Former officials charged with lending Vatican authenticity to dubious art works
Philip Willan in Rome Wednesday November 7, 2001 The Guardian
Two former senior officials at the Vatican have been charged in Rome in connection with an alleged art fraud. Monsignor Michele Basso, an ex-administrator of the chapter of St Peter's, and Monsignor Mario Giordana, a former counsellor in the Vatican's Italian embassy, are accused of trying to sell works of art falsely attributed to artists such as Michelangelo, Guercino and Giambologna, to art institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the National Gallery in Washington. A public prosecutor, Francesco Polino, has asked for 14 people be be sent for trial on charges of fraud and breach of the art export laws, according to reports in the Italian press.
The case rests on whether the works are fake, genuine or wrongly attributed: they may belong to the artists' schools. The most remarkable works are a marble bust, the Young St John the Baptist, attributed to Michelangelo, and an antique Greek vase attributed to Euphronius. The officials allegedly used headed Vatican notepaper to authenticate the works and enhance their value. Many of the works are stored in Mgr Basso's Vatican flat, beyond the reach of Italian law. Mgr Basso has claimed that his attempt to sell the works, which included Etruscan gold ornaments dating back 2,500 years, was aimed at raising money to build a hospital. The prosecution claims that one painting was stolen in Rome five years ago. Mgr Basso's lawyer, Lorenzo Contrada, said that unscrupulous people had exploited the priest's naivety.
"This case began with Mgr Basso as the injured party," he said. "They have put the witnesses and the art experts under investigation, all that is missing is for them to proceed against the lawyers." Art experts consulted by Mgr Basso said the Michelangelo bust was genuine, but failed to convince the prosecutor, he added. The collection, which could be worth up to £200m, was reportedly left to Mgr Basso by fellow clergymen and elderly noblewomen to whom he acted as spiritual adviser. The case is likely to embarrass the Vatican, which is still recovering from an inquiry into allegations of loan sharking by the Cardinal of Naples. http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Fears over ancient Kabul treasure
Nov 6 2001 ART experts fear a sealed vault will not save a 2,100-year-old horde of gold which is buried underneath a Kabul palace. As the US continues its bombardment of Afghanistan, experts fear the treasures will be destroyed or melted down by the Taliban. They want the UN to rescue the gold antiquities before it is too late. Christian Manhart, a specialist in Asian cultural heritage at Unesco, said: "We are very concerned the Taliban will get in.
"They have tried to break through the enforced concrete walls, so far without success." Known as the Treasure of Bactria, the hoard contains over 20,000 gold statues, necklaces and ornaments set with precious stones, reports The Times. Mr Manhart says the treasure was last seen by a group of international archaeologists in 1993 when the safe was opened to dispel rumours that the Afghans had sold it. It was excavated in 1978, when the county's former Communist ruler President Najibullah sealed it in seven trunks and hid it in a vault carved out of rock, protected by a steel door, bolted shut by seven locks with keys held by seven different people. http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/
Fate of historical park lies in hands of voters
By:Corey Gray, Citizen staff November 06, 2001 Voters will vote on Proposition 8 today. If passed, it would be a major factor in beginning the process of restructuring the San Jacinto Battleground Museum, creating the San Jacinto Battleground State Historical Park. A master plan for the park was approved in 1998. Proposition 8 would allocate funding for the start of the project, which would get under way after Sept. 1, 2002. The mammoth undertaking would take five to six years to complete, with a projected cost of $45 - 67 million. Getting the state-appropriated funds is a big step toward beginning phase one of the project. "If it (Proposition 8) doesn't pass, it would make it much more difficult to take place," said Bill Dolman, director of professional services for the parks division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife. One of the main focuses of the reconstruction process is to fill in the reflection pool at the base of the San Jacinto monument with prairie grass, enhancing the reality of the reenactments held annually at the site for San Jacinto Day.
"If the restoration of the battleground is done properly, the reenactments will be more realistic," Dolman said. A new museum/visitor center is in the plans to be constructed away from the main battleground site, in order to provide proper visitor orientation. The center will boast exhibits and interpretive programs related to Texas as a part of the Spanish and Mexican frontier. It also will store artifacts from the battle and contain a restaurant. A recreational area will be constructed at a distance from the main battleground area, where picnicking, hiking and biking, and other activities can take place. The relocation of the Battleship Texas to another site within the park will be one of the major projects during the renovation of the area, allowing the restoration of significant portions of Sam Houston's camp. A new commemoration zone will be created away from the main battlefield in which to present, interpret and preserve post-1912 monuments and markers moved to the area from other parts of the park.
A broad landscape plan is in place to recreate marshes, prairie grasses and clusters of oak trees which were commonplace during the battleground era. Though the restoration project would require extensive construction in the immediate area of the battleground, it should not interfere with the yearly re-enactment of the famous battle. "The whole park won't be restructured at one time, so most of the re-enactment should be able to go forward," Dolman said. "They might have to move the activity around." http://www.zwire.com/ ICOM-L
From: Boylan P P.Boylan@CITY.AC.UK Subject:
SOME KEY DECISIONS OF 2001 UNESCO GENERAL CONFERENCE
Among the most many decisions of the two-yearly General Conference of UNESCO in Paris, which closed yesterday, were the following of special importance to the cultural sector:
NEW UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY
On 2nd November 2001 the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) adopted a major new international ethical standard for cultural development and cultural relations: the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. It is hoped that this will eventually acquire as much recognition and moral force as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Accompanied by an Action Plan, the new Universal Declaration insists, amongst other things, that cultural diversity is a key element in development widening the range of options open to everyone: "it is one of the roots of development, understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence".
(For further information see the UNESCO Press Release, which also includes the final text of the Universal Declaration as formally adopted, at: http://www.unesco.org/confgen/press_rel/021101_clt_diversity.shtml
NEW INTERNATIONAL TREATY TO PROTECT THE UNDERWATER HERITAGE FROM TREASURE HUNTERS
On 2nd November the General Conference of UNESCO adopted a new international treaty which aims to protect the underwater heritage, from prehistoric shipwrecks to those of modern times, which is under grave threat at the present time due to a combination of major advances in underwater salvage and excavation technology and the very high financial rewards that can be obtained for antiquities and other relics in both the legal and illicit world markets.
These factors have led to an unprecedented scale of unauthorised underwater exploration and recovery of artifacts from underwater sites of great sensitivity, including for example official war graves, and the uncontrolled activity of commercial salvage organisations has been an especially serious problems for many coastal and island developing countries with only very limited technical resources with which to protect the underwater heritage.
This treaty has been under negotiation for more than four years among expert groups including government representatives, archaeological and historical experts, and commercial salvage interests, and following its adoption it will be open to ratification or accession by all States. It will come into effect when 20 States have legally adopted the measure in accordance with national treaty law procedures.
A UNESCO Press release of 29th October gives details: it is expected that this will be updated very shortly to reflect the actual adoption of the new Convention on 2 November, see: http://www.unesco.org/confgen/press_rel/291001_subaqua.shtml
Patrick Boylan
Serb police find stolen art but no Milosevic link
BELGRADE, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Serbian police said on Tuesday an art dealer had handed in three valuable paintings stolen in Switzerland, but could not confirm a report that they had been linked to former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. "Our investigation has not proved that the stolen paintings were in any way linked to Milosevic," Captain Dragan Karleusa, in charge of fighting organised crime, told a news conference. He declined to identify the art dealer, who approached police voluntarily and handed over three of five paintings worth 1.5 million Swiss francs ($914,600) that had been stolen from the Koller Gallery in Zurich on July 1 1999. The recovered paintings are by Renoir, Valtat and Jawlensky. Police are still searching for Chagall's "Goat Musician." "L'Olivier" by Matisse was earlier discovered in Gladbeck, Germany. It had come via Belgrade and Poland. Swiss weekly Sonntagsblick reported on September 1 that a Vienna art detective had told the director of an insurance firm that he had discovered all four still missing paintings in Belgrade in the hands of the "Milosevic clan." Karleusa said Serb police had launched their investigation following the newspaper report. They will now inform Swiss Interpol and agree a procedure to return the paintings, he said. Milosevic, who was ousted a year ago, is awaiting trial in The Hague on war crimes charges. The Art Newspaper.com http://www.theartnewspaper.com
This week's top stories:
UNESCO RED TAPE BLOCKS KABUL MUSEUM SALVAGE
LONDON. As Kabul is bombed, further fears are raised over the little that may remain of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage. Already, if some Taliban pronouncements are to be believed, the surviving Buddhist sculpture in the Kabul Museum may have been deliberately destroyed as part of the same fundamentalist iconoclasm that ended the Bamiyan Buddhas. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=7995
A TRAGIC HOLOCAUST HISTORY NO DETERRENT TO COLLECTORS
NEW YORK. "Farmhouse with birch trees", a 1900 landscape by Gustav Klimt in Christie's 6 November Impressionist and Modern evening sale is estimated to bring $5 million to 7 million. This painting has not been on the market for 40 years: it has been hanging in the Oesterreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna. In its catalogue, Christie's describes the landscape as "the first great modern restituted painting from Austria to be offered at auction." http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=7993
THE SHELL OF COLNAGHI FOR SALE
LONDON. Colnaghi, established in Paris in 1760 and London’s oldest art dealership, is now up for sale as Jean-Luc Baroni, the managing director announced his decision last week to leave the company and establish a private dealership under his own name. The entire senior staff is leaving with him including Donald Garstang, Stephen Ongpin and Judith Hacker. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=7992
MEDICI MASTERPIECE BY ANDREA DEL SARTO FOUND IN MINOR US SALE
LONDON. A masterpiece by Andrea del Sarto which was one of the stars of the Medici collection has turned up after being lost for nearly 400 years. Known as the Botti Madonna, it was highly regarded by the Medicis, and new research has revealed that it was later given to Charles I. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=7991
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SWIMMING POOL IN FRANCE...
ROUBAIX. The opening of the Museum of Art and Industry in a former public swimming baths in Roubaix, northern France, is a masterstroke of urban renewal and modern museum design. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=7990
REMBRANDT’S HOT HAND
LONDON. A painting bought by the National Gallery of Ireland as the work of a minor Dutch artist has been identified as an early Rembrandt. “La main chaude”, depicting a popular 17th- century game, was acquired in 1896 for £20, as by Haarlem artist Willem de Poorter. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=7970
YVES ST LAURENT/PARISIAN AUCTIONEER MERGER?
PARIS. The French businessman and fashion mogul Pierre Bergé, who controls Yves St Laurent Haute Couture, is trying to buy Drouot, the firm which groups all the Paris auctioneers. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=7951
ZEN BUDDHIST MONK OPENS $66 MILLION MUSEUM
TAIWAN. The Museum of World Religions, created by the Burmese-born, Chinese monk, the Venerable Dharma Master Hsin Tao, “to illuminate global religious traditions from a variety of perspectives and explore the diversity and interconnectedness of the world’s great religions”, has been funded through donations from the faithful worldwide. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=7950
ART DEALERS JOIN BATTLE TO SAVE THE HIGH LINE
NEW YORK. Every visitor to Chelsea has seen it, although its rusting brown mass is easy to overlook, the 70-year-old elevated train passageway that runs from 33rd Street, along the Hudson River, through Chelsea to Manhattan’s Meat Packing District. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=7934
DOING AN ARNAULT: BRIEST ALLIES WITH ARTCURIAL
PARIS. One of the first signs of the “new order” in the French auction market is the alliance between the country’s third biggest auctioneer, Francis Briest, and the art publisher Artcurial to create a new “artistic and cultural hub”. It means that the country’s top three auctioneers are now in alliances. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=7933
Anna Somers Cocks, Editor contact@theartnewspaper.com
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