December 28, 2000
CONTENTS:
- Undersea treasure hunters to float after £1.5m sale
- Famous artist maybe victim of theft and forgeries (Pro Hart calls in police on 'art fraud' )
- Police question witnesses in Swedish art heist
- TRAINING PROGRAM IN AUTHENTICATION AND FORGERY DETECTION OF COLLECTABLE PRINTS
Undersea treasure hunters to float after £1.5m sale
by HANNAH CLEAVER
Treasure hunters do not have to be lone figures on the beach carrying metal detectors - nor must they have an average age of 10 and a map marked with a cross. A group of German treasure hunters is selling its finds through Sotheby's auction house in London. It has just sold more than 400 items for a total of more than £1.5 million, and plans to float the company on the German stock market in 2002. The Arqueonautas group has gone about its business methodically. It secured an exclusive licence for archaeological investigations in the territorial waters of Cape Verde, off the western tip of Africa, in 1995. Since then, it has used the latest technology and a team of divers to find more than 100 shipwrecks of which about 25 are thought to be of significant historical and cultural value. So far at least 50,000 silver coins and more than 2000 other artefacts, including several rare English clocks, have been recovered from the water. Most of the shipwrecks fell victim to the reefs of the Cape Verde archipelago that took a heavy toll of trade ships en route to southern Africa. These included English, Dutch, Portuguese and Danish East Indiamen, the massive ships that took riches between Europe and colonies in the Far East. Count Nikolaus of Sandizell, who founded Arqueonautas in 1994, says he is fulfilling a childhood dream by working under the waves to recover treasure. But for him it is not only about finding shiny coins - he takes the archaeological side of the discoveries very seriously and has teamed up with some renowned academics to help decide the significance of the finds. The most expensive item in the Sotheby's sale was an astrolabe, the forerunner of the sextant, used in the 17th century to navigate by the stars. Dated 1645 and signed by its Portuguese maker Nicholae Ruffo, the piece is silver-plated and largely unscathed by hundreds of years under-water. It was bought for £124,500 by the Mariners' Museum of Newport News, Virginia.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/
Famous artist maybe victim of theft and forgeries
AAP --
Well-known Australian painter Pro Hart has called in police to investigate the possible multi-million theft and forgery of his artworks over the past 30 years, it was reported today. The Broken Hill artist said at least one member of his extended family was involved in the long-running scam, The Australian newspaper reported. Mr Hart said he decided to mount an investigation about three months ago after becoming "a bit dubious about things that have happened over the years". He said an investigation was being carried out by his manager, Rory Ryan, and solicitor, Tony Freestone, and police were also looking into the matter.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/
Pro Hart calls in police on 'art fraud'
By David Nason
ONE of the nation's most recognisable painters, Pro Hart, has called in police to investigate the possible multi-million-dollar theft and forgery of his artworks over the past 30 years.
The prolific Broken Hill-based artist says at least one member of his extended family is involved in the long-running scam. "The coppers are looking into it. There's crooks everywhere, mate," Hart, 72, told The Australian yesterday. "I've got my own fellas looking into it and we've got a good lawyer helping us out. "There were paintings fraudulantly sold and forged . . . the forensic mob worked out who was behind it." Hart, who works in oils and has a distinctive semi-primitive style, said his personal investigation was being conducted by his Queensland-based manager, Rory Ryan, and Gold Coast solicitor Tony Freestone. Mr Ryan confirmed the investigation and said Mr Freestone had engaged a QC to assist. But he refused to say how many forged and stolen paintings were involved. Hart said he decided to mount an investigation about three months ago after becoming "a bit dubious about things that have happened over the years". "I got a bit suspicious that a few paintings were missing," he said. "But I don't know all the details because I've got people working on it for me. I couldn't really care less what goes on. I let someone else do the worrying." Asked how long ago he thought the thefts and fraud had started, Hart said: "I don't know but I reckon about 1972." He said he had already been shown one forgery uncovered in Queensland and knew of others. But Hart said rumours circulating in Broken Hill that he had been "embezzled" to the tune of $28 million were false. "That (rumour) started the first day but those figures are all out of whack," he said. Asked if the shadow of theft and forgery had cast a pall over the family Christmas in Broken Hill, Hart said there was "not really a drama". "We're a pretty solid family - just a few ups and downs," Hart said. But one extended family member was a "bugger" who had certainly "pinched" some of his paintings and been questioned by police. None of his paintings could be forged successfully in the future because they now carried a special coating to identify them as originals. "There is no chance of any more forgeries turning up on the market because we've got everything recorded now with this special coat," Hart said. "I've got a scanner I can put on them and it'll tell you whether they're genuine or not."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
Police question witnesses in Swedish art heist
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Reuters) -- Police said on Wednesday they were questioning about 25 witnesses to the $30 million art robbery from Sweden's National Museum, but were not much closer to tracking down the missing masterpieces or the gang. Three masked robbers, armed with pistols and a submachine gun, burst into the museum just before closing time on Friday and seized a Rembrandt and two Renoirs. They escaped by boat after setting cars on fire and strewing the road outside the museum with spikes. "We are still at the beginning of the investigation. We are questioning witnesses," said Leif Jennekvist, head of the national police's regional criminal investigation department. Ten officers are questioning about 25 witnesses, including museum employees, visitors and taxi drivers, he told Reuters. Others are making enquiries in the art world, comparing similar crimes and checking up on known Swedish criminals. The three robbers got away with a self-portrait by the Dutch master Rembrandt and two works by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir -- "A Young Parisienne" and "Conversation."
http://www.cnn.com/
From: Cycleback cycleback@cycleback.com
Subject: Authentication Training Program & Book
TRAINING PROGRAM IN AUTHENTICATION AND FORGERY DETECTION OF COLLECTABLE PRINTS
Cycleback, the Seattle Art and Collectable Examiner, has started an online training program in The Authentication and Forgery Detection of Collectable Prints. The course teaches the methods used to determine what is authentic and what is not in the area of trading cards, posters, premiums, newspaper and magazine prints and other collectable prints from 1860 to today. This includes the identification of reprints, counterfeits, fakes, forgeries and misrepresentations. The program is designed for anyone with an interest in the subject, including collectors, dealers, museum employees, appraisers and forensic examiners. The course is based on the book, Authentication and Forgery Detection of Collectable Prints by David E. Rudd. Rudd is a forensic art examiner and directs this training program. The co-instructor is Dale F. Rudd, the Donald C. Slichter Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The textbook can also be bought seperatly. To learn more about the training program, visit the Cycleback website: http://www.cycleback.com/