Fake Warhol, Haring and Banksy works seized in Italy

Des faux Warhol, Haring et Banksy saisis en Italie

Italian authorities have seized 143 counterfeit artworks attributed to Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Banksy. The works were on display in the exhibition "Pop to Street Art: Influences" in Reggio Calabria, Italy, and were provided on loan by a Belgian company. The carabinieri, in a transnational investigation extending to Liège, Belgium, identified the operation as part of a larger forgery network known as "Operation Cariatide." Eleven works remain under expert examination.

chinese vase sale cancelled french court

A French court ordered Galerie Kraemer in Paris to return €2.8 million ($3.25 million) to collector Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani over a Chinese vase, citing serious doubts about the 18th-century dating of its gilded bronze mounts. The vase, which sold for €815 in Brazil 20 years ago, passed through a Paris flea market and three antique dealers before Laurent Kraemer purchased it for €180,000. Sheikh Hamad bought the vase in 2012 but later had it examined after Galerie Kraemer faced multiple fake furniture cases. Expert Sébastien Evain deemed the dating highly improbable, while gallery-commissioned experts Gilles Perrault and Guy Kalfon, who only saw photographs, defended the 18th-century attribution. The court annulled the sale, and the gallery plans to appeal.