Art News

From shipwreck in Italy: Thousands of art objects including 300-year-old woodblock prints

ROME (AP).- In the chaotic evacuation of the Costa Concordia, passengers and crew abandoned almost everything on board the cruise ship: jewels, cash, champagne, antiques, 19th century Bohemian crystal glassware, thousands of art objects including 300-year-old woodblock prints by a Japanese master. In other words, a veritable treasure now lies beneath the pristine Italian waters where the luxury liner ran aground last month. Though some objects are bound to disintegrate, there is still hoard enough to tempt treasure seekers — just as the Titanic and countless shipwrecks before have lured seekers of gold, armaments and other riches for as far back as mankind can remember. It may be just a matter of time before treasure hunters set their sights on the sunken spoils of