Bloomberg notes that Christie's has "removed two lots from its Nov. 29 London auction of Russian books and manuscripts after a cultural watchdog agency said they were stolen from the Russian State Military Archives in Moscow." One of the lots included forty letters signed by Marshall Georgi Zhukov, a top Soviet commander in WWII; the letters had been estimated to sell for up to $16,000.
The Federal Agency for Mass Media and Cultural Heritage Protection (RosokhranKultura) asked Christie's to remove the two lots, and the auction house responded "Christie's will not sell any work of art that we know or have reason to believe does not have good title. In regard to the items in question, Christie's is cooperating fully with Russian authorities."
More on this story as necessary.
[h/t Shelf:Life]
