Paging Indiana Jones (or rather paging Shia, because we all know why we're going to see the movie and it's called The LaBeouf factor) Mingei International Museum is one of four California Museums at the center of a federal investigation looking into possible smuggled looted antiques out of Thailand, Myanmar and China.
From the NY Times:
In affidavits supporting the warrants, federal agents said the Markells had imported looted antiquities provided by Mr. Olson and then arranged to donate them to museums on behalf of clients who took inflated tax deductions for the gifts.
The affidavit describes a process in which objects were smuggled after being painted or affixed with stickers reading “Made in Thailand” to make the pieces look like replicas.
Rob Sidner, the director of the Mingei International Museum, said in a statement that if the investigation showed that any of the artifacts in its collections had been improperly donated, “we will return them to the rightful owners.”
And then The LaBeouf slides in, lassos himself the evil museum curator, takes back the smuggled antiquities and saves the day. Harrison Ford can do something too, if he wants ta, but whatever.
No comments:
Post a Comment