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Restitution claims


Lucas Cranach the Elder portrait

Christie’s to sell Cranach portrait after US museum and Jewish heirs make agreement over restitution

30 August 2024

A portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) and his workshop which has been in an American museum since the 1960s will be offered at Christie’s New York in January following an agreement between the institution and the heirs of a Jewish collector.

Danzig Harbour

Painting taken from Jewish family’s Berlin home restituted with help of The Art Loss Register

16 April 2024

A painting belonging to a Jewish family who were forced to flea Germany under the Nazi’s has been returned to the family’s remaining heir with the help of The Art Loss Register.

Ethiopian shield

Ethiopian shield taken from battle of Maqdala withdrawn from auction

01 March 2024

The owner of an 19th century Ethiopian shield has decided to withdraw it from auction at Anderson & Garland.

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Flemish tapestry hunted down after wartime wrongs

21 November 2022

A rare early 16th century Flemish tapestry that was part of an impressive imperial commission is coming up for sale in France in early December.

Silver hunting flask

Silver flask withdrawn from auction after Chinese government intervention

07 July 2022

A silver hunting flask taken from the Summer Palace when it was sacked by British troops in 1860 during the Second Opium War, which was due to be auctioned tomorrow (July 6), has now been withdrawn.

Silver hunting flask

Chinese anger at Summer Palace flask sale

04 July 2022

The Chinese government has written to a UK auction house to demand a halt to the sale of a silver hunting flask, taken from the Summer Palace when it was sacked by British troops in 1860 during the Second Opium War.

Louvre

Louvre and Sotheby’s team up to trace provenance of artworks bought by museum during Second World War

25 January 2022

The Louvre has agreed a partnership with Sotheby's to research the provenance of artworks acquired between 1933-45 by the museum.

 Silver and gilt stag’s head rhyton

New York collector given lifetime ban after four-year antiquities investigation

13 December 2021

One of New York’s most prolific antiquities collectors has surrendered 180 ‘looted’ items from his collection and been barred for life from acquiring antiquities again.

Priester family Vienna apartment

Restituted Priester collection reunited before sale takes £1.5m at Christie’s

11 December 2021

Part of an art collection once owned by a Jewish family who fled Nazi persecution has been sold at Christie’s.

A c.1600-1610 elephant automaton clock

Elephant in the room: an exceptional clock

18 October 2021

A rare 17th century elephant automaton clock was the star of the Christie’s New York Exceptional sale when it sold at $2.15m (£1.58m) to a private buyer.

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White gloves for Oppenheimer sale of Meissen porcelain at Sotheby’s

20 September 2021

Every lot of a collection of Meissen porcelain, restituted earlier this year to the heirs of Dr Franz Oppenheimer, was sold in a recent US sale.

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News In Brief – including the outcome of the Guennol Stargazer court case in New York

20 September 2021

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including the US ruling on whether Turkey could take ownership of the Guennol Stargazer.

Horn beakers

Saleroom pulls ‘looted artefacts from Maqdala’ after Ethiopian appeal

21 June 2021

A group of Ethiopian works of art believed to have been taken during the Battle of Maqdala in 1868 has been withdrawn from a Dorset auction after the Embassy of Ethiopia intervened.

Banquet still-life

Feasting and making merry at Christie's auction

21 June 2021

Restituted pictures remain a key area of supply for fresh Old Masters and Christie’s evening sale on July 8 includes two Dutch Golden Age paintings.

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London charity is beneficiary of restituted art

14 June 2021

A sight loss charity in London has benefited from a surprise windfall after pictures restituted to the estate of a benefactor were sold at auction in Vienna.

Old Master interior picture

Two Dutch Old Master pictures recovered by the Monuments Men and eventually restituted to Jewish businessman’s heirs come to auction

09 June 2021

Old Master pictures from the Dutch ‘Golden Age’ will be offered as part of Christie’s Classic Week of sales in July.

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Benin plaque withdrawn from auction after curator raises provenance questions

03 May 2021

The increasingly contentious issue of selling Benin works of art at auction raised its head again last week after an ancestral plaque catalogued as 16th or 17th century was withdrawn from an East Sussex sale.

Meissen clock

Rare $2m Meissen collection restituted to Jewish family comes to market in New York this autumn

28 April 2021

A collection of Meissen porcelain assembled by the Oppenheimer family and recently restituted to their heirs is coming to auction this September.

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Pick of the week: Jumbo price from Rothberger collection

14 December 2020

The Anschluss of 1938 between Nazi Germany and Austria had a devastating effect on Vienna’s Jewish population.

Bernardo Bellotto's view of Dresden

Sotheby’s to offer restituted view of Dresden acquired by Hitler's art dealer

21 July 2020

An Old Master painting restored to the family of its original Jewish owner will be offered at Sotheby’s next week with an estimate of £3m-4m.