Christie's asked to return RI paintings

By K. Basrie

JAKARTA (JP): Art curators and relatives of two Indonesian masters who fear paintings allegedly stolen from the National Museum include two that have just been withdrawn by Christie's from its October auction in Singapore, want further action taken immediately.

They have called on the international auction house to hand over any paintings of dubious origin as it could be among the art stolen from the Indonesian government collection.

Contacted by The Jakarta Post yesterday, the people also suggested that the Indonesian government, through diplomatic ties and Interpol cooperation, should call on the Singaporean authorities to help smooth out the process.

They also hoped the related parties would trace the perpetrators of the alleged theft. They are thought to be a local syndicate.

"We're so happy reading the Post's report today that two of the allegedly stolen paintings are the ones that have been withdrawn by Christie's from its auction," independent art curator Jim Supangkat said.

But, he added quickly: "We really want our government and the police to make an immediate request to the Singaporean authorities in order to help us get the paintings back.

"And I strongly believe that Christie's will do their best to help us in order to improve their reputation."

Moreover, he said: "It's a criminal case in which all the parties involved should work hand in hand to solve."

The two oil paintings by Indonesian master Raden Basoeki Abdullah and legendary master Raden Sarief Bustaman Saleh, better-known as Raden Saleh, are believed to have been among at least six valuable paintings allegedly stolen from the National Museum on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta.

Shortly after a day-long meeting on Friday, Christie's International Singapore Pte. Ltd. announced that the two paintings, A Nude by Basoeki Abdullah and Portrait of a Dutch Governor Wearing the Willems Order by Raden Saleh, were withdrawn from its Oct. 6 auction.

Speaking by phone Friday, Trina Savage, an executive of Christie's Singapore, however, refused to explain the hasty withdrawal or the current whereabouts of the paintings.

Nataya Nareerat, widow of the late Basoeki Abdullah, shared Jim's view.

"I simply want the canvases returned to the original owner, that is to the Jakarta National Museum," she said.

"To do that, the Indonesian government as well as the police should approach Christie's and the Singaporean authorities immediately," said Nataya.

Wiwin Wardayatmo, Basoeki's former secretary, said that Christie's should be willing to return the paintings to Jakarta as soon as possible.

"The price of the paintings may be nothing to Christie's but the pieces mean a lot to the Indonesian people because there's only one Basoeki Abdullah and one Raden Saleh," she said.

"The masters never made two similar paintings, so please ... give us back our national property," begged Wiwin, who is now a painting curator.

According to the Christie's catalog prepared for the upcoming auction, A Nude is expected to be sold for between S$8,000 and S$12,000 while the price for Portrait of a Dutch Governor Wearing the Willems Order is between S$100,000 and $150,000.

The catalog describes A Nude as an undated painting and Raden Saleh's painting as being completed in 1867.

According to Wiwin, Basoeki's painting of the naked woman was completed in 1992, a year before the artist was murdered by young burglars.

Yesterday responsible parties in Jakarta remained tight-lipped about the affair.

Sources said that two of the other four paintings are believed to have been Basoeki's Bunga Mawar Kuning (Yellow Rose) and Janger (a Balinese classic dance).

According to Duto, Basoeki's assistant, A Nude was originally named Berganti Rupa (Changing Face) and should measure 120 cm X 80 cm, instead of 116.5 cm X 76.3 cm as described in the Christie's catalog.

A police source said that most of the six painting have been flown overseas while the suspects are still in this country.

Christie's announcement of the withdrawal might have disturbed the Indonesian and Singaporean police efforts to investigate the theft, the source added.

According to a preliminary plan, the local police in Singapore were going to seize the paintings soon after they were hung for viewing at the Hyatt Regency Singapore on Oct. 3, a reliable source here said.