AIBU to wonder what happens to stolen famous artworks afterwards?

[risingup]

Why do people steal valuable things like paintings by Renoir etc and Faberge eggs?

What do they do with it once they've got it - I mean it's not as if they can sell it to someone who can show it off.

ermmmm I dunno...... sell it on the Black market?! LOL

I think there is a thrill of stealing it and they probably do sell it on to dodgy billionaire collectors just want it.

They are fenced (sold on the black market) to collectors. Most collectors of very expensive items, like high profile works of art, don't have them on display, they are kept in high security storage as investments.

I've Always assumed they are bought by some incredibly wealthy people who have them for their eyes only.

The pleasure is in the ownership not letting others see it

Mafia and other drug cartels buy them I think? Covered it briefly in art history years ago, it's really interesting.

Stolen to order in some cases, stolen for the price of gold in others. I used to work somewhere which had a large gold item taken during a burglary and it was almost certainly melted down. Devastating, as it was centuries old and irriplacable.

I assume they're stolen to order.

As they can't be sold in present times, maybe very wealthy people want them as very long-term investments for their remote heirs?

Well it’s not an investment. If they appear in the future they cannot be sold.

They probably hang them in their offices where they plan their criminal activities. Show them off to the other crims. But careful not to shoot anyone in through head near them.

I cannot see how they are an investment long term or otherwise as they can never be publicly sold.

Having said that I guess they could be sold on the QT to other criminals but that must be a limited market.

I would say that the majority are stolen to order for private galleries.

Stolen to order and then held onto by someone dodgy and they never see the light of day again.
They obviously can’t be sold on the open market.
It’s worse for jewellery/crowns etc which are usually melted down and sold at a fraction of their worth and the historical significance destroyed.

According to the crime thrillers i watch 😀 the stolen objects can currency so they are passed around as payment for dodgy dealings. I always imagine oligarchs and the mega rich have vaults of stolen art just because they want it.

If I had a priceless work of art I'd hang it in my bedroom where I could enjoy it every day.

I have a wish list. Anyone fancy an art heist?

Why OP - do you have a couple of french pieces your trying to get rid of? 😂

Something Faberge' i am so ordinary nobody is going to come looking for a Faberge egg displayed on the fireplace !

This!

Well it is an investment because even though it doesn't maintain its provenance and therefore cannot be sold on the open market, it can (and will) be resold on the black market as the value increases. It may well emerge generations later onto the open market once it has been 'laundered' and passed through multiple dodgy dealers, like the art and artefacts stolen by the Nazi regime has.

Villains, like this

Mostly used by organised crime gangs as "currency" for drugs and arms deals.

😂

Kinda disturbing if you think about it. What else do wealthy people get away with?

Oganised criminals "get away" with far worse things than dealing in stolen artworks, i.e. money laundering, slavery, GBH, murder, drug dealing, arms dealing, tax evasion, etc etc .

Some go to secret collections.

Others can sometimes be used as collatoral.

Surely if it is 'hot' it can't have that much collateral as there wouldn't be that much of a market for a stolen piece of art work, and with modern records it would be easy to trace the rightful owner if ever placed up for auction. It sounds like having the mona lisa etc would be more hassle than it's worth for criminal gangs.

I assume it's just stolen by order for a spoilt mega rich person who is just not use to being told no you can't have something and it is then either hidden away and then secretly admired from time to time or they put it on the wall and claim it's a copy.