Displaying items by tag: antique dealer

An anonymous caller has cracked open an organized crime syndicate that stole up to 302 works of art from Turkey's State Art and Sculpture Museum, located in the capital, Ankara. According to a report in the "Hurriyet" Turkish newspaper, three individuals from the group have been arrested thus far. Fifteen remain on the run.

The arrests came courtesy of an anonymous phone call to the Turkish culture minister Ertuğrul Günay. The witness, said to be an antiques dealer himself and referred to by the pseudonym "Daylight," has revealed extensive details about the operation.

On September 9 and 10, Christie’s London will offer the first portion of the collection of antique dealer and interior designer Christopher Hodsoll as part of its “Interiors” auction. The second part of the collection will be featured on September 16 at the auction house’s “Interiors -- Style & Spirit” sale. Hodsoll, who is based in London, is well-known for his idiosyncratic taste in antique furniture as well as his ability to create striking interiors that blend classical pieces with the rare and unusual.

Hodsoll began dealing antiques with his mentor, the late design legend Geoffrey Bennison. Bennison’s predilection for the decadent as well as the eccentric rubbed off on Hodsoll and has had a profound influence on his style.

WLTX in Columbia, South Carolina reported that antique dealer Michael Whittemore’s van and trailer went missing during an overnight stay in Orangeburg. Whittemore was on his way from Florida to one of the largest industry events of the year, the New Hampshire Antiques Show, when the apparent highjack occurred. The show, which is organized by the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association, is scheduled to take place from August 8^th through the 10^th in Manchester.

Whittemore’s white Ford van and 16-foot covered trailer were stocked with early American furniture, folk art, paintings, vintage garden items, weathervanes and other one-of-a-kind objects. Whittemore told WLTX, “It is scary that it has come to this point. That someone has taken all of this I have worked so hard for away from me and it is almost impossible to replace or recoup what I have lost.”

The Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Department in South Carolina is currently investigating the incident.