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Title details for Stolen, Smuggled, Sold by Nancy Moses - Available

Stolen, Smuggled, Sold

On the Hunt for Cultural Treasures

by Nancy Moses
ebook
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 “A riveting look at the backstory of what’s in the display cases at your local museum. The author profiles seven historic objects with checkered pasts.” —Library Journal
 
There are many books about museum heists, Holocaust artwork, insider theft, trafficking in antiquities, and stolen Native American objects. Now, there’s finally a book for the general public that covers the entire terrain. 
 
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 Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer 1, the typset manuscript for Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth, a ceremonial Ghost Dance shirt 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. It’s a financial issue since the illicit trade in antiquities and cultural items generates as much as $4 billion to $8 billion a year.
 

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 4, 2015

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780759121942
      • File size: 2278 KB

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780759121942
      • File size: 2661 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      June 15, 2015

      Museum/cultural consultant Moses's new work on a similar subject to that of her previous book (Lost in the Museum) is a riveting look at the backstory of what's in the display cases at your local museum. The author profiles seven historic objects with checkered pasts--Gustav Klimt's Adele Bloch-Bauer, which inspired the movie Woman in Gold; a Pearl S. Buck manuscript; a Lakota Ghost Dance shirt; a digital copy of an old radio interview; a naked mummy; and North Carolina's copy of the Bill of Rights--and how they were recovered by original owners or cultural stewards. The author's discussion of the complexity of the cases and ethics involved is thorough and her point clear: what was once viewed as rightful ownership by collectors and institutions is now, through a culturally sensitive lens, viewed as theft. VERDICT Recommended for art and history lovers, museumgoers, and those interested in collecting historical objects and art.--Amelia Osterud, Carroll Univ. Lib., Waukesha, WI

      Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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