I would like to know whether there is an efficient system to cover microchips applied to books of eighteenth--nineteenth century. I mean if there is a kind of adhesive label made of acid free paper and a good quality glue. Our problem is to avoid creating damage on the original pastedown of the book such as yellowish stain due to the bad quality adhesive. Also we want to have a guarantee of longevity of the label. Is there on the market a special product in this field?
Konstantinos Choulis Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
Plaque to Gogol's 'Nose' Imitates Original
By Claire Bigg STAFF WRITER Photo by Alexander Belenky / SPT
A monument to Major Kovalyov's nose, one of Nikolai Gogol's most famous protagonists, may have been inspired by its literary model and is on the loose in St. Petersburg. In Gogol's famous short story, "The Nose," a Major Kovalyov wakes up one morning to discover that his nose has vanished and is wandering around St. Petersburg wearing his uniform. The monument to the nose was erected in 1994 as part of the "Zolotoi Ostap" festival of humor and satire. The festival was named after trickster Ostap Bender, the hero of Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov's "Twelve Chairs." The nose was reported missing from the wall at 11 Pr. Rimskogo-Korsakova on Tuesday. While the disappearance was reported to the police that day, the nose seems to have departed some time earlier. The St. Petersburg Times visited the site Thursday. A woman working in a shop in the building said the nose had been gone since the beginning of the month.
"We noticed that it was missing about a week ago. We thought it could have been removed by workers," said Sofia Bukhayeva, the wife of the nose's sculptor, Vyacheslav Bukhayev, who could not be reached for comment Thursday. Bukhayeva said workers had been working on the facade of the building where the nose was mounted, but there was no sign of them Thursday. She and her husband were baffled by the theft, as the nose is made of marble, not metal, and therefore is of no interest to those who scavenge metal to sell for scrap. "It cannot have been stolen for its material," she said cheerfully. "The disappearance is probably the deed of some art lover," she said. Vladimir Timofeyev, the city's Sculpture Museum director, said vandals are likely responsible for the disappearance. "Sometimes acts of vandalism are committed without any particular motive. Hooligans have already stolen and broken a number of plaques and monuments in St. Petersburg." Meanwhile, the police are investigating the circumstances of the nose's disappearance.
"We sent an inquiry to the St. Petersburg city government culture committee to find out if the sculpture had been taken down by the workers, and we are still waiting for an answer," police spokesperson Elmar Shakhirzayev said Wednesday. A second police spokesperson, Pavel Rayevsky, said Thursday that the police had no information on the nose, but suggested it had been stolen, most likely by a collector. Stealing the nose would require considerable organization and physical strength. Timofeyev said the sculpture weighed between 80 kilograms and 100 kilograms and was attached to the wall about 3 meters above the ground. The plot thickened as it became clear the nose had been reported missing on the same day that another sculpture by Bukhayev, which had been stolen some months ago, was restored to its location on the Fontanka Embankment next to the Summer Gardens. The monument to the brave sparrow Chizhik Pyzhik, a hero of Russian folk tales, was stolen several times and returned from a scrap-metal yard. This time, however, the five-kilogram metal bird vanished completely, and a copy of it was commissioned to replace the stolen one. A surveillance video-system was set up to protect the sparrow.
While the Bukhayevs and the scultures' fans will have to wait for the results of the investigation to find out what fate the nose has met, Bukhayeva says there is a guaranteed way of returning the nose to its original location. "We still have a plaster copy of the nose at home, so we can always make another one" she said. http://www.sptimesrussia.com/ _
From: "ART LAW CENTRE" info@art-law.org
Subject: Conference on fakes
The Art Law centre in Geneva organises on wednesday, october 2, 2002 a conference on the subject of "fakes, copies & counterfeits" in art. For information please visit the website at www.art-law.org or contact us directly.
Gaia R. Regazzoni Administratrice du Centre du Droit de l'Art 120 b rue de Lausanne 1202 Genève (Switzerland) Tel: + 41 22 731 11 61 Fax: + 41 22 731 12 61 E-mail: info@art-law.org Internet: www.art-law.org
Suspect in Art Theft Awaiting Extradition
Associated Press
09/25/2002
lawyer accused of stealing dozens of prints from The University of New Mexico library collection and selling them to galleries is awaiting extradition back to New Mexico. Joseph Frontino was arrested last week in Myrtle Beach, S.C. New Mexico authorities learned of his arrest Monday. "We understand he will not be fighting extradition, so we will see him soon," Sam Thompson, a spokeswoman with the state attorney general's office, said Tuesday. Frontino, a lawyer in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, had promised to turn himself in to Albuquerque police on Sept. 3, 2000, but he fled. He had been sentenced in August 2000 to four years in prison, followed by five years' probation, after pleading guilty to three counts of embezzlement. His whereabouts was unknown until Friday when Myrtle Beach police arrested him after responding to a report of a suspicious person. Frontino originally was supposed to turn himself in Sept. 1, 2000. But he e-mailed the judge, saying he couldn't get a flight from California to New Mexico and asked if he could return two days later. With his failure to appear, state District Judge Frank Allen Jr. issued a bench warrant for Frontino's arrest. He was eventually put on the FBI's fugitive list. Frontino was caught embezzling art and photography from the UNM library from June through December 1997. He was indicted in December 1999 on 21 counts of embezzlement and criminal damage to property.
Frontino sold at least two-dozen original Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand and Edward Steichen prints stolen from the UNM library's special collection. Frontino sold the prints to the Andrew Smith and Scheinbaum & Russek photo galleries in Santa Fe. Andrew Smith said his gallery bought more than 50 prints from Frontino during several months in 1998. Frontino repeatedly told the gallery the same story: He bought the prints from various print shops about 20 years ago when he was a law student in Philadelphia. The theft was discovered as the library prepared to reshelve some books. Library officials estimated it would cost $300,000 to replace the damaged publications. http://santafenewmexican.com/
Thieves steal church art
23 September 2002
BRUSSELS — A number of valuable works of art have been stolen from a church in Flemish Brabant. The art, which included a 14th Century statue of the Virgin Mary, formed part of an exhibition at St Quintin's Church in Leuven. Burglars got into the church through a side door in broad daylight. The theft was discovered by the vicar. http://www.expatica.com/
Treasure verdict on silver hook
September 26, 2002 05:15
A silver dress hook dating back to the Tudor period was declared treasure at an inquest in Norwich yesterday. The 2cm hook, in the form of a flower, was found by Mark Turner while metal detecting in January at Wymondham. Mr Turner reported the find to Dr Andrew Rogerson, head of the identification and recording service with Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Services. Speaking after the inquest, Dr Rogerson said he saw several such dress hooks a year but silver ones were more unusual. They were usually made of copper alloy.
Coroner William Armstrong said Mr Turner had acted very properly by informing the authorities of his find. The hook will become the property of the Crown and Mr Turner will be rewarded. http://www.edp24.co.uk/