by Amineddoleh & Associates LLC | Jul 23, 2018 |
Amineddoleh & Associates is excited to share some great news. A looted Persian artifact is returning to Iran. Back in the autumn, our founder, Leila A. Amineddoleh, brought the object to the attention of the Manhattan DA’s Office after receiving a tip from Dr. Lindsay Allen. The DA began investigating the piece and then seized it from TEFAF. After months of battling over this rare and magnificent work, the piece is being repatriated to Iran. In addition to being the “informant,” Ms. Amineddoleh also served as the heritage law expert in this matter, so this case is particularly exciting for our law firm. Congratulations on the excellent work done by the entire Antiquities Trafficking Unit at the Manhattan DA’s Office.
For more information about the case, read our earlier post: https://www.artandiplawfirm.com/right-for-plundered-persian-relief/
To read today’s filing, click here: 18-07-23 PGR Turnover Order
by Amineddoleh & Associates LLC | Jun 3, 2018 |
Note: All of the information in this blog post is taken from a publicly filed document. No confidential or privileged information was used in preparing this post.
Last month, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos petitioned the NY Supreme Court to turn over an Achaemenid limestone bas-relief that had been looted from Iran. Referred to as a “Persian Guard Relief,” the rare object was stolen from Persepolis in 1935. Our founder, Leila A. Amineddoleh, was instrumental in the filing of this case.
Persepolis, in current day Iran, is one of the world’s most treasured historical sites, with its name derived from Greek, meaning “Persian city.” Persepolis is considered by UNESCO to have “outstanding universal value.” UNESCO describes Persepolis as “magnificent ruins…among the world’s greatest archaeological sites… among the archaeological sites which have no equivalent and which bear unique witness to a most ancient civilization.” In 1931 excavations were begun at the site, and UNESCO declared the ruins a World Heritage Site in 1979.
Persepolis
© BornaMir/iStock.com
The ancient city, dating back to at least 515 B.C., was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Persepolis was built in terraces up from the river Pulwar to rise on a larger terrace of over 125,000 square feet, partly cut from a mountain. Darius I began construction of the site, and it developed until the Greeks plundered and razed the city under the leadership of Alexander the Great in 333 BC (purportedly in retribution for the destruction of the Parthenon by the Persians in 480 BC). The city was widely known as spectacular and breath-taking. As part of the site, Darius I built a palace known as the “Apadana,” used for official audiences. The looted relief at issue was stolen from this great hall.
The looted limestone bas-relief was stolen from Persepolis in 1935, during official excavations completed by the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. Authorities were alerted to the theft, and the Iranian government attempted to find and recover the piece, but it disappeared and entered the global black market, eventually making its way into a Canadian museum. Decades later, it was stolen from the museum, recovered, and then appeared at TEFAF in New York in the fall of 2017. At that point, the work was seized by the NY District Attorney’s Office after they learned of the work’s illicit origins. Our founder, Leila Amineddoleh, had informed authorities about the piece after learning about its plundered past by Dr. Lindsey Allen, Lecturer in Greek & Near Eastern History at King’s College in London. As the result of several years examining fragmentary reliefs from the site in museums around the world, and searching archives for their histories, Dr. Allen suspected the relief was looted. When Wace exported the relief for TEFAF, Dr. Allen contacted Ms. Amineddoleh, and explained why she thought the work was stolen.
Iran safeguards Persepolis due to its historic significance. In fact, Iran protects all of its cultural heritage, with the nation’s first patrimony laws passing in 1930. Because of these laws, there is no way that the relief left Iran legally, absent permission from the cultural ministry. Ms. Amineddoleh served as an expert to the District Attorney’s Office in advising on the relevant cultural heritage laws.
The eastern stairs at the Apadana in 1933.
(Photo: The Oriental Institute of University of Chicago, Photo 23188/ Neg.Nr. 12822
https://oi-idb.uchicago.edu/id/bec348b2-7e3c-49fd-8fd6-e9f057c92c4e)
The District Attorney’s Office submitted its turnover request on May 24 (read the document HERE: 18-05-24 PGR Motion for Turnover-reduced), but the case may carry on for some time. The limestone relief, part of an historical complex, has significance not only to the people of Iran, but to archaeologists and classicists, and to anyone visiting Iran’s most celebrated archaeological site. The limestone relief’s theft from Persepolis was tragic and damaging to the site, and hopefully the limestone guard will return to his home protecting the ancient site. The guards are designed to work in the site as a collective, not as individuals. Their fragmentation removes their context, and high-profile sales make other Achaemenid ruins potentially vulnerable to plunder.
by Amineddoleh & Associates LLC | May 3, 2018 |
Photo courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Our founder, Leila A. Amineddoleh, served as a cultural heritage law expert for the Eastern District of New York in its case against Hobby Lobby. The national retail chain, Hobby Lobby, purchased over 5,500 ancient artifacts from dealers in the Middle East, after one of the world’s legal heritage experts, Patty Gerstenblith, warned the company about acquiring objects lacking clear provenance. She warned the company that classes of objects from Iraq (including cuneiform tables) have a high probability of being looted from archaeological sites. Ignoring the advice, the company moved forward with the purchases anyway, and the plundered artifacts (bearing shipping labels with falsified information) entered the US illegally.
Yesterday, nearly 4,000 of the pieces were returned to Iraqi officials at the embassy. These objects will most likely be displayed at Iraq’s National Museum.
Our firm is honored to have played a role in such a momentous repatriation. For more information about the case, please read one of our prior blog posts.
by Amineddoleh & Associates LLC | Apr 24, 2018 |
We are pleased to share news about one of our celebrated clients, Lynx Alexander. Lynx (sometimes referred to as the “Tie Guy” because of his sculptural works that he wears as neck ties) has gained notoriety for his distinctive style in various artistic mediums. Lynx was selected as Steinway’s first ever Visual Artist in Residence after he was named artistic director for the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition finalist’s photo shoot. While at Steinway, the multifaceted artist created works on pianos. Although Steinway has created beautiful pianos for over 160 years, Lynx magically brings life and vitality to the instruments by creating visual works that complement the richness of sound made by the pianos.
Music informs Lynx’s creations due to his Synesthesia. Synesthesia is a rare condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. In Lynx’s case, he sees patterns when he hears music. He then transfers these patterns and images onto the pianos. He treats each instrument as a unique canvas, and presents music into visual works.
We are art lawyers, and our founder is also a musician, so it has been incredible working with Lynx. He has created piano artworks for Harry Connick Junior (the piano is featured on his tours and on television appearances), Diane Krall, and a host of other musicians. His pianos have graced Steinway Hall in NYC, his ties have been featured in publications around the the country, and his paintings have appeared in Roche Bobois and the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge.
This month Lynx has installed a site specific work, “Magnum Opus,” in Steinway Hall in Dallas. The work was commissioned by Steinway, and it is now on view to the public. The massive textured painted panels are rich in gold, reflecting light that enters into the hall. If you can’t make it to Texas to see this vibrant work, you can watch the artist in action
here.
Congratulations Lynx!
by Amineddoleh & Associates LLC | Apr 14, 2018 |
The prevalence of forgeries is a major problem affecting the art market. Buyers fear purchasing forged works, worried about financial loss and humiliation amongst their peers. (This is one reason that completing due diligence prior to a purchase is so important.) Sellers are nervous about lawsuits and reputational harm. Connoisseurs and advisors are concerned about offering opinions about particular artworks. And scholars fear that these objects will damage the art historical record. The financial and informational damage caused by forgeries is hard to quantify. However, art market professionals know that many forgeries are on the market.
When forgeries make their way into museum collections, it’s particularly newsworthy. Museums, not just repositories for art, are educational institutions charged with the extraordinary yet difficult task of serving as cultural and art historical experts. Quite understandably, these institutions are fallible and sometimes err in their determinations. One sculpture that has received a great deal of attention is the Getty Kouros. Disagreement amongst scholars led the museum to label the work as “Greek, about 530 B.C., or modern forgery.” However, it was announced by the NY Times that the museum finally conceded that it is a forgery.
To read more about forgeries, due diligence prior to the acquisition of art, and famous forgery cases, we invite you to read “Are you Faux Real? An Examination of Art Forgery and the Legal Tools Protecting Art Collectors” or the shorter “Purchase Art in a Market Full of Forgeries: Risks and Legal Remedies for Buyers.”
