are paid, is full of forgeries which are works certified as authentic by fabricated expertises 33 ).…”

Art crime: a brief introduction

“…In addition to what they contribute to information about human history, the tangible remains of human cultural heritage also play a critical role in national identity [74]. In 1992, for example, the newly independent former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (now the Republic of Macedonia) put the "Vergina Sun" symbol on its national flag as a tribute to its cultural heritage.…”

“…Art theft 8 Of all crimes involving art and antiquities, high-value museum thefts are perhaps most well-known to the public [74]. But art theft encompasses broader criminality than museum heists.…”

“…Despite its aesthetic value, faked or forged art lose commercial value when they are shown to be inauthentic [74]. However, in rare instances fake works of art become cultural curiosities and sell on the licit art market for high values.…”

“…Of the thousands of cultural objects looted throughout Western Europe from various private and public art collections, some were re-sold on the international art market while others were kept as pieces to be included in Hitler's Austrian "super museum" [42]. While many objects were returned to their owners after the war, countless more remain unaccounted for [74]. The whereabouts of many artworks sold abroad remain unknown, original owners and their heirs are neither easy to locate nor always able to identify missing works, and countries in which looted artworks have been located have not always been cooperative in restitution [42].…”