A spokesperson for Bonhams is quoted in a further report in The Times (Dalya Alberge, "Italy tries to block sale of Bonhams antiquities linked to disgraced dealer", October 10, 2008).“We have not officially heard anything from the Italian Parliament. We would obviously act the moment we receive anything requiring us legally to respond and do as we always do. If there is any question mark on something like this we either withdraw it or get into discussions ... No one here was aware of the statement in the Italian Parliament.”It is also reported that the Apulian krater in question is "believed" to have been owned by Symes "prior to 1980" and that it had passed through “many hands over the past 28 years”. So the piece is only "believed" to have been in the Symes collection prior to 1980; the spokesperson does not say that the ownership was documented. And who were the people attached to these many hands? This spokesperson has only served to raise more questions. (And it is so reminiscent of the seafaring collector of Egyptian antiquities ...)
The Times piece has links to earlier stories (e.g. Patrick Barkham, "Dealer lied to judge over $3m statue", May 23, 2003).
No comments:
Post a Comment