Auctions These Sphinx Patio Ornaments Were Offered for $700 at an English Auction House. Turns Out They’re Ancient—and Sold for $265,000 A flood of bidders seems to have known something that the auctioneer did not. By Artnet News, Oct 14, 2021
Art World Mexico City Will Replace Its Christopher Columbus Statue With a Replica of a Pre-Hispanic Indigenous Female Figure The decision ends a long saga about what artwork should be displayed on the capital city’s Paseo de la Reforma. By Taylor Dafoe, Oct 13, 2021
Archaeology & History New Archaeological Find in Utah Suggests Humans Have Been Using Tobacco Since the Ice Age Prehistoric peoples may have chewed tobacco seeds around the campfire. By Sarah Cascone, Oct 12, 2021
Law & Politics The Pandora Papers Leak Reveals How the Late Dealer Douglas Latchford Used Offshore Accounts to Sell Looted Cambodian Antiquities More revelations are likely forthcoming as journalists comb through the leak. By Sarah Cascone, Oct 5, 2021
Archaeology & History An Ancient Middle Eastern City Destroyed by a Meteor May Have Inspired the Bible’s Tale of Sodom and Gomorrah, a New Study Says Experts have been studying the city's remains for 15 years. By Sarah Cascone, Sep 30, 2021
Museums & Institutions Bug Infestations at Museums Surged During Lockdown. Here’s How They Are Fighting Back to Defend Their Art From Pesky Critters Institutions are reaching for innovative solutions to combat pests. Among them: micro-wasps. By Naomi Rea & Eileen Kinsella, Sep 30, 2021
Art History Michelangelo Made This Haunting Pieta For His Own Tomb. Conservators Have Spent Years Painstakingly Restoring It—See Their Process Here In restoring the sculpture, researchers discovered insights into the artist’s process. By Artnet News, Sep 28, 2021
Archaeology & History The Oldest Human Footprints in North America Could Redefine Prehistory as We Know It—and It’s All Thanks to These Tiny Seeds The discovery upends what we thought we knew about prehistoric migration from Asia to the Americas. By Sarah Cascone, Sep 24, 2021
Auctions A Hat That Napoleon Wore During the Battle of Jena Just Sold for $1.4 Million at Sotheby’s It’s the first of two hats worn by the emperor appearing at auction this fall. By Taylor Dafoe, Sep 23, 2021
Museums & Institutions A Group of Nigerian Artists Have an Offer for the British Museum: Return the Benin Bronzes and We’ll Give You New Ones in Exchange The British Museum has been noncommittal in its stance on repatriating the historic artifacts. By Taylor Dafoe, Sep 23, 2021
Archaeology & History Archaeologists Have Uncovered Cave Art That’s Way Older Than Any on Record—and It Was Made by Children The extent of the find's significance depends a bit on your definition of art. By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 16, 2021
Archaeology & History Conservationists Will Repair Stonehenge’s Cracked and Toppled Stones in Its First Restoration in Decades Scaffolding went up at the iconic site yesterday. By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 15, 2021
Auctions Restituted Meissen Porcelains Shatter Estimates at Sotheby’s—and One of the Big Buyers Was the Museum That Returned Them The auction of Meissen objects restituted by the Rijksmuseum brought in $15 million, seven times the presale estimate. By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 14, 2021
Art World The Philadelphia Museum of Art Will Return an Ancient ‘Pageant Shield’ Looted by Nazis to the Czech Republic Czech ambassador calls the case a prime example of "best practices" in restitution. By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 14, 2021
Law & Politics A Hedge Fund Titan Triumphs Over the Nation of Turkey in the Legal Fight Over a Multimillion-Dollar Ancient ‘Stargazer’ Idol The judge determined that financier Michael Steinhardt is the idol's rightful owner. By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 8, 2021
