Ricardo Elia

Can the World Save Antiquities Under Terrorist Threat?

September 24, 2015

Asia Society “Asia Blog” Ricardo Elia, College of Arts & Sciences Last month, the jihadist extremist group the Islamic State (known locally as “Daesh”) ransacked the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria, looting museums and demolishing millennia-old structures such as the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel… Expert quote: “Looting is a function of a system that […]

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Should Syria’s Smuggled Antiquities Be Repatriated Before the Conflict Ends?

April 3, 2015

Foreign Policy Journal Ricardo Elia, College of Arts & Sciences Officials and citizens in Syria continue organizing grass roots heritage campaigns and workshops to save our shared global heritage… Expert quote: “It was only a matter of time before some in the art-collecting community tried to turn this cultural nightmare to their own advantage by […]

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Islamic State Destruction Renews Debate Over Repatriation of Antiquities

March 30, 2015

New York Times (subscription required) Ricardo Elia, College of Arts & Sciences Assyrian relics that have stood for 3,000 years smashed and desecrated… Expert quote: “It was only a matter of time before some in the art-collecting community tried to turn this cultural nightmare to their own advantage.” View full article

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Museum of Fine Arts returns 8 artifacts to Nigeria

June 26, 2014

Boston Globe (subscription required) Ricardo Elia, College of Arts & Sciences Eight Nigerian artifacts that were probably stolen decades ago and illegally sent to the United States have been returned to the West African country by the Museum of Fine Arts, according to museum officials, who said Nigerian authorities planned to announce the transfer on […]

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Japan’s Angkor art: Booty or fair exchange?

December 23, 2013

Asia Times Ricardo Elia, College of Arts & Sciences Museum authorities in Tokyo doubtless took note this month of an agreement by the Sotheby’s auction house in New York on December 16 to return to Cambodia a 10th century Khmer statue, known as the Duryodhana, said to have been looted in the 1970s during Cambodia’s […]

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Harvard journal: Jesus ‘wife’ papyrus unverified

September 22, 2012

Associated Press Ricardo Elia, College of Arts & Sciences A Harvard University journal says it hasn’t fully verified research that purportedly shows some early Christians believed Jesus had a wife, even though Harvard’s divinity school touted the research during a publicity blitz this week… View article

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The Curse of the Outcast Artifact

July 12, 2012

New York Times Richard Elia, College of Arts & Sciences In the three decades since David Dewey of Minneapolis began collecting Chinese antiquities he has donated dozens to favored museums, enriching the Institute of Arts in his hometown as well as Middlebury College in Vermont, where he studied Mandarin… View article

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