Head of Munich Auction House Arrested Over Theft of Italian Antique Books

The director of a German auction house has been arrested in connection with the theft of rare and antique books from a 16th century library in Italy (Head of German auction house arrested over theft of Italian antique books telegraph, paywall).

Herbert Schauer was arrested in Munich after Italian authorities investigating the systematic looting of thousands of rare volumes from the prestigious Girolamini library in Naples issued a European arrest warrant. [...] The claims relate to a consignment of over 400 books offered to the auction house through an intermediary, who claimed to be acting for private owners of rare books in Italy, and due to be put up for sale in May last year. The evening before the auction, criminal justice authorities in Munich warned the auction house that a number of books listed in the catalogue would be confiscated because of doubts about their ownership. The auction house decided to withdraw the whole consignment “as rumours were spreading that there had been losses of books from the Girolamini library in Naples.”

Meanwhile: Outcry over arrest of German 'book thief'

In a statement, the Zisska & Schauer auction house in Munich described allegations that its executive director had received stolen books as “preposterous, absurd and totally groundless”.

The library's director Marino Massimo de Caro was jailed for seven years in March. Stolen books from the collection have been found in Munich, London, New York and Tokyo.

This case suggests dealers buying stolen dugup artefacts coming from abroad may yet feel the cold grasp of the law on their collar.