On 7 March 2008, the Prince Claus Fund will present its Cultural Emergency Response program at TEFAF Maastricht. Cultural Emergency Response provides global “first aid” for cultural heritage that have been damaged or destroyed by man-made or natural disasters. The program will consist of a speech by H.R.H. Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, Honorary Chairman of the Prince Claus Fund, on the importance of cultural emergency relief. Chair of the CER Steering Committee and Rector of the Institute of Social Studies, Louk de la Rive Box, will give a presentation on the work of the CER program. Omara Khan Massoudi, the Director of the National Museum in Kabul and a 2004 Prince Claus Laureate, will describe the rescuing of the Museum's collection during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. By invitation only
Slap on the wrist for fraudulent antiquities dealer By Jason Edward Kaufman | Posted 04 October 2007 NEW YORK. Manhattan dealer Edward Merrin was sentenced on 17 September in a federal case that charged him and his son Samuel Merrin with defrauding their clients William Ziff and his wife out of millions of dollars. The case against Samuel Merrin continues. Edward Merrin was sentenced to one year’s probation with eight months of home confinement, ordered to pay the government a $3,000 fine, and to pay restitution of $44,455 to the victims. Mr Ziff, who died in 2006 as the case was proceeding, built the Ziff-Davis publishing empire which the family sold for $1.4bn in 1994. In light of the scale of the allegations, the sentence is being seen by some as a “slap on the wrist”. According to the 2005 indictments, filed separately against Edward and Samuel Merrin, the dealers entered into an oral agreement around 1989 to sell the Ziffs’ antiquities according to a “cost-plus agreement”. This meant that the couple would pay the Merrin Gallery’s cost of acquiring the art plus an agreed commission ranging from 10% to 20%, depending on various criteria. From 1989 to 1999, the couple paid the Merrins “over $63m to purchase [hundreds of pieces of art, approximately half of which (by value) was purportedly covered by the cost-plus agreement”. The indictment alleges that by misrepresenting the gallery’s acquisition cost, the Merrins fraudulently increased both the “cost” component and commission component of the prices they charged the couple.
Why the Art Market Shouldn't Crumble, And Why You'll Keep Hearing it Will - By Nicholas Forrest The current art market boom has resulted in increased exposure and interest in art as an investment but having read almost every article written on the art market in recent times it has become obvious that the art market being presented in the media is both incomplete and false. Although the art market is stronger than ever it is important not to become complacent and ignore the primary rules of art investment which are: 1. Art is a long term investment which means that you should be looking at holding your investment for a period of 7-10 years but you also should be prepared to sell at any time if the market presents a favourable opportunity. 2. Art is a good form of diversification and should form part of a balanced investment portfolio. 3. Diversification of your art portfolio is important to spread the risk 4. Research artist, artwork and dealer thoroughly and get several opinions ( Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicholas_Forrest ) Read more...
