The Medici referred to in the title of this book isn’t the famed Florentine family of the Renaissance, but rather Giacomo Medici, international art dealer – jailed for 10 years in 2004 for illegal antiquities trafficking. The narrative opens with a botched robbery and an ensuing police chase, followed by the discovery of eight Apuleian vases from the fourth century BC in the swimming pool of a German-based art smuggler.
Even better than the antiquities themselves, detectives strike gold when they find the smuggler’s contact book, naming his dealers – and their deals. It is only then that the full picture begins to emerge: a whole network of tomb robbers operating across Italy, stealing classical artefacts and passing them on to a further web of smugglers, collectors, dealers – and finally into some of the world’s biggest museums.
The authors have both worked extensively in the art world in various roles. Peter Watson has worked as an investigative journalist for the London Sunday Times and is the author of two previous exposés of art world scandals. Todeschini has worked as a researcher and translator.
Among the artefacts discussed in this books are the Euphronius vases, extremely valuable and important in their field. Major institutions are also involved in the story, including Sothebys, the Getty Museum in L.A., the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
According to the publishers: “Filled with great characters and human drama, The Medici Conspiracy authoritatively exposes another shameful round in one of the oldest games in the world: theft, smuggling and duplicitous dealing, all in the name of art.”
