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'TROPHY ART' EXHIBITION IN THE HERMITAGE

On December 4th, 1996 the director of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Michail Piotrovskii, opened the latest exhibition of trophy art: "Masterdrawings in the Hermitage. Rediscovered Works of Art from German Private Collections". In this exhibition 89 drawings, engravings and water-colours from 18th to 20th century originating from 13 German private collections are presented. Among others the exhibition contains the following works of art: From the collection of Otto Gerstenberg and Margarete Scharf (Berlin) 30 drawings of Francisco de Goya are presented. They belong to the so-called "Bordeaux-Albums", on which Goya worked between 1824 and 1828. Of the collection Helene Bechstein, also from Berlin, drawings from Adolph von Menzel and Paul Cézanne and a water-colour from Vincent van Gogh are shown. 14 water-colours by Paul Signac of the Otto-Krebs-Collection are in the exhibition as well as other water-colours, drawings and gouaches. From the Siemens-Collection three water-colours by Adolph Menzel, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Signac are part of the exhibition. The English catalogue of the exhibition was published by Abrams, New York; the German edition by Kindler (see Bibliography).

FRANCE: THE MNR-WORKS OF ART ON INTERNET

The MNR consist of 2,000 works of art (paintings, sculptures, drawings, tapestries, and furniture), which were restituted from Germany and Austria to France at the end of the Second World War. Their rightful owners could not directly be traced. For the moment, these works of art remain under the care of the "Direction des Musées de France", who made a catalogue available on internet. This inventory can be consulted under the following address: http://www.culture.fr under the heading "Documentation". (At the end of 1997 a printed catalogue will be published.). Demands and claims, after consulting the e-mail address, can be made to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

FAMILY ARCHIVES FROM LIECHTENSTEIN

A part of the family archives of the ruling dynasty of the principality of Liechtenstein were found by the Red Army in 1945 in Vienna (Austria). These were transferred to the Soviet Union and are kept in the Osobyi archives in Moscow. Liechtenstein remained neutral during the Second World War. After negotiations between the Russian and the Liechtenstein governments it was agreed to restitute the archives. In return Prince Hans Adam II proposed to hand over the Sokolov notebooks, which he had acquired at Christie's. N. Sokolov was an officer of the "White Government" of Koltsjak, who investigated the executions of the Romanov family. After the Civil War in Russia he fled to the West.

The judicial service of the Duma stated that the restitution of these archives was not in violation to the law, concerning the exportation of cultural goods from the Russian Federation. The exchange was agreed upon by the Duma on August 30th, 1996. The archives were expected to reach Liechtenstein at the end of this year, but until now the exchange has not been carried out.

PARTS OF THE TREASURE OF THE HOUSE OF WETTIN FOUND

In October 1996 two treasure-hunters made a sensational discovery in Moritzburg (Saxony): valuable pieces from the legendary treasure of the House of Wettin. Obviously they were digged into the ground at the end of World War II. Some of the pieces belong the major works of European gold work. This is especially true for the precious goblet in form of a moor head, which was created by the goldsmith Wenzel Jamnitzer (1508-1585). Furthermore about 50 pieces of gold and silver work, 150 pieces of the silver of the House of Wettin dating from the end of the last century and a coin collection were discovered. The largest part of the treasure of the House of Wettin was found by the Soviet army after the war and was transported to the Soviet Union. It is known that today some of the pieces are in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

ITALY WANTS TO RETURN AN ANTIQUE STELE TO ETHIOPIA

The Italian government will give back to Ethiopia a valuable antique stele which was brought to Rome as war booty by Mussolini in 1937. The stele, known as obelisque of Axum, dates back to the 4th century and is 24 meters high. It is supposed to range among the outstanding examples of African stonemason art of its time. For the transport to Rome the stele was cut into three parts. Mussolini erected the stele in front of his Ministry of Africa. During the war in Abessinia in 1935/36 cultural treasures were taken by the Italians. Some of them were already returned shortly after the war. The Italian side is ready to give back the stele, but some technical questions concerning the possibilites of the transport still have to be clarified.

CONFERENCES IN KIEV AND MINSK POSTPONED

In the last issues under "Latest News" we announced two conferences to be held in Kiev, October 24th to 26th, and in Minsk, October 14th-15th. Both conferences had to be postponed due to organizational needs. The conference in Kiev took place on December 12th-13th, 1996 (see Special Reports). The conference in Minsk is postponed to 1997. A concrete date is not yet fixed.

CRIMINAL CHARGES CONCERNING QUEDLINBURG TREASURES DISMISSED

A federal judge in Texas has dismissed criminal charges against Jack Meador and Jane Meador Cook, the brother and sister of the US army lieutenant who stole the Quedlinburg Treasures at the end of World War II, and John S. Torigian, the Meador's former lawyer. The criminal indictment had alleged that Jack Meador, Jane Meador Cook and John S. Torigian illegally conspired to possess, transport and sell the two Quedlinburg manuscripts after learning from experts that they were stolen from the Quedlinburg church. The Meador family's efforts to sell the Quedlinburg Treasures - which included reliquaries and other medieval religious objects in addition to the two manuscripts - led to their discovery in 1990. The Quedlinburg Church purchased one of its own manuscripts back from the Meadors through intermediaries in 1990, however, after the identification of the family, the Church brought suit for the remaining objects and recovered them in a civil settlement with the family.

The criminal prosecution under US National Stolen Property Act was based on the Meador's alleged efforts to sell the manuscripts and under US law had to be brought within five years of the allegedly illegal activities. Federal prosecutors had obtained an order from the judge extending the time period for bringing charges so that investigators could obtain additional evidence from the Federal Republic of Germany. US prosecutors filed their criminal charges in January 1996, and the case had been scheduled to be tried last November. The trial was destinated to be closely-watched, given the remarkable nature of the case and its possible significance for the art maket, however, in October 1996, the judge decided that prosecutors had not filed their charges promptly enough after German officials completed their cooperation. Prosecutors argued that the time period for bringing the indictment had not run out because their investigation was continuing, but the judge has denied the prosecutors' request that he reconsider his decision. The US Department of Justice must now decide whether to pursue an appeal of the dismissal. The Meadors still face posssible fines from the US Internal Revenue Service for allegedly failing to pay inheritance taxes.

Thomas R. Kline, Lawyer,
Andrews & Kurth L.L.P., Washington D.C.1

1 The author, an attorney in private practice with the Washington, D.C. office of Andrews & Kurth, represented the Quedlinburg Church in its civil case against the Meadors to recover the treasures, but played no role in the criminal prosecution.