An 11th-century bronze Viking die, discovered in January in a field in Norfolk, England by a metal detectorist, auctioned for a hammer price of £15,000 (about $19,300) on July 18. Image courtesy of Noonans, photo credit Jason Jones
LONDON – An 11th-century bronze Viking die that was discovered in a field in Norfolk, England by a metal detectorist achieved a hammer price of £15,000 (about $19,300) at the Noonans Mayfair auction house on July 18 in its Ancient Coins and Antiquities sale. It was bought by a collector in the UK.
The scene outside Dresden’s Green Vault Museum on November 25, 2019, following the theft of more than $100 million dollars’ worth of 18th-century jewelry and precious objects from the German institution. Five men were convicted of the crime and sentenced to prison terms of four to six years in length; a sixth was acquitted. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Bambizoe. Shared under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
BERLIN (AP) – A German court on May 16 convicted five men for the theft of 18th-century jewels worth more than 100 million euros (roughly $107,800 million) from a Dresden museum in 2019. They were sentenced to prison sentences of between four years and four months and six years and three months, German news agency dpa reported. One defendant was acquitted.
An Apple Computer Company check for $175, signed by Steve Jobs in July 1976, could sell for more than $25,000 at RR auction on May 10. Image courtesy of RR Auction
BOSTON – RR Auction is offering a pristine Apple Computer Company check signed by Steve Jobs in 1976. The year of the company’s founding marked a turning point in the history of modern technology and this check represents an important moment in the development of Apple. The auction will conclude on Wednesday, May 10, and the check is estimated at $25,000+.
The Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, the Netherlands, photographed in 2011. On November 2, two Belgian climate change activists who used Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ in a stunt meant to draw attention to their cause were each sentenced to one month in prison. A third suspect will appear in court on November 4. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Wolfgang Pehlemann. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Two Belgian activists who targeted Johannes Vermeer’s iconic Girl with a Pearl Earring painting in a climate protest last week were sentenced on November 2 to two months in prison, with prosecutors saying their action “crossed a line” of acceptable protest. Half of the sentence was suspended by a judge in The Hague, meaning the men will serve one month. A third suspect is due in court Friday. Their identities were not released, in line with Dutch privacy rules.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, photographed in May. On October 16, the museum’s union announced a successful end to its strike, which lasted almost three weeks. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit David Saddler. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art are returning to work after reaching agreement on a contract that ended a strike of almost three weeks. The Philadelphia Museum of Art Union announced on October 16 that members had “voted 99 percent in favor” of ratifying what it called “our hard-won first contract.”
Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers,’ an August 1888 oil on canvas displayed in room 43 of the National Gallery, London. On October 14, climate change activists who have been targeting iconic works of art to draw attention to their cause dumped two cans of tomato soup onto the painting. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons, photo credit the National Gallery, London. According to Wikimedia Commons, the work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before January 1, 1927.
LONDON (AP) – Climate protesters threw soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers in London’s National Gallery on October 14 to protest fossil fuel extraction.
Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, photographed in July 2018. The president of an auction house in California has offered $2 million for the baseball that represents Judge’s historic 62nd home run of the season. Photo credit Keith Allison. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
TUSTIN, Calif. – The owner of a sports memorabilia auction house said he has offered $2 million to the fan who caught Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run.
Exterior of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, shown in an undated photo. On September 14, the Polish Minister for Culture, Piotr Glinski, announced an intention to formally request the return of seven paintings looted from the country by the Soviet Red Army during World War II and ultimately housed in the Russian museum. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Ghirlandajo. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) – Poland will formally ask Russia to return seven paintings now in a leading Moscow museum that were looted during World War II by the Soviet Red Army, the Polish culture minister said last week.
The facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, photographed in September 2019. A state law passed in August requires museums to post signs that identify works looted by Nazis between 1933 and 1945. The Met has identified 53 such works in its collection. All were acquired after they were returned to their owners or heirs, but Met officials announced an intention to label them regardless. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Hugo Schneider. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.0 Generic license.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – Museums in New York that exhibit artworks looted by Nazis during the Holocaust are now required by law to let the public know about those dark chapters in their provenance through placards displayed with the stolen objects.
The official White House portraits of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama were unveiled on September 7. Barack Obama’s portrait was painted by Robert McCurdy, and Michelle Obama’s portrait was painted by Sharon Sprung. Images courtesy of the White House Historical Association / White House Collection
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle returned to the White House on September 7 for the unveiling of official portraits with a modern vibe: him standing expressionless against a white background and her seated on a sofa in the Red Room wearing a formal light blue dress.