combating the illicit trade of cultural property and ......combating the illicit trade of cultural...

Combating the illicit trade of cultural property and

archaeological and ethnological objects in the United

States. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

seizures under analysis

María Esther Portela Vázquez

WCO PICARD Conference

Baku, Azerbaijan

10th September 2015

© María Esther Portela Vázquez

China

Global art and antiquities average market share

35%

25%

18%

78% 22%

United

States

Great

Britain China

the rest of the world

[Data source: TEFAF Art Market Report 2014] © María Esther Portela Vázquez

$

[Data source: The U.S. Trade Commission]

U.S. General Import of works of art, collector’s

pieces and antiques (2014)

$9 billion


Map source: http://www.vectortemplates.com/

Let’s talk

ab ut data!


Int.

Operats

.

Transnational

crime:

Border Security

Enforcement Human

trafficking

Transnt.

gangs

Human

smuggling

Cult. Prop.,

art & antiq.


ICE database:

Number of different

investigations

(143)

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1408/140804newyork.htm


Choosing a sample!

Cultural property,

art & antiquities

investigations

143

Seizures of cultural

property, art &

antiquities


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nge ju

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Choosing a sample!

Seizures of cultural

property, art &

antiquities (178)

Objects seized

(44,872)


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What was the methodology applied?

ICE press

releases

Identification

of relevant

info

Tabulation &

codification

Checking &

gathering

missing info

Complete info

2 3 4 1 6

Application of

statistical tools

& analysis

5

Update info

7


Let’s l k at everyting in

slow motion!


Type of

object

Age of

object

Continent

of origin

Country of

origin US border

Route of

access

Legal

instrument

Type of

location

Place of

theft

Date of

theft

State (in

the US)

Economic

value

Date of

seizure

Date of

forfeiture

Date of

restitution


11 ?

Number of objects seized

?

8,100 pounds


How many fossils are 4

tons of fossils?



Seizure Code

Number of objects seized

Number of

items

Investigation

Code

INVTG00032 SZRE00032 4 tons =36,026

Investigation

Code Seizure Code

Number of

items Type of object Age of object

Country of

origin

Tabulation and codification


“The hunt”

Old painting

by Julian Falat

Important part

of Poland’s

heritage

YES

Is it cultural property?


1898 Luger

Parabellum

prototype

Unique

Stolen from

museum

YES



Portrait of

Saddam

Hussein

engraved on it.

It’s known that

belonged to

him.

YES



“The hunt”

Type of object

(1)

Tabulation and codification

Type of object

(2)

Painting Pictures, paintings

and drawings made

entirely by hand

Weapon

Antiquities

exceeding 100

years old

Weapon

Objects related

to historical life

of national

leaders


334 pre-Columbian artifacts AD 1200-1500 2000 BC a 1200 AD 1000 a 1500 AD.

1400-1500 AD


I II III ?


How many documents were seized in

each of the States?

21 old documents stolen from Russian National Archives


[Map source: http://www.vectortemplates.com/Flag source: http://www.softicons.com/]

Let data talk!

55%

10%

90%

1/3

88%

1% 2%

49%

1%

2/3


Archaeological

objects

50.00% 18.80%

14.04% 0.13%

Pictures,Paintings,

Drawings

Manuscripts, old

books, documents

10.11% 0.08%

5.06% 0.04%

Antiquities >100

years old

Related to history

thinkers, leaders

2.81% 0.03%

Paleonthological

objects

5.06% 80.60%

Dismembered from

Monument - Sites

3.37% 0.02%

Engravings,

prints, lithograph

0.56% 0.00%

Not available

0.56% 0.00%

Statuary art / sculptures

3.93% 0.25%

Highlights of the general quantitative data obtained. Distribution by object category

MTOC

1.13% 2.84% ₰

0.04% 2.25%

Other

0.03%

Ethonological objects

2.25%

?


Highlights of the general quantitative data obtained. Distribution by object age

< 1599 A.D. 1600 A.D.-1699 A.D.

38.76% 1.12%

4.24% 0.00% 0.14%

1700 A.D.-1999 A.D.

2.81%

80.57%

MTOD

10.11%

1.56%

> 1 million years old

Not available

26.97%

13.48%

20.22%

• 80% of the objects were more than 1,000,000 years old.

Cause: A huge cache of more than 36,026 Argentinian fossils seized in Tucson

(Arizona) in 2006.


• 36 countries of origin.

• In 12% of the seizures the country of origin was Iraq, in 11% Peru

and in 9% Mexico.

• 80% of objects were from Argentina, 10% from Mexico, 3%

from Iraq and 2% from Peru.

Highlights of the general quantitative data obtained.

Distribution by place of origin


[Map source: http://www.brittgillette.com/images/global_map.jpg]

• Discovered in more than 50% of States (of the US) + Puerto

Rico.

• 91% seizures and 99% objects sezied concentrated in

border States


Distribution by place of discovery (within the US)

11.80%

0.43 %

15.73%

90.52%

56.74%

8.04%


[Map source: http://www.vectortemplates.com/ Flag source: http://www.softicons.com/]

Auction Houses

18.54%

0.14%

17.42% 11.73%

Private residence/indiv.

Airports

12.36%

1.65%

11.24%

1.23%

Not available

Internet

7.87%

1.89%

Antiquities dealer

5.62%

0.37%

Other

7.87%

81.23%

Museum

4.49%

0.02%

Gallery

2.81%

0.02%

Mail Facilities

2.25%

1.61%

Collectors

3.37%

0.02%

Ports

1.12%

0.06%

Port of Entry

5.06%

0.04%

Highlights of the general quantitative data obtain.

Distribution by location (in the US)

? Customs


Excavation Museum

Private Residence/individual

Other Auction House/ Gallery

15.17% 33.15%

4.49% 4.49% 0.56%

82.61% 1.11%

0.02% 0.04% 0.00%

40.45%

16.19%

Unknown

Highlights of the general quantitative data obtained Distribution by location (in origin)

• In 4 out of 10 seizures the place where items had been

stolen was not available or was unknown.

• In one third of the seizures, objects had been stolen from

museums, monuments or similar institutions.

• Nearly 8 out of 10 objects seized were presumed to be

first discovered as a result of licit or illicit excavation or

accidental digging.

?


1918-1929 1930-1938

Anticuarios

0.56% 1.69%

0%

0.00% 0.01% 6.18% 0.05%

WWII

Galerías

1.12% 0.02%

1970-1979

2.81% 0.01%

1946-1953 1980-1993

6.18% 0.03%

• 61% of seizures did not have the date of theft available. More than 97% of

the items stolen had an unknown date of theft.

• Items stolen from a museum, monument or similar institution:

– In nearly 30% of the seizures the theft took place between 1994 and 2003.

– 43% of the items stolen from these kinds of institutions were stolen

between 2004 and 2010.


Distribution by date of theft

1994-2003 2004-2010

12.92% 6.18%

2.05% 0.49%

0.56%

0.04%

2011-2013

0.56%

0.00%

MTOD Unknown

61.24%

97.29%


zoom Zoom


Insights from combined analyses

of origin


• The most frequent seizures carried out were to recover

archaeological objects from every continent except Europe.

• Handmade pictures, paintings and drawings were recovered in

1/2 of the seizures where objects originated from Europe.



• Seizures of objects from Asia, Europe and South America

were mostly concentrated on the US eastern border.

• The US southern border was the area of concentration of nearly

55% of seizures of items from North America.



• In 75% of seizures where the place of theft was not available

items were archaeological objects.

• Asia, North America and South America were the most common

areas of origin in seizures where information about items’ place of

theft was not available.

Unknown place of theft

?



Archaeological Auction House

Final considerations

Cult. Prop. Spain

Weapon Iraq Miami Florida Warehouse

The data and results shown are just the first step in a big project where data

could be collected by fill in a form. Thanks to the use of specific software, data

could be grouped and analyzed which could help monitor the illicit trade of

cultural property.


Thank you! [email protected]


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