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July 11, 1999

CONTENTS:

- Interpol launches CD-ROM of stolen art works
- S.Korea confiscates 'Picasso' after alleged theft
- LA doctor had him steal Picasso, Monet -witness
- Rothschild art auction smashes records
- Russia catalogs artwork lost by Nazi looting during war years
- Looters take millions in Afghan treasures
- Faberge Eggs - "A nice Breakfast at Tiffany's" (Jonathan Sazonoff)
- query: researching famous and/or peculiar art thefts throughout history

Interpol launches CD-ROM of stolen art works

02:37 p.m Jul 10, 1999 Eastern
LYON, France, July 10 (Reuters) - Interpol is stepping up its battle against art thieves by issuing a CD-ROM showing 14,000 stolen works of art, the international criminal police organisation said.
``Thefts have gone up 40 percent this year in France while in Italy, some 2,000 art objects are stolen annually,'' Interpol art theft officer Jean-Pierre Johanny said in presenting the project on Friday. Johanny said in an interview with Reuters Television at Interpol headquarters, near this city in central France, that the CD-ROM will help art dealers, auctioneers and others identify stolen objects presented to them.
  • He said the list could also be used by police forces and customs agencies so they can quickly identify suspect items they may come across.
    The list includes paintings, sculptures, tapestries and other items of major value that have been stolen over the past 30 years, he said. Lyon auctioneer Loic Conan welcomed the new product, saying: ``France's chateaux (rural castles) are being looted wholesale, and the thieves think that by sending the objects abroad they won't be identified.'' He said French art dealers would likewise be able to identify items coming to them from such places as Cambodia, Africa, Latin America and eastern Europe where historical sites are stripped of valuable objects. ``So far, we were informed only irregularly. I think this is a superb worktool we have here,'' he said.
    The CD-ROM, available in French, Spanish and English, costs around 400 euros ($408).
    ($1-.9790 Euro)

    S.Korea confiscates 'Picasso' after alleged theft

    11:50 p.m. Jul 10, 1999 Eastern
    SEOUL, July 11 (Reuters) - South Korean police said on Sunday they had arrested two men suspected of stealing art claimed to be the work of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and other masters.
    Police are holding in custody 14 paintings confiscated from the two men. Seoul police officials said they arrested the two men on suspicion of stealing what appeared to be works by masters such as Salvador Dali and Joan Miro from a Korean-American art broker who was visiting South Korea.
    The suspects had approached art broker Kim Yong-suk and told him they knew people who would be keen to buy the works of art, police said. They lured Kim to an apartment block in Seoul and allegedly stole the paintings from the back of the broker's car, police said. Police officials said the art broker had arrived in Seoul to sell his collection in order to set up a museum in the country. ``We have requested help to verify the authenticity of these paintings. We consider them to be too valuable to be owned by a single private owner,'' a police official told Reuters. ``We also have to find out why the art broker had not called the police immediately after he found out his paintings had been stolen,'' he said, but did not say when the broker actually made the report. The paintings are worth a combined estimate of 159.2 billion won ($134.6 million) provided the works are authentic. The police official said the estimate was the most recently valued price for the better known works, and the value for other pantings was based on the statement by the art broker.
    ($1 - 1,183 won)

    LA doctor had him steal Picasso, Monet -witness

    08:05 p.m Jul 09, 1999 Eastern
    LOS ANGELES, July 9 (Reuters) - A witness in the trial of a wealthy ophthalmologist charged with arranging the theft of his own paintings to collect $17.5 million in insurance money said on Friday he ``stole'' the paintings at the doctor's request.
    James Tierney -- a Los Angeles lawyer and former ``best friend'' of the defendant, Dr. Steven Cooperman -- told jurors that he and the doctor hatched the scheme in 1992 while standing in front of one of the two paintings, Picasso's ``Nude Before a Mirror.'' ``The banks were going to foreclose, the situation was getting progressively worse,'' Tierney said of Cooperman's financial woes. He said the doctor told him that if the painting would ``disappear,'' so would those problems. ``I remember joking, 'Well, maybe you should leave your door open,''' Tierney said. Cooperman is charged in Los Angeles federal court with conspiracy, wire fraud, interstate transport of property obtained through fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, false statements to banks and subscribing to a false tax return. The doctor, who allegedly had Tierney take the Picasso and Monet's ``The Custom Officer's Cabin at Pourville'' while he was on vacation in order to claim the $17.5 million in insurance money, could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted. Defence lawyers claim Tierney stole the paintings on his own, then blamed Cooperman after he got caught. Tierney testified on Friday he told Cooperman he could help him as they stood in front of the Picasso. ``I said the merchandise he wanted removed from his house, I thought I could do that for him,'' Tierney said, adding that Cooperman then gave him a key to the house and the security code for the alarm. Tierney then described for the jury stealing the paintings while Cooperman was on vacation in New Jersey and giving them to a friend, James Little, to hold. The scheme unravelled, Tierney said, when Little got into a spat with his girlfriend, who told police about the paintings.

    Rothschild art auction smashes records

    03:54 a.m. Jul 09, 1999 Eastern LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - An auction of works of art looted by the Nazis from the Rothschild family has fetched 56.7 million pounds ($88.2 million), almost three times its estimated value.
    The sale on Thursday of the collection belonging to the 19th century Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild was the biggest ever in Europe, according to auctioneers Christie's. A 16th century prayer book sold for 8.6 million pounds, making it the most expensive illuminated manuscript ever sold. It had been expected to sell for no more than three million pounds. A Louis XVI clock sold for a world auction record of 1.93 million pounds and a commode from the same period fetched seven million pounds, a record for a piece of French furniture. Christie's said 60 percent of the lots went to European buyers. It had been estimated the collection would fetch about 20 million pounds. ``It does show the considerable strength of the European market, particularly in France, Germany and in this country,'' Christie's chairman Lord Hindlip said. Last month, rival auction house Sotheby's sold a pastel by French impressionist Edgar Degas for a record 17.6 million pounds in its most successful ever sale. Last February, Austria agreed to return to the Rothschild family about 250 art treasures looted by the Nazis and absorbed into state museums after World War Two. Austria set up a commission of experts last year to trace the origins of art looted during Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The extensive collection owned by the Austrian branch of the Rothschild banking family was confiscated during Nazi rule between 1938 and 1945. Like many other Austrian Jews who fled abroad to escape the Holocaust, the Rothschilds lost valuable artworks for the second time after the collapse of the Third Reich when the new Austrian state imposed an export ban on the items. The art treasures include paintings, drawings, antique furniture, carpets, weapons and coins.
    ($1-.6427 Pound)

    Russia catalogs artwork lost by Nazi looting during war years

    By Douglas Davis LONDON, July 8 (JTA) -- Officials in Russia and Scotland are confronting the issue of Nazi-looted art.
    Moscow has responded to demands by Jews and by Germany for the return of looted wartime artworks by producing an initial three-volume catalog of its own looted treasures. This is the first Russian attempt to quantify the extent of their cultural losses from museums, galleries and palaces during the Nazi invasion. When it is completed the catalog of looted Russian artworks -- including icons, paintings and other objets d'art -- is expected to fill some 50 volumes. In a foreword to the catalog, the Russian authorities tell claimants that ``the West, and particularly Germany, prefers to keep silent about Russia's cultural losses. They would not acknowledge our rights of compensation for the irreplaceable losses. ``Without a catalog it is impossible to discuss the problems of restitution on just and civilized grounds." Even with the catalog, however, the Russian authorities admit they will be unable to make a full account of their plundered art because the Germans not only emptied their museums but were also careful to removed inventories. The foreword notes that ``a whole stratum of Russian national culture has disappeared forever, without leaving a trace." After sending the catalogs to museums, libraries and auction houses abroad -- and also to Interpol -- Russian officials say they hope that some of their treasures may eventually be restored. In Scotland, meanwhile, the nation's galleries are concerned about the provenance of 133 works, according to researchers who are attempting to determine whether any works in the Scottish collections were looted by the Nazis. The galleries -- Scotland's National Gallery, its National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery of Modern Art -- have not established that any of the works were stolen. But they are contacting dealers to discover more about the history of 133 works that have been acquired since 1933. A spokeswoman for the galleries said almost 50,000 works have been examined. ``The number we are concerned about is a preliminary figure," she said. ``The problems with them may merely reflect the fact that a file has been lost or that an owner died suddenly, breaking the provenance." The spokeswoman rejected criticism from the Holocaust Educational Trust that the galleries have been slow to publish the list of works and she insisted they are working as fast as possible. ``The national galleries of Scotland fully recognize the sensitivity and urgency of the issue of Nazi-looted art which is precisely why this research is being undertaken,'' she said. Earlier this year, the National Gallery in London concluded that 120 of its 2,400 paintings were of doubtful provenance. There are strong suspicions that about 10 of these, including two Monets, may be looted. Sir Nicholas Serota, director of London's Tate Gallery and chairman of a panel looking for Nazi-looted art, plans to convene a meeting later this month of more than 20 museums and galleries to assess how many suspect artworks are held in Britain.
    (c Jewish Telegraphic Agency Inc.

    Looters take millions in Afghan treasures

    by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark
    Peshawar
    (Sunday Times London)

    THE dog-eared cargo bill stated that the six gun-metal boxes piled up on the runway of the remote Pakistan airstrip contained mineral samples and "handicrafts of no commercial value". However, when customs officers opened the boxes, which were due to be loaded onto the evening Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight to Europe, they found the looted treasure of ancient civilisations. Inside the boxes, bound for London, Frankfurt and Dubai, was the most extraordinary collection of stolen artefacts recovered in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province. Wrapped in straw and newspaper, they ranged from 2,000-year-old stone statues of Buddha to coins, silver daggers, gold jewellery and glazed tiles. Experts say that, if only a fraction of the 25,000 items are genuine, they could be worth UKPounds:20m. Many were almost certainly plundered from poorly guarded museums and excavations across the border in Afghanistan, where the Islamic fundamentalist warlords of the ruling Taliban have little interest in ancient Buddhist artefacts. Collectors in London, Los Angeles and Tokyo are prepared to pay a small fortune for a single tiny stone head dating from the Gandharan dynasty in the first century BC. Jonathan Tucker, of Spink's, the art dealer, said collectors had been inspired by masterpieces held in the Victoria and Albert and British museums: "The Japanese, who have based their own artistic tradition on the Gandharan buddhas, love these objects, and there are a growing number of collectors in Britain and North America." The seizure has highlighted London's role as a centre for art smugglers, who have fooled internationally renowned auction houses into selling such pieces. Two of the six crates were addressed to Artworld Shipping of London, a freight forwarding agency that specialises in moving fine art around the world. But David Jackson, an Artworld Shipping director, said he could find no record of a consignment due on the date in question. "We have very little to do with Pakistan," he said. Illicit exports from the region have increased rapidly over the past three years as the Taliban had tightened its grip on Afghanistan amid reports of atrocities. The smuggling is open. When The Sunday Times visited Haji Khalil, a dealer with an antique shop in Peshawar's rambling Saddar bazaar, last winter, he boasted he could get anything for the right price. "The prices for Gandharan artefacts are incredibly high because they are very difficult to procure," he said. "They start at UKPounds:30,000 for a small piece. I can only help you if you have a lot of money to spend." Khalil failed to deliver and two months ago, when the newspaper's representatives returned to his shop, it was closed. Neighbouring shopkeepers said that he had gone to Dubai after an international criminal inves-tigation. Police suspicions had been raised earlier this year when they discovered that more than UKPounds:150,000 of antiques had been stolen from Khalil's shop, but that he had failed to report the crime. Two months ago investigators followed a PIA cargo van that drove into the airport and onto the runway without being searched by security staff, as required under Pakistani law. Inside they found the metal boxes and the treasure trove. They arrested Ayub Nawaz, PIA's security manager, and a customs clearing agent, both of whom alleged under interrogation that Khalil had paid them to turn a blind eye to the consignments. Seized documents led investigators to believe that Khalil had amassed millions of pounds from smuggling antiques through a network of agents in Europe and the Middle East. It was more than 2,000 years ago that craftsmen fused the Indian arts with Greek styles, creating the Gandharan school. For the next 800 years they decorated thousands of temples and monasteries. However, war, lawlessness and the remoteness of the region have turned it into a hunting ground for treasure seekers. Today, according to Interpol, Pakistan is an international gateway for looted artefacts, despite laws to prevent items more than 50 years old being exported. Last December Jemima Khan, wife of Imran Khan, the Pakistani politician and former cricketer, fell foul of the country's attempts to stop the region from being denuded of its cultural heritage. She was accused of trying to export 399 antique Iranian tiles to her mother in Richmond, Surrey, an offence that carries a jail sentence. Khan insists the ceramics are worthless reproductions. Pakistan admits it does not have the resources to combat the illegal trade in artefacts. A team of archeologists is waiting to catalogue the haul recovered at Peshawar airport on May 16. This weekend the objects were under armed guard in a bank vault.

    From: Jonathan Sazonoff saz@kwom.com
    Organization: SAZ PRODUCTIONS, INC.
    Subject:

    Faberge Eggs - "A nice Breakfast at Tiffany's"

    Dear Subscribers,
    Our interest was peaked by the recent post about QVC's hunt for the eight (8) missing Faberge Imperial Russian Easter Eggs. Here is a little more information for those interested in the subject.
    There are many fakes, recreations, and lesser pieces out there; but the real thing is extremely rare. The last real Faberge Imperial egg sold for $5,600,000. As to numbers, Bruce Schulman states, "Fifty six (56) Imperial eggs were made, forty-four of which have been located today and another two that are known to have been photographed. Another twelve Easter eggs were commissioned by Alexander Ferdinandovich Kelch, a Siberean gold mineowner. However, the Imperial Easter egg collection commissioned by the last of the Russian Czars is the most celebrated."
    For more information on Peter Carl Faberge (1846-1920) the Imperial Jeweler and his eggs see
    http://users.vnet.net/schulman/Faberge/eggs.html
    As to missing eggs, on October 23, 1980 three Imperial Eggs were stolen while on display at the Paine Arts Center in Oshkosh Wisconsin (USA). I don't know the status of that 19 year old case; but it has been suggested that the Chicago Mob was involved.
    And you thought Oshkosh was only known for airplanes and painters pants. Hope you find this of interest.
    Jonathan Sazonoff
    Pres., Saz, Prod., Inc.
    www.saztv.com
    Contributing US Ed.
    Museum Security Network
    www.museum/security.org/saz.html

    From: SLevchin@eb.com
    To: TonCremers@museum-security.org
    Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1999 15:41:43 -0500
    Mr. Cremers,
    I am researching famous and/or peculiar art thefts throughout history.
    The Mona Lisa theft of 1911 piece on your site was just what I was
    looking for. Would you know of any other stories of similar caliber?
    Thank you,
    Sergey Levchin
    Britannica.com


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