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.
Germany: Five sentenced to prison for 100-million-euro jewelry heist
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.
1976 Steve Jobs-signed Apple check for $175 could cash out at $25K
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+.
Climate activists get a month in prison for Vermeer protest
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.
Hopi curator to lead New Mexico’s Native American art museum
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – An expert in the field of Indigenous art has been named as the executive director of New Mexico’s Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. Pollyanna “Polly” Nordstrand, who is Hopi, will take on her new role in November. She will oversee a team of curators, anthropologists and archaeologists who are responsible for the preservation and interpretation of objects and works of art that represent Native people from the American Southwest and northern Mexico.
Philadelphia Museum of Art workers ratify pact, end strike
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.”
Climate protesters throw soup on Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’
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.
Fan who caught Aaron Judge’s 62nd HR ball offered $2M by auction house
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.
Poland wants Russia to return paintings looted during WWII
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.
New York museums to disclose artwork looted by Nazis
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.