Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cultural Heritage Offences: A View from Asia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook on Art Crime

  • 1918 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of a wide range of cultural heritage offences which are most relevant to the Asian context, including the pillaging of archaeological sites, art theft, illicit art trafficking and trade, art forgery and fraud. It also highlights corresponding countermeasures, ranging from policing and prosecution to soft strategies and prevention, to international cooperation and the restitution of illegally exported cultural artefacts.

Associate Professor, Kyoto University, Hakubi Center for Advanced Research & Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies. The author would like to thank Anaïs Mattez for her invaluable research assistance and Soung Takayama for her generous support with the preparation of the final draft of this paper.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 299.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 379.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Arrested Men Smuggled Many Idols Out of TN: Police. (2016, October 19). Times of India. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from timesofindia.indiatimes.com.

  • Bazley, T. (2010). Crimes of the art world. Santa Barbara: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Big Cases Yet to Be Cracked. (2017, July 11). The Hindu. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from www.thehindu.com.

  • Blumenthal, R., & Mashberg, T. (2012, July 12). The curse of the outcast artifact. New York Times. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from www.nytimes.com.

  • Boer, B., & Gruber, S. (2012). Heritage discourses. In K. Rubenstein & B. Jessup (Eds.), Environmental discourses in international and public law (pp. 375–398). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Boer, B., & Wiffen, G. (2006). Heritage law in Australia. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bull, T. (2009). Lack of due diligence and unregulated markets: Trade in illicit antiquities and fakes in Hong Kong. In N. Charney (Ed.), Art and crime: Exploring the dark side of the art world (pp. 26–38). Santa Barbara: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bull, T., & Gruber, S. (2014). Forge and export: The trade in fake antiquities from China. In M. Balcells & J. Kila (Eds.), Cultural property crimes: An overview and analysis on contemporary perspectives and trends (pp. 61–76). Brill: Leiden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, H. (2017, June 29). 53 held for auction trading fraud. Shanghai Daily, p. A5.

    Google Scholar 

  • China’s Antique and Art Auction Market Up 13 Percent in 2016. (2017, March 30). China Daily. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from www.chinadaily.com.cn.

  • Chinese art market booms with alert of counterfeits. (2017, April 28). China Daily. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from www.chinadaily.com.cn.

  • Chinese Villagers Demand Identity of Stolen Mummy Buddha’s New Holder. (2017, July 15). Xinhua. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from www.xinhuanet.com.

  • UNESCO Convention. (1970, November 14). Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property. 823 U.N.T.S. 231 (entered into force 24 April 1972) [1970 UNESCO Convention].

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, T. (2017, March 14). Buyer beware: US market for ancient Asian art still the wild, wild east. The Diplomat. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from thediplomat.com.

  • Davis, T., & Mackenzie, S. (2014). Crime and conflict: Temple looting in Cambodia. In M. Balcells & J. Kila (Eds.), Cultural property crimes: An overview and analysis on contemporary perspectives and trends (pp. 292–306). Brill: Leiden.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeAeth, D. (2017, December 27). Temples in Taiwan upgrading security after thieves steal deities, try to mail them to China. Taiwan News. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from www.taiwannews.com.tw.

  • Gallagher, S. (2017). “Purchased in Hong Kong”: Is Hong Kong the best place to buy stolen or looted antiquities? International Journal of Cultural Property, 24(4), 479–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gov’t Seeks to Toughen Up Laws to Address Art Forgery. (2017, December 26). Yonhap News. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from english.yonhapnews.co.kr.

  • Gowen, A. (2016, April 18). India to Britain: Sorry, but we actually do want our diamond back. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from www.washingtonpost.com.

  • Gruber, S. (2007). Protecting China’s cultural heritage sites in times of rapid change: Current developments, practice and law. Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law, 10(3&4), 253–301.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, S. (2012). Poverty and the loss of cultural heritage sites. In Y. Le Bouthillier, M. A. Cohen, J. J. G. Marquez, A. Mumma, & S. Smith (Eds.), Poverty alleviation and environmental law (pp. 284–303). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, S. (2013). The fight against the illicit trade in Asian cultural artefacts: Connecting international agreements, regional cooperation and domestic strategies. Asian Journal of International Law, 3(2), 341–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, S. (2014). Perspectives on the investigation, prosecution and prevention of art crime in Asia. In S. Hufnagel & D. Chappell (Eds.), Contemporary perspectives on the detection, investigation and prosecution of art crime: Australasian, European and north American perspectives (pp. 221–235). Farnham: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, S. (2017a). Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage 1972. In M. Fitzmaurice, A. Tanzi, & A. Papantoniou (Eds.), Elgar encyclopedia of environmental law: Multilateral environmental treaties (pp. 60–66). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, S. (2017b). The tension between rights and cultural heritage protection in China. In A. Durbach & L. Lixinski (Eds.), Heritage, culture and rights: Challenging legal discourses (pp. 149–163). Oxford: Hart.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, G. (2016, September 24). Australia returns three ancients artifacts to India. DNA. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from http://www.dnaindia.com.

  • Hauser-Schäublin, B., & Kim, S. (2016). Faked biographies: The remake of antiquities and their sale on the art market. In B. Hauser-Schäublin & L. V. Prott (Eds.), Cultural property and contested ownership: The trafficking of artefacts and the quest for return (pp. 108–129). London: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Heritage Watch. (2013). Artifacts stolen from reach Bo pagoda. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from http://www.heritagewatchinternational.org.

  • Hooper, J., & Plafker, T. (2017, June 2). Millions at stake as Chinese villagers take collector to court over “Man in the Buddha”. Financial Review. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from http://www.afr.com.

  • Huffer, D., & Chappell, D. (2014). Local and international illicit traffic in Vietnamese cultural property: A preliminary investigation. In M. Balcells & J. Kila (Eds.), Cultural property crimes: An overview and analysis on contemporary perspectives and trends (pp. 263–291). Brill: Leiden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Idols worth lakhs found missing from temple (2017, March 21). Times of India. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from timesofindia.indiatimes.com.

  • India Wants Its Crown Jewel Back from Britain. (2016, April 20). CBS News. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from www.cbsnews.com.

  • Mackenzie, S. (2005). Going, going, gone: Regulating the market in illicit antiquities. Builth Wells: Institute of Art and Law.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackenzie, S. (2011). The market as criminal and criminals in the market: Reducing opportunities for organised crime in the international antiquities market. In S. Manacorda & D. Chappell (Eds.), Crime in the art and antiquities world (pp. 69–85). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Man Admits Swapping Classic Chinese Artworks for Fakes He Painted Himself. (2015, July 21). The Guardian. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from http://www.theguardian.com.

  • US–Cambodia Agreement. (2013). Memorandum of understanding between the government of the United States of America and the government of the kingdom of Cambodia concerning the imposition of import restrictions on archaeological material from Cambodia from the Bronze age through the Khmer era. Entered into force 6 August 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • US–China Agreement. (2014). Memorandum of understanding between the government of the United States of America and the government of the people’s Republic of China concerning the imposition of import restrictions on categories of archaeological material from the paleolithic period through the tang dynasty and monumental sculpture and wall art at least 250 years old. Entered into force 8 January 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohapatra, S. (2017, April 23). 5 more idols stolen from Tamil Nadu in Australia gallery’s possession. Times of India. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from timesofindia.indiatimes.com.

  • Mumbai antique smuggling racket: DRI arrests sculptor from Delhi (2017, March 5). The Indian Express. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from indianexpress.com.

  • Mydans, S. (1999, April 1). Raiders of lost art loot temples in Cambodia. New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from www.nytimes.com.

  • O’Keefe, P. J. (1997). Trade in antiquities—Reducing destruction and theft. London: Archetype Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olsburgh, C. (2005). Authenticity in the art market: A comparative study of Swiss, French and English contract law. Builth Wells: Institute of Art and Law.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prince, R. (2010, July 29). David Cameron refuses to return Koh I Noor diamond to India. The Telegraph. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from www.telegraph.co.uk.

  • Qin, A. (2015, May 3). Mummy displayed in Hungary sets Chinese villagers in pursuit of lost icon. New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from www.nytimes.com.

  • Rajaram, R. (2017, July 25). Icon centres getting ready to house idols. The Hindu. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from www.thehindu.com.

  • Reguly, R. (2015, September 3). The link between art and money laundering. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from www.theglobeandmail.com.

  • Sivaraman, R. (2017, June 29). Idol theft: DSP on the run. The Hindu. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from www.thehindu.com.

  • Soth, E., & Reddick, J. (2018, February 27). In Kampong Chhnang, a village guards its spiritual guardian from government hands. Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from www.phnompenhpost.com.

  • SSB seizes antique idol being smuggled to Nepal. (2017, April 27). India.com. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from www.india.com.

  • Subramani, A. (2017, June 30). Idol theft by police: Madras HC asks IG why erring officials are not arrested. Times of India. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from timesofindia.indiatimes.com.

  • Taylor, A. (2014, April 7). National gallery of Australia director Ron Radford reluctant to admit dancing Shiva is stolen. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from www.smh.com.au.

  • Unger, B. (2007). The scale and impacts of money laundering. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • UNIDROIT Convention. (1995, June 24). UNIDROIT convention on stolen or illegally exported cultural objects. 2421 U.N.T.S. 457 (entered into force 1 July 1998) [1995 UNIDROIT Convention].

    Google Scholar 

  • United States of America v. A 10th Century Cambodian Sandstone Sculpture, Currently Located at Sotheby’s in New York. (2013, March 28). New York, No. 12-civ-2600-GBD (S.D.N.Y.). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from www.nysd.uscourts.gov/cases/show.php?db=special&id=282.

  • United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, United States of America v. A 10th Century Cambodian Sandstone Sculpture, Currently Located at Sotheby’s in New York, Verified Complaint. (2012). New York, 12-cv-2600-GBD (S.D.N.Y. 4 April 2012). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://www.scribd.com/document/88039322/U-S-v-10th-Century-Cambodian-Sculpture-12-Civ-2600.

  • United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York 2013, Re: United States v. A 10th Century Cambodian Sandstone Statue 12 Civ. 2600 (GBD), 11 September. Retrieved March 14, 2018., from https://www.scribd.com/document/168925445/Govt-Oppo-to-Staying-Discovery.

  • U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (2016, November 30). ICE HSI, Tamil Nadu police arrest major India-based artifact smugglers. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from www.ice.gov.

  • Wang, Y., & He, S. (2013). Can NGOs change the status of cultural heritage protection in China? The case of CHP as an example. In L. V. Prott, R. Redmond-Cooper, & S. Urice (Eds.), Realising cultural heritage law: Festschrift for Patrick O’Keefe (pp. 189–198). Institute of Art and Law: Builth Wells.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, C. (2018, January 10). Chinese antique dealer ‘Hired gang of tomb raiders and used stolen artefact as a coffee table. South China Morning Post. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from www.scmp.com.

  • Woo, J. (2013, March 13). Stolen Buddhist statue to return to Buyeo temple after 30 years. Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from english.yonhapnews.co.kr.

  • World Heritage Committee. (1992, December 7–14). Report of the rapporteur of the 16th session (Santa Fe, United States of America). UNESCO Doc WHC-92/CONF.002/12, Santa Fe, Decision 16COM X.A, 16COM X.E.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yadav, V. K. (2017, March 4). Antique smuggling racket: Key idol smuggler held in police raid. Mid-Day. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from www.mid-day.com.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Stefan Gruber

Authors
  1. Stefan Gruber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    Saskia Hufnagel

  2. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Duncan Chappell

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Gruber, S. (2019). Cultural Heritage Offences: A View from Asia. In: Hufnagel, S., Chappell, D. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook on Art Crime. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54405-6_24

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54405-6_24

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54404-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54405-6

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation