In total, thirteen paintings, eight oil paintings, five sketches.
The paintings were all spread out on the large bed in the hotel room, and because they couldn't fit in, there were also several unfolded paintings on the table and chairs in this room.
Among all the oil paintings spread out on the big bed, the middle painting directly made Lin Dan's eyes unable to take his eyes off.
"Oh my God, don't tell me this painting is that painting!"
Lin Dan was a little overwhelmed, and even spoke a little incoherently.
Yang Jing nodded with a smile and said, "If I'm not wrong, this painting should be that painting!"
” "Wow," Lin Dan screamed, and almost pounced, but he stopped abruptly on the side of the bed.
"Brother Yang, I—Can I touch her?"
"Yes, but you'd better put on your gloves first.
You know, the painting is now worth at least $300 million!
” It was an oil painting, in a slightly dark room, a man was sitting with his back to the front, and to the left and right of the man, there were two young girls, the girl on the left was playing the piano, and the girl on the right was standing, as if talking to the man.
Lin Dan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Forget it, I still don't touch it, I'm so careful that my liver is fluttering, I'm afraid I'll touch her."
Yang Jing smiled and didn't squeak.
In fact, Yang Jing was also taken aback when he saw these paintings for the first time, and when he used the holy ring to identify these paintings, even he was a little overwhelmed.
These paintings are only known to Yang Jing and Lin Dan so far, even Chris Barton and John Bruno don't know, as soon as they returned to the room, Yang Jing let them rest, and don't come to him if it's okay.
The two bodyguards naturally knew why, and they consciously never came to Yang Jing.
It's not that Yang Jingxin can't trust these two bodyguards, it's really that these thirteen paintings are too involved.
Without him, these thirteen paintings are stolen goods!
And it was also the stolen goods of what was claimed to be "the largest theft in American history".
On March 17, 1990, it was St.
Patrick's Mardi Gras, the biggest carnival in Boston, USA.
March 17 every year is St.
Patrick's Day in the West, also known as "Cuckold Day".
The holiday originated in Ireland at the end of the 5th century, and has been celebrated annually in the United States in 1737 when a group of Irish gentlemen and merchants gathered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to commemorate St.
Patrick and form the Irish Charity Society.
St.
Patrick's Day in the United States is a day of parades, church services, and dinners.
On this day, Boston was also in the midst of a carnival.
But none of these revelers noticed that right next to Boston's famous Isabelas Stewart Gardner Museum of Art, two sneaky figures were sitting inside a red Dodge Daytona, waiting for the revelers to finally disperse.
It was quickly past the wee hours of the morning, and the reveling Boston citizens slowly dispersed, and then at about one o'clock in the morning, two guys in police uniforms got out of the Dodge Daytona.
The two guys, dressed in police uniforms, pressed the alarm at the entrance of the museum and told the museum security personnel that they had heard something unusual in the park and needed to enter the museum to check.
The museum's security staff understood that uninvited guests should not be allowed inside the museum late at night, but they did not know if this rule would work for the police.
So security officer Abate decided to open the door.
After opening the door, the "policeman" suddenly said that he looked familiar, like some wanted criminal, so he was asked to show his ID.
The "police" ordered him to face the wall and handcuffed him.
Abate thought it must have been a misunderstanding, but he later realized that the two "policemen" had not searched him before handcuffing him.
In addition, he noticed that one of the policemen appeared to have a beard made of wax......
There were only two security guards at the museum that night, and when another security guard arrived, he was handcuffed by two "policemen".
When they asked the "police" why they had been arrested, the "police" were honest: "You have not been arrested.
We're just here to rob. ” Two security guards were taken to the basement of the museum.
Eighty-one minutes later, the two police officers in disguise walked into several exhibition halls, leisurely took down the famous paintings hanging on the walls one by one, and then selectively snatched up as many as 13 masterpieces.
Among them are five drawings by Edgar Degas, a representative figure of French Impressionism; "A French Gentleman", also by Edward Manet, a representative figure of French Impressionism; The 17th-century Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmannsson van Royin's "Storm on the Sea of Galilee" and "Portrait of a Man and a Woman on a Black Background" and a self-portrait by Rembrandt, of which "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee" is the only known painting of Rembrandt's seascape.
In addition, three works by Peter Paul Rusben, a famous Flemish painter in the 17th century and an early representative of the Baroque school, were also stolen by these two thieves.
Among the thirteen lost paintings, the most precious is the masterpiece "Concert" by the famous 17th-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer.
Of Vermeer's 34 surviving paintings, this one is definitely the most valuable, some say it's worth $200 million, some say it's worth as much as $2.5 billion, and anyway, this "concert" is definitely the most valuable painting in history.
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In that "robbery", which can be called a joke, a total of 13 masterpieces were stolen, and the estimated price given by later generations is that the value of these 13 masterpieces is as high as 500 million US dollars!
The two daring robbers did not use any offensive weapons, and even took the videotape from the monitor before leaving.
Since there was no alarm attached to the back of the paintings, by the time dawn the police were called, the two robbers had already fled.
But before the two guys could leave, they went back to the basement and said to the two security guards, "You'll see us again in a year." ” But they never showed up again.
That's right, more than 27 years and eight months have passed since 1990, not to mention that the two robbers have not reappeared, and even the thirteen lost masterpieces have never been found.
The FBI in the United States has been investigating this case for 20 years, but there has been no news.
The stolen Gardner Museum of Art even offered a $10 million bounty, but it didn't turn out to be.
Everyone thought that these thirteen famous paintings would never come out again, but now they appeared in the room of the hotel where Yang Jing lived In fact, Yang Jing didn't know about this famous theft case before, after all, this case happened in Boston, the United States, and it was a long time ago.
At the time of the case, Yang Jing had not even been born.
However, when he identified these thirteen paintings with the Holy Ring, he immediately looked up the thirteen famous paintings on the Internet, and got a result that made him even feel painful.
As for Lin Dan, although he is a Chinese, he is an American who was born and raised in the United States, especially Vermeer's "Concert" is so famous, he has seen several photos of this famous painting, of course he has heard about the case that happened back then, so when he first saw this painting, he recognized the origin of this painting at a glance.
Of course, just one "Concert" almost made Lin Dan lose his soul, and when he saw the remaining twelve works, he actually returned his soul "Brother Yang, don't tell me that there are these thirteen works hidden in the warehouse I photographed today."
Yang Jing shrugged his shoulders and said, "Then where do you think these thirteen paintings came from?"
They fly with wings on their own?
Or did it fall from the sky?
That's right, brother, these thirteen paintings were found in that warehouse."
Lin Dan touched his head, "Brother Yang, what should we do with these paintings?"
” Yang Jing smiled bitterly: "What do you say to deal with?"
I'm worried about this. ” After a pause, Yang Jing asked Lin Dan: "These thirteen paintings are stolen goods, it has been determined, although I didn't steal them, but now the paintings are in my hands, you say, if the FBI knows, will they want to go back?"
” Lin Dan also said with a wry smile: "I don't know very well if you ask me, but this involves the legal provisions on 'bona fide acquisition' stipulated in the Uniform Commercial Code of the United States."
The Uniform Commercial Code clearly sets out the conditions for bona fide acquisition, and as far as I know, if stolen goods obtained by fraud or fraud are obtained in good faith, the police have no right to recover the goods acquired in good faith.
For example, these thirteen paintings were not stolen and robbed, but obtained through fraud or fraud, and now they have been acquired by me in good faith, so the police have no right to return these thirteen paintings.
But these thirteen paintings were not obtained by fraud or fraud, but were stolen goods, and although I have acquired them in good faith, I do not know whether such stolen goods are protected by the Uniform Commercial Code. ” When Lin Dan said this, Yang Jing understood a little.
The laws of the United States are not quite the same as those of China, especially the rules on being good at obtaining stolen goods.
In the Chinese law, as long as it is stolen goods, regardless of whether you have obtained them in good faith or not, you must return the stolen goods obtained in good faith to the original owner, and of course, you can claim from the original owner the expenses you spent in the process of obtaining them in good faith.
For example, if Yang Jing bought a landscape painting for 2 million yuan at auction, and the landscape painting was later turned out to be stolen goods, then Yang Jing had to return the painting to the original owner, but he could ask the original owner for 2 million in auction fees.
But in the United States it's different.
In the past, the United States treated bona fide acquisitions in the same way as Huaxia, and the stolen goods acquired in good faith had to be returned no matter what.
However, with the development of society, this rough treatment of bona fide acquisition is more and more inconsistent with the process of social development, so the United States has issued the Uniform Commercial Code, which distinguishes between stolen goods obtained in good faith.
Lin Dan grabbed the phone and called, and after talking for a while, Lin Dan put down the phone and said: "I just consulted the company's lawyer, and the lawyer told me that if I have stolen stolen goods, if I have obtained them in good faith, then the original owner and the police have no right to go back, and the Uniform Commercial Code has clear provisions on this part."
So, if I didn't want to leave these thirteen famous paintings, then no problem.
(PS: Here Lao Mo explains, in fact, Article 2-403 of the Uniform Commercial Code of the United States clearly stipulates that all stolen goods are not protected by bona fide acquisition.)
But here we are, and these thirteen paintings are too valuable, if the protagonist returns these thirteen paintings, everyone will be very unhappy to look at it, so I changed this legal provision here without authorization, and changed it to allow stolen goods to be protected by good faith.
What, there are book friends who are proficient in law, please don't spray yet.
It's good for everyone to watch it. ） Hearing Lin Dan say this, Yang Jing asked in surprise: "You mean that we can keep these thirteen famous paintings?"
” "Well, we can stay, but not in your name, but in mine.
After all, the warehouse where these thirteen paintings are stored was auctioned in my name, and the B1 visa you got cannot be auctioned in the United States. ” Yang Jing nodded and said, "It's no problem, I can trust you."
I'm just struggling right now about how to get these thirteen paintings out of the United States.
Although the police have no right to return these thirteen paintings, they will certainly keep you under close surveillance, so that you will not be able to take these thirteen paintings out of the United States. ” Lin Dan smiled and said: "Brother Yang, you don't have to worry about this, there must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, don't worry, as long as these thirteen famous paintings can appear in front of the world openly, then there will always be a way to let these thirteen famous paintings leave the country in the future."
I have to ask the relevant personnel about the specific method, you can't go abroad through illegal routes, you must transfer it to your name in a fair and bright way.
However, the process should be more troublesome. ” Yang Jing shook his head and said, "Actually, if it weren't for this thing, I really wouldn't want to cause such a big trouble."
Yang Jing said, picking up a bronze like a trumpet from the table, "This bronze is called "Hu", which is a bronze of our Chinese Shang Dynasty, and it was lost along with the thirteen famous paintings.
Seeing that our national treasure was snatched away by the Americans, they can openly display it in the museum instead of returning it to us, so I feel angry in my heart.
Since these thirteen paintings are fine, then I will also take these thirteen paintings openly, so that Americans can also taste this kind of taste of being able to see but not going back!
” Lin Dan took the bronze and shook his head helplessly.
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"Brother Yang, don't worry, I guarantee that these things can be smoothly returned to your name.
Don't forget, I'm a Chinese, I live in San Francisco, San Francisco is an important gathering area for our Chinese in the United States, and there are many ways for the community there to ensure the safety of these thirteen famous paintings, even the American police don't dare to attack the Chinese there openly.
After we go back, I will consult the relevant departments and try to transfer these thirteen famous paintings to your name as soon as possible. ” Yang Jing nodded and said, "Okay!"
Tomorrow we'll go back to Beaumont, and after we're done dealing with that old oil well, we'll go straight back to San Francisco!
” PS: Bow and thank you for the tip of "Chilled Octave" 500.