Former President of Louvre Museum Charged In Art Trafficking Case [View all]

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Last edited Fri May 27, 2022, 02:42 AM - Edit history (4)

Source: France24

The former president of the Louvre museum in Paris has been charged with conspiring to hide the origin of Egyptian archaeological treasures that investigators suspect were spirited out of the country during the Arab Spring uprisings, a French judicial source said Thursday.

Jean-Luc Martinez was charged Wednesday after being taken in for questioning along with two French specialists in Egyptian art, who were not charged, another source close to the inquiry told AFP. The case was opened in July 2018, two years after the Louvre's branch in Abu Dhabi bought a rare pink granite stele depicting the pharaoh Tutankhamun and four other historic works for eight million euros ($8.5 million).

Martinez, who ran the Paris Louvre from 2013 to 2021, is accused of turning a blind eye to fake certificates of origin for the pieces, a fraud thought to involve several other art experts, according to a report Wednesday in the Canard Enchaine investigative weekly. He has been charged with complicity in fraud and "concealing the origin of criminally obtained works by false endorsement," according to the judicial source.

The move comes after the German-Lebanese gallery owner who brokered the sale was arrested in Hamburg in March and extradited to Paris for questioning in the case. French investigators suspect that hundreds of artefacts were pillaged during the Arab Spring protests that engulfed several Middle Eastern countries in the early 2010s, and then sold to galleries and museums that did not ask too many questions about previous ownership...

Read more: https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220526-former-president-of-louvre-museum-charged-in-art-trafficking-case

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- Former president of the Louvre, Jean-Luc Martinez charged in art trafficking case.




- Rare pink Egyptian Stele depicting Pharoh Tutankhamun c. 1327 BCE, (*trafficked?) bought by the Louve's Abu Dhabi branch in 2016. This arched stele is partly covered with a long inscription in hieroglyphs that promulgates a royal decree in the name of Tut. in which a certain Raya, a high priest in the Temple of Osiris in Abydos, is assured protection.

At the top, the low-relief decoration includes a surprising instance of twin representation of Tut. As the only mediator between earth & the gods, the pharaoh is first shown giving offerings & prayers to the great god Osiris, Lord of the Underworld, before taking his place & in turn receiving offerings from the high-ranking official Pa-en-nesit. https://www.louvreabudhabi.ae/en/explore/highlights-of-the-collection/toutankhamon
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- BBC NEWS, Ed.: ''Louvre museum's ex-president charged in art trafficking case,' May 26, 2022. The former head of the Louvre in Paris has been charged in connection with a wide-ranging inquiry into the trafficking of ancient objects from the Middle East. French investigators allege Jean-Luc Martinez facilitated the transfer of the objects to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. They reportedly include a granite stele inscribed with the seal of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun. Mr Martinez denies the charges & insists that he acted in good faith. There was no immediate comment from the Paris Louvre, while the Louvre Abu Dhabi said it was unable to comment on the specifics of the case because of the French investigation... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61590608
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- The Art Newspaper: 'Dealer suspected of selling looted antiquities to the Metropolitan Museum of Art & Louvre Abu Dhabi detained in Paris,' March, 2022. The Hamburg-based dealer Roben Dib was arrested in Paris last week. His lawyers say he will "fully cooperate with the investigation"... https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/03/25/dealer-suspected-of-selling-looted-antiquities-to-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art-and-louvre-abu-dhabi-detained-in-paris



- The gilded coffin of Nedjemankh sold by Dib to the Met for $3.85 Mil. (* looted?). Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

- ARTFORUM, March 25, 2022. DEALER DETAINED IN PARIS ON SUSPICION OF SELLING LOOTED ARTIFACTS TO MET, LOUVRE ABU DHABI. German-Lebanese dealer Roben Dib, who is suspected by US and French officials to been heavily involved in the sale of looted objects to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, was collared in Hamburg last week, The Art Newspaper reports. Via a European arrest warrant, Dib was summarily shipped off to France, where he remains in custody, awaiting trial in a Paris court on charges of gang fraud and money laundering... https://www.artforum.com/news/dealer-detained-in-paris-on-suspicion-of-selling-looted-artifacts-to-met-louvre-abu-dhabi-88286
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- Louve Museum, Paris. The Napoleon Courtyard and I. M. Pei's pyramid in its center, at dusk.






- The Seated Scribe, 2613-2494 BC, Egyptian.





- The Great Sphinx of Tanis; circa 2600 BC; rose, Egyptian.

- The Louve, EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES COLLECTION. The department, comprising over 50,000 pieces  include artifacts from the Nile civilizations which date from 4,000 BC to the 4th cent. AD. The collection, among the world's largest, overviews Egyptian life spanning Ancient Egypt, the Middle Kingdom, the New Kingdom, Coptic art, & the Roman, Ptolemaic, & Byzantine periods. The department was augmented by Napoleon's 1798 expeditionary trip with Dominique Vivant, the future director of the Louvre. After Jean-Franois Champollion translated the Rosetta Stone, Charles X decreed that an Egyptian Antiquities department be created. Champollion advised the purchase of 3 collections which added 7,000 works. Acquisitions continued. The collection is housed in more than 20 rooms. Holdings include art, papyrus scrolls, mummies, tools, clothing, jewelry, games, musical instruments, and weapons...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre




- Venus de Milo, 130- 100 BC





- Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503-1506.





- Ceiling by Cy Twombly installed in 2010 in the Salle des Bronzes, before room redesign in 2021.
More, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre