Bangkoktraveler Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Bangkok Post 5/13/08 Bangkok University has denied any involvement in the trading of smuggled antiquities after the director of its ceramics museum, Roxanna Brown, was arrested in the United States. Ms Brown, 62, a well-known art historian, was arrested by US federal agents on Friday while on a visit to attend a symposium at the University of Washington in Seattle. A US citizen, she is accused of involvement in the fraudulent valuation of smuggled southeast Asian antiquities.Some genuine looted artifacts were smuggled into the US as copies with ''Made in Thailand'' labels on them. ''Our museum never does any trading, authenticating or appraising of antiquities,'' Bangkok University president Mathana Santiwat told a press conference yesterday. ''We have never exchanged artifacts with other museums.'' Ms Brown has been the director of the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum at Bangkok University's Rangsit Campus since its opening in 2000. The museum holds 2,500 valuable ancient ceramics donated by the late Surat Osathanugrah, chairman of Osotsapa group and founder of the university. She was adviser on ceramics to Mr Surat, which is the reason she become the museum's director. The Seattle Times newspaper reported she was charged with fraud and faces up to 20 years imprisonment if found guilty. Ms Brown is accused of allowing her electronic signature to be used on appraisal forms for items that were donated at inflated values to several southern California museums. This enabled the collectors to claim fraudulent tax deductions. The smuggled artifacts were allegedly taken from the Ban Chiang archeological site in Udon Thani, a major prehistoric settlement. Ms Mathana refused to comment on Ms Brown's arrest, other than to say she had never given grounds for suspicion. ''To us, she has always been a dedicated scholar with a passion for ancient ceramics,'' Ms Mathana said. Ms Brown's arrest surprised many people in Bangkok who know her. ''She is the epitome of the academic expert. It is hard to believe she was involved with a ring dealing in looted antiquities,'' one art historian said. The US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said it did not know whether Ms Brown had a lawyer. Michael Filipovic, a public defender appointed to represent her in Seattle, declined to comment on the allegations in the indictment, which will be heard in California. Ms Brown is the first person to be arrested in an ongoing probe into looted artifacts. An affidavit filed in the case said gallery owners Jonathan and Cari Markell used Ms Brown's electronic signature several times to falsify appraisal forms. In one case, an appraisal for items to be donated to the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena claimed Ms Brown had inspected the items. The couple have not been charged and have previously declined to comment publicly. Mr Markell has not responded to an email sent to him on Monday. During the undercover investigation, a National Park Service special agent posed as a collector interested in artifacts. The agent learned that some of the artifacts managed to pass through US customs because they had ''Made in Thailand'' labels affixed to them, making it appear they were replicas. Court documents said the Markells and the agent met more than a dozen times, exchanged regular emails and called one another about antiquities from Southeast Asia. Some of the calls and meetings were recorded, the warrants said. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dddave Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 I once donated several antique photographs of local interest to a small museum in central Massachusetts. When I presented them to the Curator/Museum Director, he shocked me by offering to attach any value I wanted to the donor documents as long as he got 20%. The over valuation of gifts to non-profit organizations has been an ongoing scam for years. Remember the radio ad's to donate your old car to charity? Actually set up by scrap dealers who would get the car for free then give a receipt showing full market value for a junker which they would then scrap. The donor got to take a big tax deduction. Most states got wise to it after a few years and closed them down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Hope this isn't the Roxanna Brown I knew years ago. The age is about right. But that Roxanna was a freelance journalist. Oh, shit ... is is. << â??I visited Thailand several times during the Vietnam War. I was a freelance journalist in Vietnam 1968-1975, and did my degree at University of Singapore during that time. I moved to Bangkok full-time in 1980, but in 1982 I was badly injured in a traffic accident and spent 14 years in and out of hospital and mostly in a wheelchair. â??Finally technology caught up and I was able to have an artificial leg that fitted well enough that I was finally able to walk without pain,â? she revealed. >> Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Poor woman was nearly killed in 1982! She was riding her motorcycle one night near the old Foreign Correspondents' Club of Bangkok, when she was hit by a tuk-tuk. As she was lying on the ground, a big semi came along and both rear duals ran over her. She only survived because a top US specialist was visiting the hospital when they brought her in. I wish her well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Oh..what bad luck ...hope she is ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 TB the accident happened 26 years ago, that's not what the thread is about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jitagawn Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 In the description I believe they accuse her of letting others in the US use a "printed copy" of her signature. Hmmm she did not sign anything with her own hand.??Hmmmm and she was not caught with any objects in her possesion. The rreason they are using her as an example is because in the strictest view of patrimonyand import export laws Ban Chiang items could only come from one spot; Ban Chiang which is a World Heritage Site and thus protected by the Unesco accords.But you can buy them on the street inn BKK anyold time-What alaugh... However it really seems the IRS and tax manipulation is the real issue here-not antiques. I think the gov has a weak case on her and would doubt she is stupid enough to let some knucklehead dealers in the US use her good name. She is respected highly...You know between this type of thing,inflation and the broader economy the US seems to be repeating the Weimar experience... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YimSiam Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 And I thought from the thread title this would be about getting US visas for a couple Thermae ladies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dddave Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 This case is not just about her. The investigation has been reported in the US press for the last month focusing on several museums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 << An affidavit filed in the case said gallery owners Jonathan and Cari Markell used Ms Brown's electronic signature several times to falsify appraisal forms. >> So where's the evidence she herself was involved? I haven't seen her in about 20 years, but can't imagine her doing such a thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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