THE ARCHIVE BY COUNTRY
Published reports from our archive, newest first.
A country may refer to the theft, recovery, return or legal proceedings. A case can be linked to more than one country.
5 reports
The US Supreme Court denied review of a jurisdictional dismissal in the heirs of Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s claim against Sompo over a 1934 sale they alleged occurred under Nazi duress. The courts did not decide title. Image shows the disputed Van Gogh painting, courtesy of the Sompo Museum of Art.
TV Asahi reported that the statue disappeared from Shiroyama Park and was found within the city on 24 April. Police investigated suspected theft.
Edogawa ward confirmed that two bronze statues installed in a public park had disappeared and reported filing a police complaint.
Stolen Avalokitesvara statue returns from South Korea to Tsushima — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source. Image source ↗
A fourteenth-century Buddhist statue reached its Japanese temple after years of litigation in South Korea. It had been taken in 2012; the Korean Supreme Court ordered its return in 2023.
Heirs sought restitution of Portrait of Miss Mathew, later Lady Elizabeth Mathew from Japan’s Fuji Art Museum. The museum asserted valid title through good-faith purchase. This records an ownership and restitution dispute, not a verified court judgment.
