November 5, 2000
CONTENTS:
- Peru diplomat tied to alleged Bolivia art theft
- Re: WAR SEA GRAVES PILLAGED
- The Art Newspaper: This week's top stories
- Japan archaeologist exposed as fraud
- Americans Consider Museums a Trustworthy Information Source
- 'POSTER' IS WORTH POUNDS 3M
- TEMPORARY BAR PLACED ON EXPORT OF IMPORTANT OIL SKETCH BY RUBENS
Peru diplomat tied to alleged Bolivia art theft
By Fernando Del Carpio
LA PAZ, Bolivia, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Peru's Ambassador to Bolivia Harry Belevan said on Friday Bolivia should apply an accord between the two Andean nations in its dealing with a Peruvian cultural attache in an art theft probe, which could mean the attache will lose his diplomatic immunity. Bolivia and Peru have an art anti-smuggling accord that allows for diplomats to be stripped of their immunity. Three experts from Peru's National Institute of Culture joined their Bolivian counterparts this week in cataloguing and evaluating the 100 pieces of colonial-era art seized Sept. 25 from the home of Pedro Diaz, a cultural attache at the Peruvian Embassy. Art theft and smuggling on a small scale is relatively common in Bolivia which is rich in pre-Colombian artifacts and colonial-era relics but this is the first case in recent memory involving a diplomat. Police were tipped off by an anonymous caller to the cache of art. The raid caused a scandal that ranged from protests that Diaz's diplomatic immunity had been violated to allegations of theft after Bolivian authorities confirmed at least three of the canvasses had been stolen. Belevan, who has neither confirmed nor denied that any of the works were stolen, said that Peru would deal severely with the cultural attache "if there are any omissions or shortcomings" in his explanation of each item's origin. Bolivian officials identified three of the pieces as colonial-era religious paintings which fall into a category of art that is protected because of its historical interest. The three are by anonymous painters and were reported stolen from rural Bolivian churches. "There is no way anyone will hide behind diplomatic immunity. Once we know the results of the cataloguing we will proceed with the appropriate actions," Bolivian Foreign Minister Javier Murillo said. Art experts are expected to conclude their work by next Wednesday and their reports could be filed with their respective Foreign Ministries by next Friday.
From: "Denny" swcmfhba@compassnet.com
Subject: Re: WAR SEA GRAVES PILLAGED
On the D Day artifacts
I have a comment that does not go with those who would leave these artifacts alone. I see the need for the artifacts to be preserved and not allowed to rust away. The soldiers who were once interred there have since returned to their creator. The artifacts represent the great sacrifice that was made so we might be free. I know someone pulled up at least one maybe two Sherman tanks from the area and put them on display. When you look at these artifacts you know you were looking at things that represent great sacrifice.
It is not uncommon for ship wreaks to be evacuated and the artifacts brought to museums. These were watery graves for hundreds if not thousands of years. The problem lies in not keeping these things and preserving them, before they are lost. With that said, its sad that collectors and souvenir hunters are getting them, rather that going to established institutes and museums.
When all of this weckage was left there, did not people expect it to be picked up? Why are they so concerned now with something that has gone on for two generations. So do these people who would see these artifacts left anone have a master plan.... They have had 56 years to do something.
Denny
From: newsletter@theartnewspaper.com
Subject: The Art Newspaper: This week's top stories
The Art Newspaper.com
http://www.theartnewspaper.com
This week's top stories (slightly abbreviated):
CHINA AND US DRAFTING ANTI-SMUGGLING AGREEMENT
BEIJING. The word in Beijing is that next year China's State Bureau of Cultural Relics will sign a bilateral agreement with the US with the aim of reducing the smuggling of cultural relics and smoothing the way for the return of items seized in the US. The Art Newspaper has spoken with parties involved, who say, however, that the wording of the agreement is far from finalised.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=3715
"THE JEWISH PEOPLE SHOULD BE HEIRS TO HEIRLESS ART" SAYS KNESSET MEMBER
LONDON. At an international conference held in Lithuania last month, Christie's announced that it has helped raise $500,000 for opening up Nazi documentation which is in Russian archives, while Sotheby's is to assist the Council of Europe in setting up a central website on looted art. These moves reflect the auctioneers' growing concerns over the problem of war loot.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=3714
POLITICAL CRISIS IN TAIWAN REDUCES BUYING POWER
HONG KONG. Chinese art, which has been one of the hottest sectors of the art market over the last three years, continued to show remarkable strength in the October Hong Kong sales, but also great selectivity. Over-optimistic estimates plus a constitutional crisis in Taiwan that had battered its financial markets kept the Taiwanese away, and meant dealers were bidding cautiously.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=3713
ALICE DEBUTS IN NEW YORK
PARIS. You might think it courageous or even foolhardy to hold the first sale of a new auction house bang in the middle of New York's prime sales week. And yet this is precisely what Francis Simon, ex-chief financial officer of Sotheby's France, is doing this month.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=3712
INSURANCE BROKERS ARE WISING UP TO THE ATTRIBUTIONS ROPE-TRICK
LONDON. London insurers are being approached on a virtually daily basis to cover "masterpieces" for huge sums, with the owners then hoping to use this as further evidence to back up inflated valuations for their paintings.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=3710
INDIA'S SISTINE CHAPEL "DAMAGED BY RESTORATION"
MUMBAI. Every so often, Indian and foreign experts have questioned the ongoing conservation of the Ajanta paintings, which easily rank among the world's most precious heritage sites. The most sustained critique in recent years has come from Walter Spink, the veteran "Ajantologist" from the University of Michigan who has been studying the fifth-century caves with single-minded devotion for forty years.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=3672
THE LENA CARGO: SUNKEN TREASURE
BRISTOL. In early 1997 unprovenanced, fine blue-and-white porcelain objects started to appear in the street markets of Mindoro in the Philippines. When news reached the Philippine coastguards they suspected that a shipwreck had been discovered and that it was being looted by treasure hunters. A search for the wreck was immediately organised and it was eventually located on the Lena Shoal to the south of the island.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=3650
Anna Somers Cocks, Editor
contact@theartnewspaper.com
The Art Newspaper
70 South Lambeth Road London SW8 1RL UK
tel +44(0)207 735 3331 fax +44(0)207 735 3332
http://www.theartnewspaper.com
Japan archaeologist exposed as fraud
A leading Japanese archaeologist has admitted planting artefacts at an excavation site so he could claim credit for discovering Japan's oldest stoneware. Shinichi Fujimura, who was known as "God's hands" because of his ability to discover ancient objects, has admitted burying historical discoveries before unearthing them as new finds.
The senior director at the Tohoku Palaeolithic Institute was accused of planting stoneware pieces at the site - he claimed the stoneware dated back to an early stage of the stone age.
"I have nothing more to say except that I am deeply sorry for what I've done," Mr Fujimura told a news conference carried by national television. "I fell victim to temptation," he added, with his eyes cast down. "I am speechless when I think about how I can apologise." His admission came after a Japanese newspaper published video stills of Mr Fujimura putting pieces of stoneware in a hole at an excavation site and then covering them in soil.
The damning pictures appeared on the front page of Mainichi Shimbun's Sunday edition.
After being caught out by the newspaper the archaeologist admitted he went out alone to the excavation site several times in the early hours of the morning to bury dozens of artefacts that he claimed he "discovered" later in the day. Confession
The burden of having to find older sites had prompted him to commit the fraud with artefacts from his own collections, he said.
The 50-year-old archaeologist led a dig in late October in Kamitakamori, 300km (190 miles) north of Tokyo.
His finds, believed to be supports for huts or tent-like structures, were claimed as proof of ancient human dwellings which pre-dated Japan's previous oldest, found in Chichibu Northwest of Tokyo.
Of 31 pieces unearthed at the Kamitakamori site, the researcher admitted to having faked 27, the Mainichi Shimbun reported.
More fakes
He also admitted he falsified all 29 pieces found this year at the Soshinfudozaka archaeological site in Shintotsugawa, in the north of the country.
With suspicion spreading over his past discoveries, the nation's historical records are now coming into question, the newspaper added.
He is said to have been involved in research of at least 180 sites. "Japan's research over the Palaeolithic period may be forced into a fundamental review," the daily newspaper said.
Only a handful of remains from human dwellings from the prehistoric era have been found. The self-taught archaeologist had earned his reputation with a series of finds including a first record-breaking discovery in 1981 of stoneware dating back 40,000 years.
photos:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1008000/1008051.stm
Americans Consider Museums a Trustworthy Information Source
A study recently released shows that 43-percent of Americans consider museums to be more ``trustworthy'' than any other information source. The survey, commissioned by the nationally recognized museum exhibit design firm of Ueland Junker McCauley and Nicholson, asked respondents to compare museums with books, newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and the Internet on a range of issues. The national survey, carried out by RKM Research and the Western Research Group, is correct within five-percent.
http://www.writenews.com/2000/101300_museums_information.htm
'POSTER' IS WORTH POUNDS 3M
TWO young brothers who used drawing pins to hang a "poster" on their bedroom wall have been told it is really an Old Master worth pounds 3million. An art expert spotted that the oil painting of the beach scene was the work of 19th century French genius Delacroix.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/shtml/NEWS/P17S2.shtml
TEMPORARY BAR PLACED ON EXPORT OF IMPORTANT OIL SKETCH BY RUBENS
Arts Minister, Alan Howarth, has placed a temporary bar on the export of an important work in oil by Rubens, Diana and her Nymphs Hunting. The template sketch for a painting (now lost) was commissioned in 1636 by Philip IV of Spain as part of a series for the Royal hunting lodge. The temporary export bar provides a last chance to raise the money to keep the sketch in the United Kingdom.
The Minister's ruling follows the recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art that the export decision be deferred. The deferral will enable a purchase offer to be made, at or above the following recommended price:
- Diana and her Nymphs Hunting, c.1636-7, a painting of outstanding aesthetic importance by Peter Paul Rubens, deferred until after 3 December 2000; recommended price #3,133,406.25 (plus VAT where applicable). The deferral period could be extended until after 3 March 2001 if there is a serious intention to raise funds with a view to making an offer to purchase.
Anyone interested in making an offer to purchase the above item should contact the owner's agent through:
The Secretary
The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2-4 Cockspur Street
London SW1Y 5DH
Notes to Editors
A painting, Diana and her Nymphs Hunting, c.1636-7, by Peter Paul Rubens, oil on panel, 26.6 x 57.2 cm
In 1636 Rubens was commissioned by Philip IV of Spain to decorate the Royal hunting lodge near Madrid, the Torre de la Parada, with hunting scenes and mythological paintings. Diana and her Nymphs Hunting was Rubens' template sketch (modello) for the now lost workshop painting. Both sketch and finished work were executed on a grander scale than most of the works associated with the commission and it is one of the most powerful compositions in the series of almost sixty paintings. The painting appears to have been executed very rapidly and this, as well as the direction from right to left of the attacking women, spears and dogs, gives the impression of a ferocious hail of arrows aimed at the prey. It is painted with extreme fluidity, even by the painter's own standards, and the confrontation between the stag and the dogs must be a masterpiece in terms of energy and movement. Unusually, Rubens puts the focus of the painting on the fleeing hind and the heroic sacrifice of the stag to allow his mate to escape, and Diana and her nymphs are but the supporting cast in the drama. By editing his first idea of having Diana cast her spear to a less prepared position Rubens reinforces the onslaught of the dogs around the stag, so shifting the focus to the deer. There are some learned references, such as Diana's knotted spear shaft but these take second place to the kinetic energy of the hunt. Rubens's own excitement with the composition is apparent in the extensive re-drafting and the flashes of blood red to heighten the tension and drama of this elemental struggle of life and death.