SYDNEY – Italian art detectives have found stolen ancient treasures at a leading Australian university, including an artefact that most likely had been smuggled out of the country under piles of pasta, the institution said on Friday.
The Italian police discovered an old Polaroid photo of the Heracles vase while investigating an unnamed art thief that led them to believe the vase had been illegally plundered before it was sent to Australia. Working in tandem with the museum, the Carabinieri also identified a stolen red fish plate from the Italian region of Apulia which they were able to trace to American art trafficker and food importer David Holland Swingler, who is known for having a culinary modus operandi.
Spurred to undertake its own audit, the ANU subsequently found a Roman marble head that belonged to a separate collection owned by the Vatican.