Search Results for: hecht

Hecht’s Footprints: Haverford College Opens Up About Source of Their Greek Vases

American antiquities dealer Robert Hecht died in February 2012 after six decades at the top of the trade in recently looted Classical antiquities. I’ve recently learned that some of that infamous career will be recounted when Hecht’s memoir is privately published in the … Continue reading

Robert E. Hecht Jr., leading antiquities dealer over five decades, dead at 92.

Bob Hecht died quietly at home in Paris at about noon on Wednesday, according to his wife Elizabeth. He was 92 years old. Here’s my obituary in the LA Times. When Robert E. Hecht Jr. arrived at the loading platform of the Metropolitan … Continue reading

Hecht Trial Ends With No Verdict, Medici Conviction Affirmed

The criminal trial of Robert E. Hecht ended this week with no verdict, while Giacomo Medici’s conviction for trafficking looted antiquities was upheld last month by Italy’s high court. Here is Jason’s story in the Los Angeles Times: The trial … Continue reading

A Call from Robert Hecht: I’m Not a Squealer

Robert Hecht called the other day to say he’d received the copy of Chasing Aphrodite that we sent to his home on Boulevard La Tour Maubourg in Paris. Hecht is the American antiquities dealer who has dominated the trade for more … Continue reading

Asia Week Raids: New Details on the Christie’s Seizures

  This week, a series of five federal raids during New York’s Asia week led to the seizure of at least eight looted antiquities and the arrest of at least one dealer. This is the first of several posts that … Continue reading

Steinhardt Redux: Feds Seize Fresco Looted from Italian World Heritage Site, Destined for New York Billionaire

UPDATED with a statement from Andrew Baker below. Federal agents in New York have seized a looted fresco fragment destined for Michael Steinhardt, the billionaire hedge fund titan turned antiquities collector, according to court records filed last week. The legal … Continue reading

The Rosen Connection: Cornell Will Return 10,000 Cuneiform Tablets to Iraq

On the front page of Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, Jason has the scoop on Cornell University’s decision to return 10,000 cuneiform tablets of unclear provenance to Iraq. The tablets were donated and lent to Cornell by New York attorney Jonathan … Continue reading

The Danish Connection: Holding on to Loot at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotech of Copenhagen

UPDATE 7/5/16: After years of stonewalling, the Ny Carlsburg Glyptotek has agreed to return hundreds of looted antiquities to Italy. In a joint announcement released July 5, 2016, Italy and the Danish museum said they had reached an agreement for … Continue reading

Decoding Eakin: Behind ‘Extortion’ Claim, Fear the Floodgates Have Opened

It is no coincidence that The Great Giveback, Hugh Eakin’s lengthy argument against the repatriation of looted antiquities, landed in The New York Times on Sunday, just as the directors of America’s leading art museums gathered in Kansas City for their annual meeting. … Continue reading

The Getty’s Looted Amber: A Window into the Museum’s Deepening Dilemma

In Saturday’s Los Angeles Times, I have a story about Getty Museum’s efforts to find the true origins of its massive antiquities collection. Here’s how the story starts: In the wake of a scandal over its acquisition of looted antiquities, … Continue reading