- Grand jury begins hearing art case

http://museum-security.org/
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July 11, 1997

- Grand jury begins hearing art case
- barcoding objects in a very simple way

Grand jury begins hearing art case
(Beacon Journal)

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A federal grand jury has begun hearing testimony about questionable sales of Cincinnati Public Schools artworks.
The school district and police earlier asked the FBI to investigate whether the works were purposely sold at below-market prices for resale at greater amounts.
The grand jury began hearing testimony Wednesday.
Because the school district's art trust fund receives no tax money, trading and selling artwork has been one of the few means available to get money for framing, repairs and other work that was needed.
The art collection includes donated paintings and some purchased with money contributed by schoolchildren. It also grew through a combination of gifts by artists, their families and art patrons.
While such resales might be acceptable in the art world, they are not moves that should take place with a collection largely built on the generosity of children, said school board President Lynn Marmer.
David Bowen, a former member of the committee that gives advice on the sale of the paintings, is being investigated for his role in the sale of eight paintings.
Bowen did not return a call to his home today. He said last week that his lawyers had advised him not to discuss the matter.
He sold the paintings for $5,700 in 1995. One painting, which was sold for $1,800, was then resold for nearly six times that amount.
Ms. Marmer said Wednesday she is preparing a resolution that will prevent any further sales or trades from the collection. Other board members said they are prepared to support the move.
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From ConsDisList
From: Helena Jaeschke <mrshjaeschke@msn.com>
Subject: Marking

Following the debate on barcoding objects, a recent product from
security firms may provide a new approach worth developing.
Alpha-Dot is a lacquer containing microdots with a unique PIN number
which can be painted onto a concealed area of an object. The dots
are described as barely visible and only a tiny amount of varnish
containing one or two dots is required for the object to be
identifiable. The dots are decoded by an electronic reader. At
present the kit costs 24.95 pounds sterling in the UK and the
company telephone number is +44 573329
The idea was developed for home security. The owner purchases a kit,
paints a small splash of varnish on each valuable item and registers
a splash of their varnish (with the PIN number) with the company.
Obviously this is not entirely suited to museum use (though it would
be very useful in the case of the theft) but could be developed to
provide a museum with a series of PIN numbers for individual object
identification.
In the cases of repatriation it is worth remembering that an item
may be stolen from its new home and an irreversible means of
identification could be vital to prevent its subsequent sale on the
art market. This peril has been clearly demonstrated in Mali and
Nigeria where returned items have hardly been placed in the museum
case of their new home before they have been stolen and vanished via
auction into private collections. Whilst reverence is due to an
item of a religious nature or human remains, the museum labelling
may help to protect it in future. If the labelling is not
offensively conspicuous then I would strongly urge that it be
retained. If it is too obvious (as sometimes happens with items
numbered at the turn of the century) then it should be resited in a
more discreet area.

Helena Jaeschke
Archaeological Conservator
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