Punishment for E. Filla´s paintings thief
December 14, 2013
On 9.12.2013, the court has delivereded sentences for the theft of E. Filla´s painting from the Peruc gallery. It was an unexpectedly heavy sentence for the principal culprit. It is even heavier than some sentences determined for a murder. But probably it´s the only way to stop thievish raids. We can only hope for similar sentences to be given for far more dangerous cases of corruption. It was rather surprising to find out that criminals didn't find a buyer for the stolen pieces. This fact and the attempts to find a buyer had finally brought them to justice. This case highlights the importance of an accurate documentation of collection pieces. Doing that, the victim can later add photos of stolen objects to the police database PSEUD, where other collectors can check if the piece offered to them is stolen or not.
Read the article here.
A treasure from Munich
November 14, 2013
For several days now, the public, especially the art-loving one, is being stirred by the discovery of hundreds of paintings, mainly from the modern and avant-garde era. An extraordinary occasion no doubt. It will take many years before related questions and ownership rights of rightful and wannabe owners will be solved. Important is, that these pieces are supposed to be unaffected by the wave of falsificiations of the last decades. This is one of the reasons why the discovered and eventually returned works of art will be well marketable. But considering the age, mental condition of current owner-holder and storage of paintings, the question that has to be answered is whether this collection includes forgeries planted by those who realize, that provenience sells. It might be a neck breaking combination. The future will show.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/4/over-1b-of-nazi-treasuremasterpiecesfoundinmunichcloset.html