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The market deals with theft of religious items

March 27, 2013

On 11 March 2013 Czech television informed about returning of two baroque statues of angels and Saint John Nepomucene statue from abroad. Those statues have in the past been stolen from Czech Republic churches. According to the police officer around 30 sacred items are brought back every year. But unfortunately this success is clouded by information given by a church employee, who states that since 1989 hundreds of thousands of such objects have been stolen. So at this rate it would take thousands of years to return stolen things to their owners! But a good news is that religious items are not stolen so often anymore. And the reason for that is not a good work of the police, or better security systems installed in churches which have been already robbed, but the fact that there is much less interest in such things on the market. The ex-presindent of the Czech Republic claimed that the free hand of the market will solve all problems. Its hard to tell if this could be applied to the financial or business sector, but the market made its work in the sector of thefts of religious artwork.

http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ivysilani/1097181328-udalosti/213411000100311/obsah/248165-kradeze-cirkevnich-pamatek/

Stolen Matisse

February 5, 2013

In Venezuela 10 years ago, the painting „Odalisque in Red Trousers“ was stolen from the Museum of contemporary art in Caracas. During the robbery the original was replaced with a forgery. After the robbery, a collector of art informed the FBI that this painting was offered in New York where it was successfully and safely detained. The collector did his duty, he didn´t want to buy a stolen object.

Links: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/18/us-usa-sting-matisse-idUSBRE86H1NB20120718
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2013/01/22/two-sentenced-in-attempted-sale-of.html

Rahman – forgery in Great Britain

October 24, 2012

In Great Britain, a former teacher practiced forgery the same way as many others. He forged known authors like Picasso, Bacon and other modern british painters who are in demand. He even didn´t make a big effort. He focused on a presentation of a good origin of the work. Of course, he forged these documents as well. When some buyer questioned the authenticity of the artwork, he returned the money. Doesn´t this procedure remind you the practice of some galleries in Czech republic? What happens with those returned works? Do they end up in another collection? Such works can´t go back on the market without a proper examinaton!

Link: http://www.blouinartinfo.com/market-news/article/749340-forgery-for-dummies-british-art-teacher-convicted-of-selling-fake-picassos-had-an-art-forgers-handbook

The Procuress – a heritage of a great forger

October 24, 2012

The painting „The Procuress“  at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, which was believed to be a painting of a dutch master Dirck van Baburen from the 17th century, is a forgery. A forensic analysis confirmed that an artificial resin, similar to Bakelite was used while painting. This resin was used by notorious forger H. Van Meegeren to give his painting a patina of age. This case shows that faith is not enough. A complex analysis including a proof of origin is needed. A proven origin of the artwork will become very important for its future sale. Fraudsters are already aware of this and they are trying to ensure an interesting origin of their artworks. Nowadays the buyer is the one who has to check up the presented origin of a painting. 

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/8612890/Master-forgery-17th-century-work-exposed-as-a-fake.html

Second suit accuses Knoedler Gallery in NY of selling fake art

October 16, 2012

After reading the article we highlight few facts. First of all that even such important galleries are probably rightly suspected of selling fakes. During the artwork screening a forensic analysis is surely necessary. And your trust in a gallery owner, that he will place your painting in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné and the price of your artwork will rise, would not have to be necessarily worth it. The sale of important and expensive artworks depends on gallerist’s moral level. As we can read in the artical, the level has fallen not only in the Czech Republic but also in the US. We are talking about millions of dolars in the US and millions of crowns in the Czech republic, which is very tempting.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/nyregion/knoedler-gallery-is-accused-of-selling-fake-rothko-painting.html?_r=1

China clamps down on fake art

June 21, 2012

The Chinese authorities declare that they will clamp down on forging art objects. It has probably already reached such an extent that chinese authorities consider it necessary to intervene. If they do so, it will surly be a commendable effort. Probably everybody knows about chinesse production of fake-brand goods including forges.

Link: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-04/24/content_15129527.htm

The Trojan horse

October 21, 2011

In 2004 the police took an action which was supposed to avoid production and distribution of a false artwork. Mostly they were fakes of paintings from Jan Zrzavý, Václav Špála, Kamil Lhoták and others. This case was relatively widely published. It was caused by the uniqueness of the case, the amount of falsified pieces from important authors and the number of fakes in general. Also following court trial was popular not only within the collector’s comunity. Especially the painter-forger was atracting an attention of the public, not only by the relatively quality made fakes but also by his statements. He claimed, that the Jan Zrzavý’s spirit had been entering his body. This statement of the painter-forger was probably a part of the recent decision to examine his mental state. The criminals were found guilty on the 23rd of January 2008, but the final judgment was made on the 21st  of September 2010. These criminals were sentenced to 7,5 and 2 years.This unique case shows that five years is not enough to make a final judgement. How many false pieces were made during those five years? Repression by the authorities active in the criminal proceedings is basically powerless. This is not a secret information leak. The forgers and the fake art dealers already know this and they act accordingly. Yet we look forward to the judgement of the appeal court. In the section Forgeries in Czech republic – actual list you can find some of the forgeries from this case. If any collector had purchased any paintings from the mentioned authors during that time or after, and has any doubts about the autenticity of the pieces, he can ask our association for advice. Sometimes it is enough to remove the frame and take a look at the periphery of a canvas´ frame and it´s clear.

In 2004 the police took an action which was supposed to avoid production and distribution of a false artwork. Mostly they were fakes of paintings from Jan Zrzavý, Václav Špála, Kamil Lhoták and others. This case was relatively widely published. It was caused by the uniqueness of the case, the amount of falsified pieces from important authors and the number of fakes in general. Also following court trial was popular not only within the collector’s comunity. Especially the painter-forger was atracting an attention of the public, not only by the relatively quality made fakes but also by his statements. He claimed, that the Jan Zrzavý’s spirit had been entering his body. This statement of the painter-forger was probably a part of the recent decision to examine his mental state. The criminals were found guilty on the 23rd of January 2008, but the final judgment was made on the 21st  of September 2010. These criminals were sentenced to 7,5 and 2 years.This unique case shows that five years is not enough to make a final judgement. How many false pieces were made during those five years? Repression by the authorities active in the criminal proceedings is basically powerless. This is not a secret information leak. The forgers and the fake art dealers already know this and they act accordingly. Yet we look forward to the judgement of the appeal court. In the section Forgeries in Czech republic – actual list you can find some of the forgeries from this case. If any collector had purchased any paintings from the mentioned authors during that time or after, and has any doubts about the autenticity of the pieces, he can ask our association for advice. Sometimes it is enough to remove the frame and take a look at the periphery of a canvas´ frame and it´s clear.In 2004 the police took an action which was supposed to avoid production and distribution of a false artwork. Mostly they were fakes of paintings from Jan Zrzavý, Václav Špála, Kamil Lhoták and others. This case was relatively widely published. It was caused by the uniqueness of the case, the amount of falsified pieces from important authors and the number of fakes in general. Also following court trial was popular not only within the collector’s comunity. Especially the painter-forger was atracting an attention of the public, not only by the relatively quality made fakes but also by his statements. He claimed, that the Jan Zrzavý’s spirit had been entering his body. This statement of the painter-forger was probably a part of the recent decision to examine his mental state. The criminals were found guilty on the 23rd of January 2008, but the final judgment was made on the 21st  of September 2010. These criminals were sentenced to 7,5 and 2 years.This unique case shows that five years is not enough to make a final judgement. How many false pieces were made during those five years? Repression by the authorities active in the criminal proceedings is basically powerless. This is not a secret information leak. The forgers and the fake art dealers already know this and they act accordingly. Yet we look forward to the judgement of the appeal court. In the section Forgeries in Czech republic – actual list you can find some of the forgeries from this case. If any collector had purchased any paintings from the mentioned authors during that time or after, and has any doubts about the autenticity of the pieces, he can ask our association for advice. Sometimes it is enough to remove the frame and take a look at the periphery of a canvas´ frame and it´s clear.In 2004 the police took an action which was supposed to avoid production and distribution of a false artwork. Mostly they were fakes of paintings from Jan Zrzavý, Václav Špála, Kamil Lhoták and others. This case was relatively widely published. It was caused by the uniqueness of the case, the amount of falsified pieces from important authors and the number of fakes in general. Also following court trial was popular not only within the collector’s comunity. Especially the painter-forger was atracting an attention of the public, not only by the relatively quality made fakes but also by his statements. He claimed, that the Jan Zrzavý’s spirit had been entering his body. This statement of the painter-forger was probably a part of the recent decision to examine his mental state. The criminals were found guilty on the 23rd of January 2008, but the final judgment was made on the 21st  of September 2010. These criminals were sentenced to 7,5 and 2 years.This unique case shows that five years is not enough to make a final judgement. How many false pieces were made during those five years? Repression by the authorities active in the criminal proceedings is basically powerless. This is not a secret information leak. The forgers and the fake art dealers already know this and they act accordingly. Yet we look forward to the judgement of the appeal court. In the section Forgeries in Czech republic – actual list you can find some of the forgeries from this case. If any collector had purchased any paintings from the mentioned authors during that time or after, and has any doubts about the autenticity of the pieces, he can ask our association for advice. Sometimes it is enough to remove the frame and take a look at the periphery of a canvas´ frame and it´s clear.

Forgeries in Alšova galerie?

May 30, 2011

The Alšova Galerie exhibits the paintings of Natalia Goncharova. Unfortunately, there is a suspicion that most of the paintings are forgeries. The police started investigating this case after recieving a complaint. In the article we can find some interesting information about the functiononing of fraudulent art expert. The question is, under which conditions are those works exhibited in Czech Republic and what is the function of our curators. In this case, the curators serve only as „hangers" of delivered paintings. It would be interesting to find out how much was the insurance. It seems that the exhibition was insured for hundred millions czech crowns.
The paintings of Goncharova already left The Czech Republic. The criminal police arranged some expertises before the departure of paintings but they didn't prove any falsification. Considering the fact that the examined objects are already back at their owners, outside the scope of Czech law, we can be sure that the case won´t have any resolution. The important question is: What was the reason for an exhibion of this famous paintress just in České Budějovice? It may served to legalise and sell forgeries. Such practics appear and we must forsee them.

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