Walter M. Banko Enterprises Ltd. and the returns to Italy

Source: ICE

The US authorities have returned a number of items to Italy. They include objects handled by Walter M. Banko Enterprises Ltd.

In July 2011, Walter M. Banko Enterprises Ltd., attempted to import four pieces of antique Greek pottery through the point of entry at Rouses Point, N.Y. Based on previous investigations and seizures from Walter M. Banko Enterprises Ltd., law enforcement detained the shipment to determine if the pieces had been listed as lost or stolen. In November 2011, HSI Rouses Point seized two of the four pieces of Greek pottery, both from the 5th century B.C. The items were identified as an antique pottery piece titled “Skyphos” and a red-figured pottery krater. These two pieces were seized once they were confirmed to be the same pieces linked to a well-known trafficker of Italian cultural artifacts.

The 'well-known trafficker of Italian cultural artifacts' appears to be Gianfranco Becchina.

Banko has been linked to a marble janiform head, returned to Italy on a previous occasion.

Forfeiture and Becchina: another link to Canada

Ric St Hilaire has written about a new forfeiture of two items that seem to be identified from the Becchina archive. The two items are an Attic red-figured skyphos and an Apulian bell-krater, valued at $55,000. They are reported to have been consigned to Christie's in New York. It is reported that they were seized in 2011 from from Walter M. Banko Enterprises, Ltd. of Montreal.

It appears that the paperwork for the objects may have been fabricated as the skyphos passed through the hands of Becchina in 1982 even though there had been a link with Borowski. The krater appears to have been in Becchina's possession in 1992 even though the paperwork suggested an alternative collecting history.

St Hilaire notes the quoted collecting history for the krater that was later moved from France to Canada:

Documents recovered from the search of Becchina’s gallery and warehouse reveal the occurrence of the following events: in February of 1992, Becchina purchased the Krater, in fragments, from Raffaele Monticelli. On or about October 24, 1992, Becchina delivered the Krater to Ettore Bruno who was to restore the Krater. On or about July 15, 1993, Ettore Bruno sent a photograph of the restored Krater to Becchina. On or about August 10, 1993, Robert Guy answered Becchina regarding the Krater’s attribution and the scientific study of the Krater. Ettore Bruno returned the Krater to Becchina in March of 1994. Becchina paid 8,490 Swiss francs for the restoration of the Krater. On May 1, 1994, Bechina noted that the Krater was then located in his warehouse at Porto Franco di Basilea (Switzerland).

I have raised the issue of Walter Banko before in the case of the janiform head also identified from the Becchina archive. This head had passed through Christie's in 2009.

Will Christie's have to explain the rigour of their due diligence process?

Becchina and Montreal

Roman janiform head in Becchina archive
Source: Christos Tsirogiannis

The Roman janiform marble head that has been returned to Italy is beginning to raise further questions and issues.

First, it was consigned to Christie's by Mr and Mrs Charles W. Newhall, III. A Charles W. Newhall, III is a trustee of the Baltimore Museum of Art (and a significant financial benefactor). What sort of questions did the Newhalls ask before acquiring the head? What was the nature of their due diligence search?

Second, the Newhalls owned this janiform head for a short period of four years (2005-09). Was this acquired as an investment or out of love of owning a piece of the past?

Third, who is Walter Banko of Montreal? Is he a dealer? If he is a dealer, when did he acquire the head? How did he acquire the head? Has he received other antiquities from the same source?

Fourth, where does Gianfranco Becchina fit into this narrative? Does Becchina now have a link with Canada?

Fifth, what evidence did Christie's ask to see to demonstrate that the head had been in a Canadian private collection in the 1960s?

The return of this head to Italy reminds us that the acquisition of antiquities can be a risky investment. And potential investors would be wise to check out the authenticated documented collecting history of an object before it is purchased.

Roman janiform head returns to Italy

The third object to be returned to Italy this week was a Roman marble janiform head. This sold at Christie's Rockefeller Plaza on December 11, 2009 for $26,250 (lot 141).

The collecting history was given as follows:

• Canadian Private Collection, 1960s. 

• with Walter Banko, Montreal, 2005. 

• Property from the collection of Mr & Mrs Charles W. Newhall, III

The ICE press release states:

The second investigation tied to Becchina involved a Roman marble statue, a janiform herm that was believed to have been smuggled out of Italy into the United States via Switzerland. HSI special agents in New York initiated an investigation into the sculpture which had been auctioned and sold at Christie's for $26,250. It was later seized at Christie's pursuant to a seizure warrant obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and in May 2011, forfeited to HSI for return to Italy.

This raises the suspicion that the head was not in a Canadian private collection in the 1960s. Was this part of the collecting history fabricated? Did Christie's check the documentary evidence? What was the scope of Christie's due diligence search? Does this mean that potential buyers need to treat collecting histories provided by Christie's with caution? What action will Christie's take to ensure that the auction-house does not handle recently surfaced antiquities?

Bulgarian Antiquities and Coins to be Returned from Canada

In August 2010 it was reported that a large group of antiquities and coins had been seized in Canada ("Bulgaria's Culture Minister Demands Archaeology Items from Canada", novinite.com (Sofia) August 5, 2010).

On Thursday, the Exterior Ministry announced that customs officers from the Canadian city of Montreal have seized 21 000 antique objects with Bulgarian origins in a smuggling attempt. ...

The antiques consist of coins, jewels, metal and glass objects from the Bulgarian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman heritage.

The Bulgarian press has now announced that the objects will be returning to Canada ("Canada to return smuggled archaeological finds to Bulgaria", sofiaecho.com June 8, 2011).

About 21 000 smuggled archaeological objects and ancient coins will be returned to Bulgaria by the Canadian department for cultural heritage, Focus news agency reported on June 8 2011.

Given recent concerns about the scale of looting in Bulgaria this is an important move on the part of Canadian authorities. It will be interesting to see if the coin dealer / importer concerned is named at the official handover later this week.

In November 2010 Bulgarian authorities stopped the sale of Bulgarian coins through a London dealer.