May 31, 2024

Reportedly found in - a sampling of interesting provenances

What does "reportedly found in" mean when it appears in a provenance text for an artworks or antiquity?

Below are a few sample texts.

(Texts published by museums are indicated by color.)

May 30, 2024

Erasing Jewish collectors' names from Nazi looted art: Alfred Weinberger

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

 In 2009, Sotheby's put up for sale this Renoir entitled DEUX FEMMES DANS UN JARDIN with the following provenance.

PROVENANCE

Soutro Gallery, London
Sale: Christie's, London, June 24, 1997, lot 284
Private Collection (sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 3, 2005, lot 114)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner


https://web.archive.org/web/20181204232353/https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/lot.177.html/2009/impressionist-modern-art-day-sale-n08547


No mention of Alfred Weinberger, who had owned the Renoir until a Nazi looting organization seized it in Paris on December 4, 1941.

The above is one of the most typical provenance types that conceals Nazi-looted art. 

May 29, 2024

Looted Art Detector: Custom Indicator File Art Traffickers

The list below contains the last names of antiquities trafficker who were investigated by the Manhattan DA, the FBI or other criminal investigators for their role in trafficking looted cultural heritage.

It is easy to check art provenances and references for names of known art traffickers and their networks using publicly available text analysis tools. 

Below are several lists of words that can be useful, no matter what the tool (Voyant-Tools, Rstudio, Python, ChatGPT, Lootedart Detector, etc.)

The user can analyse provenances for any names or words that seem interesting.

See also: Looted Art Detector 


and Using Custom Indicators


The list below contains the last names of antiquities trafficker who were investigated by the Manhattan DA, the FBI or other criminal investigators for their role in trafficking looted cultural heritage. To add your own words, simply copy or download the CSV and add your content and save as your own file.


wordtype of flag
HechtHeritageFlag
SymesHeritageFlag
C. T. LooHeritageFlag
LatchfordHeritageFlag
KlejmanHeritageFlag
SperlingHeritageFlag
WienerHeritageFlag
Marion TrueHeritageFlag
FrelHeritageFlag
BecchinaHeritageFlag
add your own namesHeritageFlag
add your own namesHeritageFlag

If you want to have each name counted SEPARATELY? (not lumped together), you can a line for each name, like this:

May 26, 2024

Phoenix Ancient Art: selected provenances

detail of Marble female figure Cycladicca. 3200–2700 BC (on loan to the Met)


 Phoenix Ancient Art has been in the news quite a bit lately, and art crime experts are advising museums to verify their collections.



Chasing Aphrodite