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| ▲ | dennyabraham 16 minutes ago | parent | next [-] |
| The numbers are higher than you'd expect. The trade in illegal (and so high rarity and limited access) goods is ongoing and flourishing via the use of third party intermediaries like free port systems [1] as well as networks of morally grey curatorial and preservation staff. Several notable archaeological "missing links" of the past few years came from said staff mediating access to private collections of undescribed provenance. [1] https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2015/07/01/experts-identify-... |
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| ▲ | tonyedgecombe an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| For a while members of the mafia we’re stealing them to trade against their sentence if they got caught for some other crime. |
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| ▲ | dofm 2 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | Or, since it’s a Renoir, maybe they were planning to distribute them as punishment. Thought you were going up in the world, did you Salvo? Oh no, no Armand Guillaumin for you. The boss ain’t pleased and he wants you to know about it. | |
| ▲ | SoftTalker 17 minutes ago | parent | prev [-] | | Admit to additional crimes in exchange for a lighter sentence? How does that work? | | |
| ▲ | goodcanadian 12 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | I doubt they admit to anything, but having some information that helps lead to the recovery of a valuable item could be worth something. To be honest, this is the first I have heard of the practice, but it sounds plausible to me. | |
| ▲ | DASD 11 minutes ago | parent | prev [-] | | Crime gravity. If able to provide the solution to a crime that is considered more serious(or of greater value to the prosecuting entity's purview). |
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| ▲ | ericmay 8 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| There are some “criminals” and criminal gangs and such, but I think the increase we have seen is due to Russia, Iran, and others who are giving extra resources and intelligence to some of these groups to deprive western institutions of their cultural heritage as part of the “hybrid war”. Notice how things aren’t being stolen at this magnitude in China? Japan? If we’re Russian or Iranian for example I think this would be a great strategy if you view yourself at a civilizational war. Most of Europe is still asleep or in denial. |
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| ▲ | gvfsa 3 minutes ago | parent [-] | | I know posting deranged tirades about the supernatural powers of Russia is HN’s favourite pastime but this goes way too far. |
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| ▲ | pelagicAustral 5 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| I would've thought thats what crypto was meant for. |
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| ▲ | embedding-shape 9 minutes ago | parent | prev [-] |
| > the number of people willing to purchase a black market painting worth ~$millions is probably like a dozen Right, but what about your local brick dealer who has 10-50K to waste on whatever? Definitely way more common and easier than you think to unload these sort of things, once you go down in price a lot because of the circumstances. |
