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12th March 2011 contents News Tax review favours art and antiques


Sotheby’s enjoy second best year ever in 2010 Greek courts reduce and suspend Hay


London Selection – Coins & Medals Auction Reports Auction Previews Toys


Dealers’ Dossier BADA Feature Dealers’ Diary Art Market


Antiquarian Books International Events Fairs & Markets Trade Call Classified


Letters to the Editor The Back Page


Subscription form


Index of Auction Advertisers Auction Calendar


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Page 92-93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 94 Page 79


Page 79-87 news


Marchig vows to fight on in ‘Leonardo’ case


■ Consignor appeals against ruling on statute of limitations


Simon Hewitt reports


THE saga of the portrait sold by Christie’s in 1998 as ‘19th century German’, but now claimed as a long-lost work by Leonardo da Vinci, has taken a new turn following the dismissal of the complaint against Christie’s lodged by the work’s consignor.


On January 31, US District Judge John


G. Koetl ruled that the case could not be brought to court because the relevant statute of limitations had expired. Any accusation of breach of warranty


and fiduciary duty against Christie’s would have had to have been brought within three years of the 1998 sale, while any accusation of negligence would have to have come within six years – not the 12 years it took the work’s consignor, Jeanne Marchig, to act. The Geneva-based widow of artist


Giannino Marchig, who restored the portrait 50 years ago, Mrs Marchig reacted indignantly, saying: “I only learnt about the Leonardo attribution in 2009. How could I have exceeded the statutes of limitation?” She has since appealed against the


ruling on the grounds that the statute of limitations has not run, and that she is entitled to trial by jury to present the evidence in support of her case. The coloured chalk-on-vellum portrait


was bought at Christie’s in 1998 for $19,000 by New York dealer Kate Ganz, who sold it to Peter Silverman for around $21,000 in 2007. Since then a number of academics, led by Oxford University Professor Martin Kemp, have assigned it to Leonardo. It has been renamed La Bella Principessa and been valued by London dealership Simon Dickinson at £100m. Mme Marchig sued Christie’s for


damages in May 2010 after learning of the new attribution, citing “the misattribution of a drawing (which) sold far below its actual value, solely because of the defendant’s wilful refusal and failure to investigate plaintiffs’ believed attribution”.


Judge Koetl’s 12-page Memorandum


Opinion And Order ruled that “the plaintiffs’ breach of fiduciary duty claim is untimely, unless they can demonstrate a basis for tolling the statute of limitations”. Mme Marchig’s appeal will be filed on


March 25, with Christie’s due to respond on April 29 – before the case is heard by a three-judge panel, probably in May. Christie’s chairman Ed Dolman told


ATG that “We genuinely feel that we’ve got the right attribution, and we stand right by that. The fundamental issue for us is that we don’t believe this is a work by Leonardo”. As standard part of the appeals


procedure, a court hearing of both parties’ lawyers is slated for March 15, to consider a possible out-of-court settlement. Mme Marchig is understood to be


willing to meet Mr Dolman to discuss the matter personally, but Dolman says Christie’s “have no case to answer – unless we see new evidence”. Might that be forthcoming? ATG


understands that Professor Kemp has uncovered important new leads in his research about the book in which the vellum portrait is thought to have been originally bound. n Turn to page 95 for Simon


Hewitt’s Personal View on the dispute.


Cheere-less


THIS marble portrait bust of Ann Borrett, below, by the 18th century sculptor Henry Cheere was stolen from the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Shoreham, Kent at the end of January. It was


removed from the Borrett memorial together with the Church wheelchair that was used to carry it away. The bust is about 19½in (50cm) high by 15¾in (40cm) wide and is signed Henry Cheere to the plinth. If you have any information


please contact Maidstone Police on 01622 690690 quoting crime number BY/1397/11.


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