The central focus of the project was the coin, its removal from its display and its deposition in a donation box at the museum. Sartuzi has described the practicalities of the project, which included preparing a replica of the coin to replace the original, and the focus of reporting has been on the objects. - The Conversation
“Just months after lovingly carving Costanza’s face in marble, Bernini ordered it to be slashed with a knife by one of his servants.” - The Observer (UK)
Representatives from the U of I's Stanley Museum of Art met with the ceremonial leader of the Edo people "and officials of the Benin Royal Court earlier this month to officially restitute two artworks that have been in its collection since 1986 and 2001.” - Hyperallergic
Grinding on a statue of Bacchus might sound fun (and, well, perhaps it was?), but the young woman who experienced that joy in Florence will be banned for life from the city - if the police find her. - Hyperallergic
Just before the anniversary of the Irish singer’s death, the museum revealed the figure to a swift and furious reception. O’Connor’s brother John said "that the figure looked ‘between a mannequin and something out of the Thunderbirds.’” - BBC
"The collection, which includes contemporary and historical artworks, design objects, and artifacts, was targeted on January 8, 2023, when riots erupted in Brasília following the defeat of then-president Jair Bolsonaro by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the general election." - ARTnews
In the background of a tweet from the regional government in the English county of Warwickshire, an art historian recognized what turned out to be a portrait of the king painted for famous tapestry-maker Ralph Sheldon in the 1590s. - BBC
For the fiscal year just ended, US visitors totaled 5.5 million, slightly above the (pre-pandemic) figure for 2019. What's more, just over half of those visitors were nonwhite, the highest level ever. The attendance totals for those from abroad, however, are still half of what they were before COVID. - Hyperallergic
The Philadelphia museum has eliminated a dozen positions, about 6% of its staff, over six months, despite the fact that it has a budget surplus. One ex-staffer, in the new position of Assistant Curator for Art of the African Diaspora, maintains that he was personally fired by the Barnes's director. - ARTnews
"The US Justice Department has reached an agreement with Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, the former general counsel of Malaysia’s sovereign investment development fund (1MDB), to recover a $1.27 million drawing by Pablo Picasso … (purchased) using misappropriated 1MDB funds from a bond sale underwritten by Goldman Sachs." - ARTnews
The sculpture, a replica of the 16th-century original (kept in the Bargello Museum) by Giambologna, is on a street corner near the Ponte Vecchio. Bacchus appears to be undamaged from the moment of passion, which, of course, the amorous young lady posted on social media. - CNN
Many galleries in Paris’s Saint Germain des Près area, one of the city’s major art hubs, were unexpectedly forced to close on Thursday, due to security measures put in place for the upcoming Olympic Games. - ARTnews
"When the 11th-century Chora Church was ordered to be reconverted into a mosque in 2020, many feared for the fate of its richly decorated interior, which features some of the world’s finest Late Byzantine-era mosaics and frescoes. After a tense four-year wait ..., it reopened on May 6." - Hyperallergic
"Pandora VIII, an annual joint operation between customs and law enforcement authorities from 25 countries against international art trafficking, … involved several thousand checks at airports, ports, border crossings, auction houses, museums, and private residences." - ARTnews
"We know that there is a provenance verification opportunity here. We all know it and we all know that the art world is resisting it because it suggests transparency, which we say we want but we don't really want." - Axios
