February 27, 2000
CONTENTS:
- Re: query: Protection of paintings (Clifford Scheiner)
- Re: query: Protection of paintings (Klaus K. Zimmermann)
- FBI Looks for Stolen Ax Head (Stone Age Artifact Shed Light on Early Americans)
- Thieves net art worth $2 million
- Revealed: memo that led to probe into Sotheby's
From: Clifford Scheiner cjscheiner@pol.net
Subject: Re: query: Protection of paintings
Dear Ton,
I know that there are many theft prevention devices used in the retailing world, from magnetic strips that set off detection devices to microprinting of information, and even tiny fibers that respond to a specific frequency. (All have been discussed on MSN). I think that Cees van Houten will find a high-tech solution to his problem in that market place. However, there is always "invisible" ink that glows under special lamps for "low-tech" solutions.
Cliff
From: KlausZ@aol.com
Subject: Re: query: Protection of paintings
In a message dated 2/25/00 5:35:22 PM Central Standard Time, securma@xs4all.nl writes:
Dear Mr. van Houten;
We would like to respond to your inquiry for protection of paintings against counterfeiting. SECUTAG® is a color-coded micro particle (sizes 5-8µ, 8-15µ, 15-25µ, 25-32µ and 32-45µ) for authentication and identification of art objects against counterfeit, theft, forgery, etc. No fake art objects have any chance to be auctioned or sold anymore if authenticated with the owner's code combination. The particles are sprayed or brushed on the substrate, on the canvas of pictures, over registration marks, etc. Our SECUTAG® Tracer-Fiber can be stitched into a woven product. Our products are not visible to the naked eye and do not alter the original. The authentication process should be recorded with a video camera as follows: · Focus on the object and record any specifics or number; · Record the marking and focus on the spot the marking is applied; · Log the object into a register and focus on the registration number. The simple use of a UV light (365 nm) will identify the color code by reflection and a pocket microscope (100x magnification) allows you to read the code sequence. Easy application of our SECUTAG® products, instant identification with inexpensive devices and cost-effective pricing make us very competitive. In the case of change of ownership of an art object we recommend to authenticate the related documents with your customer code to avoid the transfer of stolen art with faked documents. We would be glad protecting your customer's art objects. Please, visit our web site at www.micot.com for further information.
Sincerely,
Klaus K. Zimmermann
MICOT CORPORATION
FBI Looks for Stolen Ax Head
Stone Age Artifact Shed Light on Early Americans
Feb. 24, 2000
By Richard Zitrin
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (APBnews.com) -- The FBI has been called in to help find a 6,000- to 8,000-year-old American Indian ax head that was stolen from a museum here last month. Philadelphia FBI agents who specialize in tracking stolen artifacts are assisting in the search for the Stone Age relic taken from the Fonthill Museum in late January, Special Agent Linda Vizi said. The agents have recovered millions of dollars worth of historical artifacts over the past three years, she said. "We'll lend whatever assistance we can," Vizi said. The Bucks County Historical Society, which operates the Fonthill Museum in this community 25 miles north of Philadelphia, is offering a $250 reward for the ancient ax head. Gone since January
The artifact was reported stolen Jan. 24 from a wall in the museum, which was the home of the late tile-maker and archaeologist Henry Chapman Mercer. Mercer, who built the 44-room mansion in the early 1900s and died in 1930, acquired the ax head in the 1890s while collecting artifacts in the Delaware Valley, historical society Executive Director Douglas Dolan said. The gray, 8-inch-long ax head likely came from the mid-Atlantic region, he said.
Item called priceless
Dolan said there is no dollar value on the stolen ax head, although from a historical standpoint, the item is priceless. "Its value is in the links to our understanding of the past," Dolan told APBnews.com. "Thefts from museums strike at a much larger circle of people -- in terms of both current generations and generations to come -- in that they're going to be denied access to it. These objects are parts of our past and keys to understanding our past. When they're lost, that's a tragic loss." Dolan said officials are taking steps to enhance security in the museum. Anyone with information about the stolen ax head is asked to call Fonthill Museum Director David April at (215) 348-9461, Ext. 14.
Richard Zitrin is an APBnews.com national correspondent (richard.zitrin@apbnews.com).
Thieves net art worth $2 million
MUC police offer $25,000 reward for recovery of works stolen from two homes in Westmount
EILEEN TRAVERS The Gazette
One of the pieces of art stolen from a Westmount home: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/pages/000224/3648625.html
Cunning art thieves have snared $2 million worth of paintings and sculptures in well-planned robberies at two Westmount homes. The burglars were crafty enough to disarm complex security systems, distinguish pricey art from worthless art and even steal the homeowners' luxury cars. The first raid was a $1.25-million heist last September, but the thieves were partly foiled when they returned to the neighbourhood last month for a second job. They left behind $250,000 in paintings, which detectives found stacked neatly by the back door, ready for the thieves to load into their truck. Now the Montreal Urban Community police investigators are appealing to the public for help, offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the thieves or the recovery of the artwork. Police know little about the thieves, but interviews with witnesses and investigations of the crime scenes have shed some light on the robberies. Shopping List
The burglars are professionals, police said. They appeared to have a shopping list of items to steal and possibly knew clients who would buy the stolen goods. Last month, just as police were about to go public with the September robbery, the thieves struck again. One midnight in January, they drove a delivery truck down a sleepy, snowy street of tony homes, parked right outside the targeted house and set their plan in motion.
The family was away for the weekend. An alarm system was on. But these burglars came prepared. They went to the back of the house, opened the back door and sneaked inside. They disarmed the alarm within seconds, before a warning signal could be sent to a security-company office. They skipped over TVs and VCRs and less valuable artwork. They carried three heavy bronze Harry Marinsky statues - which they could probably sell for about $120,00 for the lot - through the snow and slush. Subsequent trips to the truck brought a slew of African sculptures and Indian masks, and a pile of paintings. Then, investigators think, something spooked the thieves, who left behind the $250,000 worth of art. Still, in two hours they got away with the owner's car and $750,000 worth of treasures. The September heist was done much the same way: the homeowners were out of town, and the thieves entered by the back door, disarmed the alarm and went to work. They removed Montreal artist John Little's Rue Lafontaine, worth $8,000, from a wall hook. They took 10 Cornelius Krieghoffs, worth an average of $80,000 each. They also took three Eugene Boudin paintings; the 19th-century French artist's work would fetch $100,000 apiece. They got a half-dozen colourful James Wilson Morrice paintings, worth at least $360,000. And they took more. They loaded the masterpieces into the delivery truck, stole the homeowner's car and sped off into the night. Two hours of burglary netted $1.25 million worth of art. Now, the stolen goods are probably sitting in a warehouse, waiting to be sold, investigators said. There are two markets where art thieves can pawn their treasures. The items may surface in a year or more, with legitimate paperwork attached to them, to be sold to art collectors. Or the thieves can sell to buyers who know stolen items usually carry a 20-per-cent discount, Det.-Lt. Denis Bergeron said. "We have a very small success rate on finding stolen art," he said. "It's organized crime. Every art buyer should be careful."
- Anyone with information on the robberies should call the MUC police at (514) 280-2576 or (514) 280-0278.
- Reporter Eileen Travers can be reached by phone at (514) 987-2391 or by E-mail at etravers@thegazette.southam.ca
photo at: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/pages/000224/3648625.html http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/pages/000224/3648625.html
Revealed: memo that led to probe into Sotheby's
By Grant Ringshaw
A MEMO recording a discussion about commission payments between the chairmen of Sotheby's and Christie's is the vital piece of evidence in a US Department of Justice investigation into allegations of price fixing at the two auction houses. The document, believed to date from the mid-1990s, was written by Sir Anthony Tennant, the then chairman of Christie's, to Christopher Davidge, his chief executive. People close to the investigation say that the document surfaced in late December, when Mr Davidge resigned as chief executive. He is believed to have passed the document to lawyers, who were then compelled to hand it over to investigators from the US Department of Justice. The memo is believed to detail a telephone discussion between Tennant and Alfred Taubman, the chairman of Sotheby's. The contents are believed to have prompted the auction house to make a deal with the Justice Department in return for immunity from prosecution. However, Mr Davidge's lawyers stress that his departure was not connected with the investigation or a dispute with Franēois Pinault, the French entrepreneur who bought Christie's for £721 million in 1998. The document brings the case to the heart of the British establishment for the first time. Sir Anthony, who was chairman of Christie's between 1993 and 1996, is expected to be questioned by Department of Justice officials about his role. However, a spokesman for Morgan Stanley, the US investment bank where he now works as a senior adviser, said that he refused to comment on the memo. Christie's also refused to comment on the memo or to divulge its contents. The contents of the document, which are still highly confidential, will also make Sotheby's more vulnerable to hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation claims from art dealers and collectors. The auction house faces legal action by investors who claim the alleged collusion may have artificially inflated its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. In the past month about 40 lawsuits have been filed by collectors who bought and sold through the auction houses. The claims, which are expected to come to trial next year, are potentially crippling, because, under US law, buyers and sellers who are overcharged can claim punitive triple damages. Under US law, only the first party to hand over evidence is entitled to immunity.
Daily Telegraph
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