Recent stories and marketplace information on rugs, textiles, the arts of Asia and tribal art.

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TAUBMAN BANGED UP (31 July 2002)
Oh how the mighty have fallen! After losing his battle in a US federal court of appeals, ex-Sotheby's chairman Alfred Taubman will tomorrow begin serving a prison term of a year and a day.

MODERN DAY SHANGRI-LA (20 March 2002)
A remote Chinese county in southwestern Yunnan province has renamed itself after the mystical, imaginary land of Shangri-la, it was announced recently.

ARNAULT BIDS ADIEU (15 March 2002)
Bernard Arnault, the chairman of the luxury goods group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesey) has sold his majority stake in Phillips de Pury Luxembourg, it was announced last week...

A RARE FIND (31 January 2002)
A tian mark doucai jar, bought from a junk shop for a mere £100, sold recently at Sotheby's London for a staggering £751,500 ($1,060,750). After a session of fierce bidding in the Bond Street auction rooms, London dealer Eskenazi Ltd made claim to the jar, which had been identified by Sotheby's ceramic specialist Julian King as an extremely rare and unrecorded example of the Ming porcelain ware.

TAUBMAN REQUESTS RETRIAL (29 January 2002)
A. Alfred Taubman, the former chairman of Sotheby's Holdings Inc., has requested a retrial of the recent antitrust case against him. Indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan last May (see TAUBMAN AND TENANT INDICTED), Taubman was convicted in December of conspiring to fix art market prices with rival auction house Christie's PLC. He is due to be sentenced on 2 April 2002

SCHULTZ ON TRIAL (18 January 2002)
New York antiquities dealer Frederick Schultz, who was arrested last July for conspiring to receive stolen antiquities (see ANTIQUITIES DEALER ARRESTED), will go to trial at a federal district court beginning 28 January 2002.

BAMIYAN BUDDHAS REBUILT? (17 January 2002)
A senior United Nations official announced this week that Afghanistan's monumental statues of Buddha at Bamiyan, destroyed by the Taleban just under a year ago, could possibly be reconstructed at a nearby site.

ISSUE 33 (from 10 October 2001)
Japan's ancient fascination with Halley's Comet... Imperial works bring imperial prices in Paris... Aam guide to provenance research... Southeast Asian paintings record sale... New York rug sales... American Indian art sells well at Skinner... Has Phillips been too ambitious?... British museum forced to postpone major exhibition... Walters museum's grand reopening... Peru's 'fake' gold museum... More than 20 sites faked by archaeologist... Archaeologists to work with BP in bid to discover Caucasian history... Haughtons postpone second New York fair... Cultura comes to Basel...

ISSUE 32 (From 26 September 2001)
Sotheby's Buyer Defaults on $1 Million Payment... Sale of Dorotheum Auction House... New Auction House for India... Museums Affected by the New York Disaster... British Museum's Snubbed Director Resigns... Bugs Devouring Museum Collections... Artists Battle Internet Copyright... Malaysia Discovers Chinese Shipwreck... Indifference and Vandalism Destroying Africa's Cave Art... King George's Durbar to be Restored... Central Asian Book Collections for Sale... Talwar Gallery Opens in New York... Galerie Walu Now Online... Los Angeles Arts of Pacific Asia Show... Cleveland Rug Society Meeting... Textile Museum's 24th Annual Rug Convention... International Netsuke Society...

ISSUE 31 (From 12 September 2001)
The Aita and Jim Burns Carpet Collections at Christie’s… Bullerswood Brought Home… Sotheby’s Announces Olympia Programme… Surprise Sale of Ewolfs.com… French Auctions: Conseil des Ventes Established... A Noble Provenance... Farr Celebrates Ten Years of Contemporary Rugs… British Museum Return Aboriginal Artefacts… New Appointments… Return of Statue Sparks Controversy… Chinese Claim Chinggis Tomb of Their Own… UCLA Announces Rug Course...

ISSUE 30 (From 29 August 2001)
Chinggis Khan's Tomb Discovered?… Exploratory Dig of Lenape Site May Halt Building of Sports Complex… More on Tuva… Sotheby's: Still a Sinking Ship?… Conseil des Ventes Nominations Announced… British Museum Snubs Government Choice for Director… New Japanese Galleries Open at Newark Museum… V&A Goes Free in November… Flying the Turkmen Flag… Painting the Longest Protest… Sabahi Opens New Gallery and Carpet Museum… New London Galleries…

ISSUE 29 (From 15 August 2001)
Sotheby's Axes Pre-Columbian Art... Inferno at New Prehistory Museum... Stolen Shahnama Found... Pharaonic Tablet Returned and 80 Year-Old Arrested... Jade Tortoise Uncovers Mystery of Yijing... Japanese Master in Chicago... Austria's New Carpet Professor... Iranian Nationalist's Heritage Home...

ISSUE 28 (From 1 August 2001)
Fifteenth Century Blasphemy?... How Much for a Dufy?... French Bureaucracy Bars Christie's... New Global Chairman for Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg... Smithsonian Secretary's Art Under Investigation... Virginia Acquisitions... New Director for Textile Museum... New Rug Gallery Opens in South West... US Sales Account for 40% of British Dealers' Turnover... Record Revenues for EBay... Arnault's Internet Enterprise Plummets... A Dog's Home... Making the World's Oldest Beads... The Observatory of Tibet and Central Asia...

ISSUE 27 (From 13 July 2001)
Burrell Tapestry Found in Rubbish... Antiquities Dealer Frederick Schultz Arrested... World Record for Aboriginal Art... Coptic Textile Goes Through the Roof... Bonhams and Phillips Merge Confirmed... Sotheby's Forced to Move Paris Sale... Brushwasher Sensation in Paris... Fifth Century BCE Burial Treasures Uncovered... Prehistoric Rock Art in Borneo... India's Tallest Stupa Uncovered... Mummified Monk to be Repaired... Controversial Plans to Rescue Taj Mahal... Seller Appreciation Day... New Assistant Curator of African Art for CMA... Graduates Celebrate at VITA Show... McCullough Serves Up Cloudband and Canapés...

ISSUE 26 (From 4 July 2001)
Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Reported to Merge... Japanese Triumph in London... World Record Sale for African Art... Needlework Pouch Soars Above Estimate... Tlingit Totem Pole to be Returned... New Director in New Mexico... Rebuilding the Bamiyan Buddha... Ebay Alters Controversial Feature... Kagedo Opens New York Gallery... New Site Launched for Chinese Art... Eppraisals Closure... First Screening for a Screen...

ISSUE 25 (From 20 June 2001)
Hubert Goldet Collection of Primitive Art to Sell in Paris... World's Oldest Lacquer Unearthed... Stolen Guardian Returned to China... Buddha's Facelift a Success, But Will It Remain the Tallest?... Treasures of Herakleion Rediscovered... Japanese Works, Carpets and Textiles Will Move to Olympia... Lawyers Challenge Christie's Amnesty... Doyle Sets Record for Costume... Christie's to Sell Off Spink... eBay Update... HALI.com Goes Live... Resale Tax Agreement Reached... Tribe Rug Shop Opens... Ramezani Move to New Premises... German Eurotefa Carpet Fair Cancelled... New Korea Gallery Opens in Honolulu...

ISSUE 24 (From 6 June 2001)
Discovery of Moche Elite Graves... Harappa Under the Sea?... Manno Collection Offered at Christie's... Kelekian Sale at Boisgirard... Export Art Dominates at Doyle... Presidential Appointment for Fitz Gibbon... Pinner Gives Inaugural Beattie Lecture... New Chairman for British Museum... 'Buy Now' Option at Sothebys.com... Yahoo Buyers Bounce Back... Rug Collector Wells Klein Dies... Theresa McCullough Opens Summer Exhibition...

ISSUE 23 (From 23 May 2001)
Tribal Art is Go at Sotheby's... Rare Yomut Kap in Wiesbaden... Fierce Competition at Nagel... Sotheby's Deny Headquarters Sale... Proof of Ancient Central Asian Civilisation?... Re-Dating Caral... Jinsha Ruins Hailed as New Sanxingdui... Swedish Director Moves to Top Tokyo Job... New Museum for Guangzhou... Japan 2001 Launches in Hyde Park... US Trade Fairs Dominate US Market... BAMF Urges Blair to Say No... Alexander Götz and Bodhicitta Gallery Move... Sinologist Susan Dewar's Tragic Death...

ISSUE 22 (From 9 May 2001)
Tennant and Taubman Indicted... Drouot to Move for Revamp... Tekke Sells Well... Tetouan Makes Thirty... World Record Price for Chinese Lacquer Box... Syrian Textile and Costume Squad... New Asian Art Society Launches in Oz... French Dealers Fight Convention... New London Showroom for ATI... Tories Back VAT Relief for Museums... Khalil Rizk Dies Unexpectedly... HALI Assistant Editor Joins Cloudband...

ISSUE 21 (From 24 April 2001)
AEDTA to Close 30 April... Sepik Figure Makes a Surprise £8,000... Phillips Board Appoints Society Women... Yan Gallery Opens in Hong Kong... Indigenous Art Award Winners Exhibit in Sydney... Stolen Statues Head Back to China... Britain to Sign UNESCO Convention... EBay Partners with Artnet.com... African Manuscripts May Rewrite History...

ISSUE 20 (From 11 April 2001)
Christie's May Move into Somerset House... 'Tucked Away' Suzani Sells for $4,600... Antiques Web Sites Join Forces... Dorosch Runner Takes Off at Christie's New York... Mughal Dagger Stolen at New York Fair... Chevalier Employ New Textile Cleaning Process... Milo Beach Retires from Smithsonian... Sandra Sheckter Becomes Curator at Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute... New Director Appointed at Louvre... Digital Technology Reveals Ancient Japanese Paintings... 'Dot Painting' Pioneer Dies at 75...

ISSUE 19 (From 14 March 2001)
Fanglei Makes Over $9 Million at New York Asia Week Sales... British Museum's New Asian Art Diploma Starts with Islamic Module... Over 75,000 Visitors Flock to Maastricht... Plum Blossoms Open New York Gallery... Oceanic Arts Australia Sell Tribal Pots to Korean Symposium... UK Trade Lobby for Foot-and-Mouth Compensation... Sotheby's Post Big Losses and 14% Drop in Sales... Jomon 'Silk' Found in Hokkaido... Third Statue Destroyed by Taleban... University of Sydney Set for Central Asian Dig...

ISSUE 18 (From 14 March 2001)
Taleban Destroy Giant Buddhas... French Galleries Outraged at Resale Tax... No Dateline Policy Set for Olympia Fairs... Collecties.com Rumoured to Buy Sotheby's... Cloudband Sales Staffer Wins Scholarship... UK Budget Benefits London Museums... National Museum of Australia Opens... Scotland Yard Investigate Portico Scandal... Mibia.com Launches... Cloudband Teams up with Invaluable... Artnet gets Cash Infusion... Online Art Auction Booms Hits Korea...

ISSUE 17 (From 28 February 2001)
Victoria & Albert Museum Finally Appoint New Director... Sainsbury African Galleries Open This Week... Cairene Carpet Fails at High-Flying Halevim Sale... Japanese Religions Scholarship Up for Grabs... Taleban Destroys Priceless Artefacts... Tai Gallery Get Set for Larger Space... EBay Acquire IBazar, Boosting European Edge... QXL Hooks Up With Antiquesstreet.co.uk... Acclaimed Chinese Artist Chen Zhen Passes Away...

ISSUE 16 (From 14 February 2001)
London's First Textiles Museum Announced... Buyers Snap Up 16 Percent at Icollector Trial Auction... UNESCO Launches Dealer Code of Ethics... New Tibetan and Himalayan Circle Launches... Confucius Relics Damaged in Clean-up... Birds Reign Surpreme at Christie's Export Sale... Rebel Attack Unveils Historic Art... Antitrust Ruling May Lead to UK Suits... New Indian Auctioneer Set for Debut Sale... Top Five Paris Auction Houses Revealed... Tribute to K.C. Chang...

ISSUE 15 (From 31 Janaury 2001)
TIAS Quits eBay Deal After Poor Sales... LAPADA Members Predict Grim 2001... Matsudaira Susumu Passes Away... Domotex Hannover Attracts 40,000... Indian Museums Destroyed in Earthquake Tragedy... Persian Mummy A Fake... Tokyo Museums Buy Art from Failed Bank... EBay Italy Opens... Christie's Get Techincal Boost... Taiwanese Houses Expand into China... Artists Demand Catalogue Fees... Alati Open New Carpet Gallery in Milan... Ziya Bozoglu Sets up Third Gallery...

ISSUE 14 (From 18 January 2001)
Musée Guimet Re-opens at Last... Auction Round-up... Sotheby's Cuts 165 Jobs... Sotheby's Take Up Olympia Showroom... Jonathan Wadsworth Leaves Sotheby's Carpet Department... Trade Snaps Up Ziegler at Cheffins'... EBay Buys Stake in South Korean Auctioneer... Keshishian Open New York Gallery... Alberto Boralevi Holds 'Closing Down' Sale... Iran Co. Make World's Biggest Carpet... Hong Kong Heritage Museum Opens... Jingjiang Tombs To Be Repaired...

ISSUE 13 (From 1 December 2000)
Tek Sing Soars as Hoi An Sinks... Car Park Destroying Ming Home... Christie's to offer Davide Halevim Collection of Carpets ... Sotheby's to Lay Off Staff after Poor Results... Great Court Opening Despite Portico Fiasco... China Opens First Textile Institute... Aboriginal Bones to be Returned... Jaisalmer in Jeopardy's Streetscape Success... Buddha's Secrets May Lay in Remote Nepalese Town... Ajanta Caves Damaged by Restoration...

ISSUE 12 (From 15 November 2000)
Asian Art in London Kicks off with Cocktails... New Class-Action Suit for Sotheby's and Christie's... Royal Ontario Museum Opens New Asian Art Gallery... Australian Museums Devote More Space to Aboriginal Art... Shop Online at Textile Museum... Japanese Archaeologist Exposed as Fake... Ancient Mummy Causes Controversy in Middle East...

ISSUE 11 (From 2 November 2000)
Safavid Rug Fetches £213,000 at Bonhams... eBay Magazine folds... UNESCO Encourages Japan to Sign Illicit Trade Convention... Jim Blackmon Moves Yurt... British Museum Opens New Korean Gallery... Galleria Ambrosia Opens Textile Study Centre... Gallerie Boccara Moves... 'Oldest' Habitation in Japan Found...

ISSUE 10 (From 18 October 2000)
Diana Brooks Pleads Guilty to Price-Fixing Charges... Sothebys.amazon.com Shuts Down... John Eskenazi to Close Milan Branch... Sam Fogg Moves... New Information on Xia Dynasty... Human Remains Found in Qinghai Province... Rare Chinese Books Taken from Harvard... Poole Returns to Christie's New York... Desmond Healy New Chinese Head at Christie's London... New Christie's Hong Kong Director Appointed... Ex-Freer Curator Joins Hong Kong University... V&A Shortlist Borg's Successor... New Chinese Painting Gallery Opens at Ashmolean... Berlin's Museum for Indian Art Reopens...

ISSUE 9 (From 5 October 2000)
Sotheby's Taubman May Sell Stake... The Loft Gallery, Phuket Goes Online... Chambers Fine Art Opens New York Gallery... Art Donors Can Get Singapore Residency... British Museum Director Visits Korean Cultural Sites... Wall Paintings Found in New Shaanxi Tomb Discovery... First Chinese Art Chair at Arthur M. Sackler Gallery... Metropolitan Museum Gets New Asian Art Chair...

ISSUE 8 (From 20 September 2000)
British Museum Takes on New Asian Art Diploma... Scholten Art Gallery Opens in New York... Japanese Sculptures Create Controversy in USA... Phillips Appoint New Heavyweight Directors... Vietnam Launches Major Literature Anthology... Eber Meschoulam Loses His Carpets... Saving Jaisalmer Raises £33,000... Bonhams and Brooks Merge... Mould Killing China's Terracotta Army... eBay's Great Collections Go With Live Auctions... ClubCiti Online Auctioneers Fold...

ISSUE 7 (From 5 September 2000)
Japan Backs North Korea's Bid for Ancient Tombs... Cambodian Army Accused of Khmer Looting... Myrna Bloom to Sell Out.. Chevaliers Open Up New Carpet Space... Auctions.com Goes Belly-Up... eMaiMai.com to Assault Chinese Auction Market... Nepalese rugs on Show at National Floor Show, UK... Eastern Swastika Creates German Fury... Big Buddha Site Found in Kyoto... Oregon Museum Shuts for Revamp...

ISSUE 6 (From 24 August 2000)
China to Rebuild Yuanmingyuan... Henry Howard-Sneyd is Sotheby's New MD of Asia... British Museum Seeks New Islamic Coins Curator... New African and Americas Department Heads at the Cleveland Museum of Art... eBay Joins Forces with Chinadotcom... QXL-Ricardo Merger Back On... Arnault Buys Art & Auction... LVMH Made Sotheby's Offer... Eiteljorg Gallery of African Art Reopens in Indianapolis... Israel Museum Gets $10m... Clark Center Renamed after Sherman Lee...

ISSUE 5 (From 9 August 2000)
Okinawan Leaders Lobby G-8 Summit for the Return of Seized Art Works... New York Times Ends Art and Technology Column... Australia Launches New Art Business Foundation... Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum Sues for Ruined Stone Tablet... Konya Opens First Carpet Museum... Japan Embassy Worker Steals Rare Books... Hali Advertising Manager Joins Cloudband... BADA Appoints New Chairman... Artnet.com Hires New Director... China to Regulate Cultural Web Sites... CollectingChannel.com Adds Appraisal Service... 18 Ancient Chinese Wells Found in Ji County...

ISSUE 4 (From 24 July 2000)
Sotheby's Starts New Asian Art Courses... Butterfields Kill Off Live Auctions... St James's Galleries Have a 'Street Party'... UK's Budget Boost for the Arts... New Aboriginal Art Label... QXL.com Becomes Europe's Largest Online Auctioneer... Britain Keeps Chaloner Carpet... New London Asian Art gallery... Samarkand Expands... Dunhuang Grottoes Record China's Inventing History...

ISSUE 3 (From 11 July 2000)
Remembering Krishna Riboud, a Formidable Collector of Textiles... French Senate Abolishes State-Licensed Auctioneers Monopoly... Iraq Museum Opens 10 Years after Gulf War... New Art Fair for Hong Kong... Chinese Art Show Causes Trouble at Australia's National Gallery of Art... Well-Respected Museum Curator, Margaret Medley, Passes Away... New CEO for British Library... "Marine Silk Route" Starts 200 Years Earlier... NY Lays Down Law on Stolen Works...

ISSUE 2 (From 23 June 2000)
Louvre Questioned over Nok Figures... Agora, a New Centre for Non-European Art, Opens in Milan... The Metropolitan Museum of Art Wins an Award for its Website... eBay on the Ropes... Christie's V.P. Joins Circline.com... China to Open "Sutras Cave" Museum... Horniman Museum Accused of Smuggling... Met Museum Wins Web Award...

ISSUE 1 (From 7 June 2000)
Hali Fair opens with gusto... SOAS and Christie's Cancel Asian Art Diploma... Another "looted" head on offer... 'Stolen' marble wall creates stir... New auction house rates hit smaller clients... Victoria & Albert Museum search for new director... US law firm chosen for Sotheby's, Christie's class-action... Elisabeth Poole leaves Christie's New York... Maison Sadraee relocate within Brussels... Bodhisattva to return to Miho Museum?... W.C. Fong retires as Met Museum chairman... Michael Brand joins VMFA... new find at Çatalhöyük...