Collectors Bought Rare Antique Manuscripts, Only To Find Out They’re From French Public Archives

Until it went bankrupt in 2015 after its founder was prosecuted for money laundering and fraud, the French company Aristophil held the world’s largest private collection of historic manuscripts. For the past 18 months, auctioneers have been liquidating that collection — but now 900 lots have been withdrawn because they are, in fact, stolen government property. – The Art Newspaper