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?

Aegisthus painter pelike returned to Italy

Attic pelike attributed to the Aegisthus painter
Source: Alain Truong

The return of an Athenian red-figured pelike, attributed to the Aegisthus painter, to Italy yesterday will not have been a comfortable event for Christie's. ICE's statement notes:

The first investigation tied to Becchina is the case involving the two 2,000-year-old ceramic vessels. In 2009, investigators learned about the sale of an Attic red-figured pelike, circa 480-460 B.C. for $80,500, and a red-figured situla, circa 365-350 B.C. for $40,000, at Christie's New York auction house. The investigation determined that these two objects were looted from archeological sites in Italy and smuggled into Switzerland. The ownership of the objects was transferred before they arrived in a Beverly Hills, Calif., gallery and subsequent consignment to Christie's in New York. HSI special agents in New York seized the objects, and upon authentication, both were forfeited for return.

The pelike was listed in Christie's pre-sale press release: "SUPERB EXAMPLES OF ROMAN AND GREEK ART HIGHLIGHT CHRISTIE’S SPRING SALE OF ANTIQUITIES", May 4, 2009. The statement noted, "The sale is particularly strong in Greek vases including a large Attic red-figured pelike attributed to the Aegisthus Painter, circa 480-460 B.C. (estimate: $80,000-120,000)...".

The pelike was listed in the post-sale top 10 list as lot 120, "An attic red-figured Pelike, attributed to the Aegisthus painter, circa 480-460 B.C.", as it sold for $80,500. This same post-sale press release stated:

G. Max Bernheimer, International Department Head of Antiquities said: “Today’s strong results show that wonderful objects with clear provenance continue to perform exceedingly well at auction.” 

We now know that this "clear provenance" was in fact not what it seemed. Indeed the press office for Christie's described the two seized objects as "stolen".

This pelike does not appear to be listed in the Beazley Archive database, though I note that of the four pelikai that are listed, three were found in Italy: Vulci, Adria and Locri.

Does this return herald the start of a new series of investigations into the Becchina archive? If so, we are likely to see a new series of returns to Italy (and other countries).

Antiquities returned to Italy from New York auction-house

Detail from Apulian situla.

In October 2009 I noted that antiquities had been seized from a New York auction house. Two of the items were an Apulian situla and an Attic pelike. The US ICE has now issued a press statement about the return of the antiquities including a marble head ("ICE returns stolen and looted art and antiquities to Italy", April 26, 2012). All three items had passed through Christie's Rockefeller Plaza in June and December 2009 and, according to the statement, had been derived from Gianfranco Becchina ("Two of the four investigations have been linked to Gianfranco Becchina, an Italian national allegedly associated with Italian organized crime and a competitor of the Giacomo Medici smuggling organization").

Christie's made an elusive press statement at the time. It is also worth quoting my comment from the time:

If the seized Apulian situla and the Attic pelike are indeed the ones appearing at Christie's in June 2009 then it makes the quote from G. Max Bernheimer, International Department Head of Antiquities, all the more significant: “Today’s [sc. June 3, 2009] strong results show that wonderful objects with clear provenance continue to perform exceedingly well at auction.”

It would now appear that the "clear provenance" was in fact the stock of Becchina.

The seizure has already been noted by me in the Journal of Art Crime (Spring 2010) 83 and in more detail in an article, "Polaroids from the Medici Dossier: Continued Sightings on the Market", co-authored with Christos Tsirogiannis in the Journal of Art Crime (Spring 2011) [abstract].

Something needs to be done about Madrid

Attic black-figured amphora now in Madrid.
Source: Schinoussa archive,
courtesy of Christos Tsirogiannis

Italian journalist Fabio Isman has written a piece on the Madrid antiquities for Il Messaggero ("Antichita’, I tesori che l'Italia non rivendica", April 21, 2012). Isman estimates that while Italy has repatriated approximately $1 billion worth of antiquities from North American museums, private collectors, galleries and auction-houses, the pursuit of the 22 objects in Madrid has rather come to a halt.

These 22 objects can be identified from photographs in the archives seized from Giacomo Medici and Gianfranco Becchina, as well as that of the UK based dealer Robin Symes.

Will Spain co-operate with a fellow European nation and return the disputed pieces? Spanish museum curators should act in a professional way and contact their Italian counterparts to resolve the matter.

Isman also rehearses the collecting history of an Etruscan amphora acquired in 2009 by the Art Institute of Chicago (inv. 2009.75) [AAMD Registry]. The amphora had been sold by Christie's in New York in 2008 for $116,500 (lot 225).

Cambridge theft

The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge has announced that it has suffered a major theft of Chinese antiquities worth £18 million ("Fitzwilliam Museum theft: Chinese jade art 'worth millions'", BBC News April 18, 2012; "Fitzwilliam Museum theft: Public questioned one week on", BBC News, April 20, 2012).

Dealer pleads guilty over Egyptian antiquities

Source: ICE

Dealer Mousa Khouli has pleaded guilty to the charge of "smuggling ancient Egyptian treasures" and for "making a false statement to law enforcement authorities" ("Dealer admits smuggling Egyptian treasures to US", Agence France Presse April 18, 2012). Khouli could be facing up to 20 years in prison.

The objects were imported via Dubai. The case will no doubt be of serious concern to those private collectors and public museums who have been purchasing material from Khouli.