Original owners of tapestries fail to get compensation in court
By Jean-Marie Schmitt
PARIS. A French family of tapestry dealers, the Boccara, has lost the last round in its long- drawn-out legal battle to recover stolen tapestries which currently hang in the Louvre. The complex case dates back to 1977, and the death of the Parisian tapestry dealer Dario Boccara.
The following day a British carpet and tapestry dealer took some pieces from the gallery and attempted to export them illegally: he was stopped at the frontier, the boot of his car opened and the tapestries seized. They became the property of French Customs and in 1984 were handed over to the Louvre. The Boccara family brought a court case for theft, and the dealer was sentenced to pay them about £366,000 ($512,000). However the Boccara were not given the tapestries back, nor did they get this money as the dealer was out of range, in Britain. They took their case to court again in 1997, asking either to get the tapestries back or to get much higher compensation from the State.
This case has been grinding its way through various appeal courts ever since, and they have now lost the final round. The judgement is worrying in that, while the State acted legally (Customs have the right to impound objects about to be illegally exported, and to hand them over to the State), it did know that they were stolen goods as the Boccaras had brought their case shortly after the theft.
To have the tapestries on display in the Louvre could be seen as homage to Dario Boccara, but it would be preferable if the State could find some way to compensate his family for their loss. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9252] From: Clara Ireland cireland@sloma.state.oh.us
Subject: Symposium on disasters
Disaster Planning and Preparedness Symposium Sponsored by the Ohio Preservation Council Friday, May 17, 2002
The Disaster Planning and Preparedness Symposium will be presented at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, Ohio. Our guest will be Ms. Julie Arnott, Preservation Services Manager at the Southeastern Library Network, Inc. (SOLINET) based in Atlanta, Georgia. She will instruct librarians, archivists and curators in the fundamentals of writing a basic disaster plan and will focus her presentation upon the planning and preparation aspects of handling both minor and major collection emergencies.
The cost of the symposium will be $40.00 for Non-OPC members and $25.00 for OPC members. This will include instructional materials and a boxed lunch.
Please include your lunch choice: turkey, chicken salad, or vegetarian sandwich with your check. To complete your registration please make your check payable to the Ohio Preservation Council and send to:
Jo Kimmet State Library of Ohio 274 E 1st Avenue Columbus OH 43201
Send registration form with your check. Make check payable to Ohio Preservation Council
Clara Ireland Preservation Consultant State Library of Ohio 274 East 1st Avenue Columbus, OH 43201 614-644-1972 614-728-2788
Subject: Tram Operator Training
From: scottsmith@chubb.com
Does anyone have any knowledge of a driver training program specifically for the operators of trams. The type used to move visitors around the grounds of museums with large properties. Any help locating such a program would be very much appreciated.
Scott Smith Risk/Loss Control Specialist Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
Press Release - Denver, Colorado April 2, 2002
Nationally Certified Professional Training Program for Security Officers, Managers, Administrators Responsible for the Protection of Cultural Institutions
The International Foundation for Cultural Property Protection (IFCPP), a non-profit organization offers specialized classes at two levels of experience.
The Certified Institutional Protection Specialist (CIPS) program requires a full day of classroom participation, plus completion of an advance home-study program for entry-level security officers through mid-level supervisors and other personnel responsible for protection of a cultural institution. This is a basic training program that provides a sound foundation for professionals working in a cultural setting. Coursework includes a strong emphasis on customer service/public relations, crisis management, emergency response, and protection of people, assets, and facilities. The Certified Institutional Protection Manager (CIPM) program is quickly becoming the standard for security managers and administrators in our specialized profession. This unique program also includes a full day of classroom work plus an advance home-study program. Coursework includes a critical look at the acquisition, management, and service of sophisticated electronic systems, the entire personnel package of screening, training, hiring, and firing, and a full package of emergency planning. Our instructors are leaders in the industry, selected for their knowledge, hands-on experience, and excellent presentation skills. Attendees are tested at the completion of each program, and receive certification prior to departure. These are the only known programs offering specialized classroom courses in cultural property protection, and the only source of certification in these subjects. Presenters include Erroll G. Southers, CIPM, Herb Lottier, CPP, CIPM, Nick Artim, CIPT, Steve Layne, CPP, CIPM, Bill Powers, CPP, CIPM, Gene Ferraro, CFE, CPP, and others.
Upcoming program opportunities include:
July 22 - University of Georgia, Athens, GA - CIPS only. For additional information, contact IFCPP Headquarters:
September 9, 2002 - Philadelphia Convention Center - in conjunction with the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) Annual Seminar and Exhibits. CIPS only.
November 11-12, 2002 - Le Meridien Hotel, Dallas, TX - in conjunction with the 4th Annual Conference, Seminar, and Exhibits of the IFCPP. CIPM only.
2002 Conference, Seminar, and Exhibits. The IFCPP announces it's fourth annual conference, November 8-12, 2002 co-hosted by the North Texas Chapter of the IFCPP and the Crow Collection of Asian Art. The conference will be based at the Dallas, Texas Le Meridien Hotel, an excellent facility with an exceptional service reputation. Attendees will enjoy our low-cost special rates, fine food service, and a host of area activities. Special events will be hosted by area attractions. CIPM Certification program begins on Sunday, with examination and completion on Monday afternoon.
This year's conference focuses on the preparedness of institutions of any size or type to deal with emergencies. From natural disasters to fire, criminal acts, and even acts of terrorism, administrators, managers, and supervisors need to look at the basic requirements for protecting visitors and staff, valuable collections, and other assets. Our outstanding corps of presenters will offer sound advice in taking reasonable precautions to prepare for the worst, continue operations under adverse conditions, and recover from the most severe situations. We'll also address the special needs of institutions involved in expansion, renovation, or new construction. Officer training is our forte, and we'll cover a number of alternatives from basic officer training through advanced specialized courses for supervisors and managers.
A new feature this year is our Expert's Corner, where experienced professionals from a variety of fields will offer one-on-one assistance to attendees seeking solutions for special problems. The latest in State of the Art technology will be on exhibit for attendees to view and experience the latest in electronic systems. For more information on IFCPP 2002, please visit our web site at www.ifcpp.org, or call 800-257-6717. Attendees may register for all programs online, or by contacting IFCPP Headquarters.
IFCPP Attn: Rob Layne, CIPM Executive Director 1285 Hudson Street Denver, CO 80220 (303) 322-9667 (800) 257-6717 rob@ifcpp.com www.ifcpp.org
Guards Fired for Allowing Sex in Museum
April 5, 2002 10:44 am EST
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Two Romanians have been fired by one of Bucharest's most famous museums for letting couples have sex in its ornate cottages for bribes of up to $3. Undercover television reporters posing as lovers filmed the two guards offering them access to peasant dwellings in the Village Museum, one of Europe's oldest open-air exhibits.
The Culture Ministry said it had dismissed the two men after the TV footage was aired on Thursday night on a popular network. It has asked police to investigate the case.
Shrunken head, case missing from exhibit
The Associated Press
BANDERA (AP) - An Old West museum's prized exhibit, the shrunken head of an Indian woman, has been the talk of this West Texas town. Now, curators of the Frontier Times Museum are looking for the artifact along with the display case in which it rested. Police said Wednesday they want to question more than two dozen people who signed the museum's log on the day the exhibit disappeared in late March. Besides taking the Indian woman's baseball-size head and display case, investigators say, the thief stole her headdress of beetle wings and bird feathers.
The display had been prominently displayed for more than 60 years, said Pat D'Spain, president of the museum. "She was always right there in the front of the museum," D'Spain told the San Antonio Express-News in Thursday's editions. Museum visitors, including students on field trips, had marveled at the head that, until the 1930s, reportedly belonged to a young Jivaro Indian from Ecuador or Peru. "It was part of Bandera's specialty," said Tammy Kneuper, 48, Bandera County's district clerk. "I saw it growing up, and I made a special point to bring my kids. I felt they should see it." Now, police who suspect a museum patron in the disappearance want to question 25 people.
"We'd like for them to come forward and see if they have any information to help us out," said Police Chief Shane Merritt. The victim, according to museum lore, died in a blood feud among rival tribes. Her reduced remains were then likely bartered before winding up at the museum that J. Marvin Hunter, a local author of frontier tales, opened in 1933. Among museum files are instructions for preparing a shrunken head, which involves boiling the body part and packing it with hot sand.
Bandera is about 40 miles northwest of San Antonio.
2 face action in burial-site damage
Ruins excavated in national forest
By Susan Greene Denver Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 04, 2002 - Two southern Coloradans have been indicted in the defilement of an ancient Anasazi burial site in the San Juan National Forest. Their indictment March 12 stems from an October 2000 incident near McPhee Reservoir near Dolores. A Bureau of Land Management ranger said he observed Danny Rose of Dolores and Tammy Woosley of Cortez "with shovels in hand digging in an archaeological site." They had "partially excavated a burial (site) containing human remains," according to a federal report.
Woosley turned over a rock object that an archaeologist has identified as a funerary object from an Anasazi burial. "Anasazi" is a Navajo name for farming people who were early residents of southwestern Colorado. The archaeologist estimates the damage will cost at least $500 to restore.
Rose, 52, and Woosley, 41, face up to $500,000 in fines and a maximum of 12 years in prison. They could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Said U.S. Attorney John Suthers: "Those who unlawfully hunt for artifacts on public land must realize there will be consequences for their actions." The Art Newspaper.com
This week's top stories:
TATE STAFF HAEMORRHAGE
LONDON. Latest in a recent spate of high-level departures from Tate is the announcement by Jeremy Lewison, Tate’s Director of Collections, that he is to leave the gallery at the end of June. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9253
THE LOUVRE: RECEIVER OF STOLEN GOODS?
PARIS. A French family of tapestry dealers, the Boccara, has lost the last round in its long- drawn-out legal battle to recover stolen tapestries which currently hang in the Louvre. The complex case dates back to 1977, and the death of the Parisian tapestry dealer Dario Boccara. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9252
NEW YORK’S ASIAN ART FAIR SEES DEALERS DEFECT TO SHOW PRIVATELY
FRENCH AUCTION REFORM PUTS MILLIONS OF EUROS INTO AUCTIONEERS' POCKETS
PARIS. Now that the French auction market has finally been opened up to foreign auction houses, two elements merit investigation. The first concerns premiums, which have increased spectacularly since they are no longer fixed by the government. This brings a second question: what effect is this pricing freedom having on the French market? http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9250
ILLUSTRATED BOOKS—WHAT CRISIS?
NEW YORK. As US publishers of illustrated books slash staff, some claim to hear the last gasp of the mineshaft canary, a warning that more publishers and appendages of the art world may be next. Others say the adjustment that has hit Abrams, Bullfinch, Rizzoli and Random House is part of a longer publishing trend. Some publishers just say there is no crisis. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9230
CALIFORNIA COURT ORDERS AUSTRIA TO MEDIATE CLAIM THAT KLIMTS ARE NAZI LOOT
LOS ANGELES. A federal appeals court has taken the unexpected step of ordering Austria and an opposing claimant to enter into mediation in California in a claim seeking six Klimt paintings said to have been stolen from a Jewish owner by Nazis. The action appears to be the first time that a federal court has ordered a foreign nation to take part in mediation in a case before its defense of sovereign immunity from lawsuit is resolved. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9192
SALE REPORT: EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY TRIUMPHS AGAIN
PARIS. In March Sotheby’s offered the second and third part of the Jammes Collection of photography, containing much material from the period between its invention in 1825 and 1860. This was the golden early age and the first photographic image, taken by Nicéphore Niepce, sold for €489,750 (£310,390; $443,390). http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9191