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| | Kim Kardashian will have to forfeit an illegally imported ancient Italian sculpture | | Added 3 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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I never imagined that this week?s gossip would include a story about Kim Kardashian illegally importing ancient Italian art. It?s super-complicated and the basic gist is that while Kim should have known better, she is not the only person who needs to wear this. In 2016, Kim bought $745,882 worth of art and furniture from Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Belgium. Vervoordt is the designer responsible for Kim and Kanye?s bleak, colorless home in LA, and he seemingly sold Kim some pieces of art from his gallery for her home. The problem is that one of the art pieces, the large fragment of an ancient limestone sculpture, was illegally smuggled out of Italy. And now the feds are demanding that Kim forfeit the sculpture because Italy wants it repatriated. So Kim will have to eat that money.
The U.S. government is seeking the forfeiture of an ancient Roman sculpture that celebrity influencer Kim Kardashian was in the process of acquiring after officials determined that it had been illegally smuggled out of Italy. The statue was detained at the U.S. border in 2016 after a logistics company working for Kardashian tried to import it with the wrong documentation. New legal documents have concluded that the work was ?looted, smuggled, and illegally exported,? and Italian authorities have requested its repatriation.
A civil forfeiture action on April 30 in a U.S. district court named Kardashian as the consignee and importer of the ancient limestone sculpture. According to court documents, Kardashian bought the sculpture, known as Fragment of Myron?s Samian Athena (1st ? 2nd century), in 2016 from Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Belgium. (Vervoordt is the art dealer and interior designer responsible for the decoration of Kardashian?s Calabasas mansion.)
The sculpture was detained when it arrived in Los Angeles in May 2016 after authorities were alerted that it might be protected cultural property. As part of a bilateral agreement to crack down on the pillaging of cultural heritage, the U.S. has restricted imports of archeological material originating from Italy. Any importer now needs clear documentation authorizing the importation or other documents such as an affidavit, license, or permit stating that the export was not in violation of the laws of the country of origin. The sculpture arrived as part of a 5.5-ton shipment described as containing 40 antiques, Modern furniture, and decorative objects, valued at $745,882. It was being imported under a U.S. tariff schedule for ?antiques of an age exceeding 100 years,? as opposed to archeological material.
Officials requested provenance details from the logistics company Masterpiece International, which provided the sculpture?s sales invoice to Kardashian, as well as a previous invoice showing that Vervoordt had purchased the work from Galerie Chenel in Paris in 2012.
Suspicions were raised when authorities noticed a discrepancy in the descriptions of the sculpture on the two invoices, with the 2012 statement describing it as ?a large draped statue? with provenance from an ?Old German Collection, bought before 1980,? and the invoice for the 2016 sale to Kardashian describing it as a ?fragment,? and containing handwritten notations indicating it had originated from Italy. A director from Vervoordt?s art history department, Robert Lauwers, had also provided a contradictory statement by way of an unsworn affidavit stating that the sculpture did not originate from Italy.
The sculpture was seized in June 2016 and, the following month, Italy?s task force for the protection of cultural heritage added a new twist by claiming it had seen (and photographed) the confiscated statue at Vervoordt?s gallery booth at TEFAF Maastricht in 2011, well before Vervoordt purportedly purchased it from Galerie Chenel in 2012.
Ollivier Chenel, a director of Galerie Chenel, told Artnet News that the gallery purchased the sculpture from an auction house in Germany in 2010, and that it had previously come from an English estate. He added that the date discrepancy on the invoice could be explained because the statue had been on loan to Vervoordt before it was officially acquired. ?It is very strange that [the complaint does not mention] the German auction house as the information was given to them at the time,? Chenel said. ?I can guarantee you that this sculpture was acquired legally at Hampel Auction house in 2010.?
Axel Vervoordt and representatives for Kim Kardashian did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
[From ArtNet]
This sounds like it was entirely a fk up on Vervoordt?s part, and his gallery didn?t have all of their ducks in a row and the provenance was always complicated/shady. Basically, the sculpture was taken from Italy and it would up in a German or English private collection, then at some point weird that they can?t pinpoint it it was purchased by Galerie Chenel, then it was purchased by Vervoordt, who then sold it to Kim Kardashian. It was Vervoordt?s gallery which screwed up the documentation, which US Customs caught. It sucks that Kim has to forfeit the sculpture but if I was in her position, I would make it about how happy I am that a piece of Italy?s ancient culture is being returned to its homeland. Put a bow on it, eat that money and move on.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, AD.
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| | Did anyone believe that LeAnn Rimes & Eddie Cibrian would last for a decade? | | Added 3 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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It?s so weird to think of how omnipresent LeAnn Rimes was at one point in the gossip world. That was, like, ten years ago. These days we can go six months without paying attention to her at all. Partly that?s because the mainstream gossip about LeAnn and Eddie Cibrian has really died down over the past five years or so. And for what it?s worth, LeAnn and Eddie have now been together for so long that they?re sort of old-news, gossip-wise. How long have they been together? Well, in late April, they celebrated their ten-year wedding anniversary. I totally forgot that they got married around the same time as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, damn! Like, LeAnn and Eddie got married one week before Will and Kate.
Anyway, even though I?m pretty sure LeAnn and Eddie are broke-ass, they still manage to ?find the money? to go on luxury vacations every month. They went to Cabo for their anniversary, and LeAnn has been dropping photos from their anniversary vacation since they came home. As I?m looking through her IG, I see that she also put together a lil? video of wedding photos. LeAnn is singing, of course.
So, yeah. I?m surprised that they made it ten years. Even longer when you consider that their affair began in late 2008-early 2009. I really did believe that Eddie would divorce LeAnn and try to get her money. That being said, I feel pretty certain that he?s been screwing around on her throughout their entire relationship.
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| | Anna Faris on her divorce from Chris Pratt: 'there were a lot of things I ignored' | | Added 3 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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When Anna Faris and Chris Pratt split in 2017, it was a surprise to many of us. I kept waiting for some affair rumor. But Anna and Chris split their time with their son, Jack, were amicable with each other, even partnering up for some holidays including their new significant others. It was a good example of friendly exes co-parenting. I took that to mean there was no ill will between the former spouses. Anna has been talking about her marriage to Chris a lot more these days. She keeps hinting that all was not well, but shes not pointing fingers, so I?m still trying to figure out her motive. On her podcast, Unqualified, Anna told Rachel Bilson that her marriage to Chris ended because she?d ignored a few things she shouldn?t have. That and not speaking to anyone about the issues to protect the image of their relationship.
Anna Faris had trouble talking to friends about the issues in her marriage to Chris Pratt.
On the latest episode of her podcast Unqualified, Faris opened up about her relationship with Pratt while speaking to guest Rachel Bilson. During the chat, the House Bunny actress admitted that not having a close group of friends during her marriage to the Guardians of the Galaxy star hurt her ability to talk through issues with Pratt, leading them to keep up appearances.
Faris was first married to actor Ben Indra from 2004 to 2008. She and Pratt were married from 2009 to 2017. The Mom actress shares 8-year-old son Jack with Pratt, 41.
I think it stunted me in a lot of ways, Faris, 44, said of not having close girlfriends at the time. One of them being that I never talked about any issues, so to the people, even who I was closest to, Im sure things were more transparent with my relationship with Ben, but with Chris, I think that we both protected that imagery even within our close circles.
When the topic of her divorce came up on the podcast, Faris admitted to finding red flags after her and Pratts relationship was over.
For me, I think after every breakup, at some point I realize that there were a lot of things I ignored that I really shouldnt have, she said. In hindsight, it felt like my hand was forced. I dont think it was ever an independent decision.
[From People]
It?s quite possible that this is nothing more than reflection and that Anna and Chris are still as amicable as before. It?s just curious to me that after four years of only speaking well of her ex, Anna is talking about what went wrong. Last month she and Gwyneth Paltrow discussed their failed marriages and Anna addressed her competitiveness with Chris. I?m curious now about those rumors about Chris and Anna?s marriage ending because he didn?t want more kids given that he and Katherine Schwarzenegger had a baby right away. I wonder if that factors into this at all. I understand what Anna means. I bet a lot of celebrity couples don?t confide in others about their issues to protect the image of their relationship. I know non-celebrity couples who do that too. And I know why, because gossiping about other people?s relationships is the first thing people do to make themselves feel better about their own. It?s also the easiest way to continue ignoring the red flags you should be addressing.
Later in the podcast, a woman called in who wanted to end her engagement. Anna supported women doing this, implying she should have, possibly with Chris, I really feel like calling off an engagement is a smarter, stronger, braver move than what I did, which was like, well, I guess everyone is expecting this, so lets just go through with it. We know that Chris was Anna?s jump-off from her first husband, Ben. But Anna clarified she needed an excuse to leave, and Chris provided that. So if she had an affair that broke up her marriage, I could see how she felt obligated to go through with the marriage. I hope Anna is reflecting on her past relationships so she doesn?t make the same mistakes. She?s engaged to Michael Barrett, but they don?t seem in a rush to get married. It could be she?s just looking out for herself for once. Either that or she?s getting ready to unleash a Tell-All on Starlord ? either way, I?m here for it.
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A post shared by Anna Faris (@annafaris)
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