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A legal resource for cultural property, archaeology, and art law enthusiasts.
Browsing All Posts filed under »Canada«
Sale of First Nations Family Masks is Cause for Concern
Two cedar masks considered sacred to a Hupacasath family have recently been sold to an unknown collector. The colorful masks, known as hinkeets, had been passed down maternal lines of the family for over a century before being sold by Seahawk Auctions of Vancouver. The masks were taken to the action house by the very […]
Canada Approves Export of $1 Shipwreck Back to Norway
March 27, 2012
Jan Wanggaard, former World Champion Windsurfer, is overseeing a project to return the shipwrecked Maud from Cambridge Bay in Nunavut, Canada, to Norway. Roald Amundsen, a famous Norwegian explorer, designed the Maud to voyage to the North Pole, but in 1925 filed for bankruptcy and sold the vessel to the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1930, […]
Historic Document Thief Pleads Guilty in Maryland
November 3, 2011
Canadian-American Jason James Savedoff has pled guilty to conspiring to steal and sell historic documents from museums in multiple states. He explained the thefts were committed under the leadership of Barry H. Landau, a recognized Manhattan collector. The two were indicted last July on conspiracy and “theft of major art” charges after an employee […]
Sidetracked: The Struggle for British Columbia’s Fossils
October 18, 2011
Author Vivien Lougheed explores “the egos, money and science behind fossil hunting in British Columbia” in her new book, Sidetracked: The Struggle for BC’s Fossils. Under Canadian law, it is legal to hunt and sell fossils. Under the Cultural Property Act, rare fossils are protected if so designated by a paleontologist, but there are only […]
Bulgarian Repatriation “Like an Action Film” Says Cultural Minister
June 22, 2011
It is well-known that many illegally traded antiquities are sent through the international mail, especially via private carriers. The chances of discovery are nearly nil. But they aren’t quite zero. In 2007, the Canada Border Services Agency caught two batches of cultural property being imported from Bulgaria into Canada by mail. The Agency detained the […]
Cultural Property Law on January 22, 2011: Mosquito Bombers, the Golden Horn, and (Not?) Caligula’s Tomb
January 22, 2011
I’ve been down the rabbit hole for the past couple weeks, preparing for the Spring semester and recovering from the holidays, but here are a few recent happenings on the cultural property law front: Last week, Italian police arrested a looter loading an ancient statue into his truck. The arrest led to the discovery of […]
Repatriation of Aboriginal Remains and Artifacts in Canada
September 13, 2010
Last week I saw this Vancouver Sun article — Cultural treasures will be repatriated to B.C. first nation — reporting on 300 Nisga artifacts (including masks, headdresses, rattles, blankets, and a totem pole) which will be returned to the B.C. tribe in a ceremony on September 15th. Maybe it’s the lawyer in me, but I […]
Cultural Property Law on April 19, 2010: Moon Rocks, Chilean Churches, and Peruvian Skulls
April 19, 2010
Today, in the wild, wonderful world of cultural property law… This coming Tuesday, former FBI agent Robert Wittman, will talk about the recovery of stolen art at Albright College; New Mexico’s gone and done it (“it” being formally designating moon artifacts as cultural property, discussed in more detail on CPAL here); Chile gets to work […]
Skydiving for Pearls: An Austrian Jewel Theft
April 13, 2010
Wired Magazine has posted an excellent story on Gerald Blanchard, who stole the Koechert Diamond Pearl from the Schloss Schönbrunn in Austria in 1998. I’m reproducing the lead in for the article below, and I’m sure it’ll hook you. Read the whole story: Art of the Steal: On the trail of the world’s most ingenious […]
Cultural Property Law on April 1, 2010: Folk Dance, Chilean Heritage, and Those Diligent Canadians
April 1, 2010
And today in cultural property law news… The Lawyer’s Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation (LCCHP) has launched their new website. There’s a new web 2.0 design, and they took off the outdated internship database. As you might have guessed, the major earthquake in Chile has taken a toll on historical sites. A traditional folk dance […]
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Cultural Property & Archaeology Law 
January 24, 2013
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