Mystery of missing RI paintings puzzles art world
By Amir Sidharta
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian art world was shocked by the news of the alleged theft of six paintings from Jakarta's National Museum. Even more shocking was the fact that at least two of the allegedly stolen paintings, A Nude (Metamorphosis) by Basoeki Abdullah and Portrait of a Dutch Governor Wearing the Willems Order by Raden Saleh, may have been included in the catalog of the upcoming Christie's auction in early October 1996.
A cartoon by GM Sudarta published in last Friday's Kompas showed a Christie's employee auctioning the Bronze elephant which symbolizes the National Museum, also popularly known as Gedung Gajah or "Elephant Building". It clearly implied that the 230- year-old auction house was in the business of auctioning off Indonesia's national treasures.
In fact, the alleged theft would have probably not been revealed if it were not for the publication of the auction catalog. Members of the Basoeki Abdullah estate recognized lot 319 in the catalog, A Nude, as Metamorphosis, one of the paintings that was in the custody of the National Museum. Meanwhile, lot 363 bore great resemblance to a painting reproduced in a catalog published by the Directorate of Culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture, in preparation for the National Art Gallery in 1988. The pictures in the catalog were almost identical. There was a green stain on the figure's trousers, and damage was seen in the same location on both reproductions. The only difference was that in the later publication (the Christie's catalog), to the right of the figure's face, the painting had been torn and poorly restored.
Although auction houses mainly facilitate the sale of artworks at the highest possible prices according to the market condition in a certain region, they also become centers of documentation. "That is why we need Christie's. It records much of the changing of hands in the world of art," said Sudarmadji Damais, head of the Jakarta History Museum at Taman Fatahilah after hearing about the alleged theft last week.
"Christie's often helps locate stolen art," someone in the field of art auctions explained. Perhaps it has in other parts of the world. But in this case, we can only hope that the paintings will be returned.
The reappearance of allegedly stolen Indonesian paintings in Christie's auction of Southeast Asian paintings has happened previously. One of Ida Bagus Made's 14 paintings, which was stolen a while ago, and a Basoeki Abdullah's from the collection of former president Sukarno were offered at the Christie's auction in March 1995. However, because of insufficient evidence, no investigation was pursued. Neither Ida Bagus Made nor Guruh Soekarnoputra, the youngest son of the late president Sukarno, filed police reports when the paintings were stolen or found missing. The inclusion of the painting in the album entitled Paintings in the Collection of President Sukarno, compiled by Dullah, apparently was not sufficient proof of theft. "It is Christie's policy not to reveal the identity of either the seller or the buyer of the artworks in their auctions," explained art writer Agus Dermawan, who is an avid observer of Indonesian auction trends. Therefore, the alleged theft could not be traced.
Whether or not Christie's can be required by law to reveal the identity of the seller in the case of the two paintings allegedly stolen from Indonesia's National Museum will depend on the laws in Singapore. Laws concerning stolen goods differ from country to country. According to a prominent Japanese art dealer, in Japan, when a stolen painting has been sold, it becomes the legal right of the buyer, and the original owners have to buy the painting back from the new owner. In other countries, legal ownership depends on whether the purchase was made before or after the official report of theft was reported to the police.
Time
At this point, we can only predict the time of the alleged theft and the characteristics of the alleged thief. It might be helpful to try to analyze the mystery. Considering that it takes at least three months before artworks can be included of artworks in a Christie's auction, Art observer Agus Dermawan T. estimates that the paintings were allegedly stolen before June.
Taking into account the fact that the estimated prices of the paintings were still quite reasonable, it seems that the paintings were probably stolen before the sale of Raden Saleh's Deer Hunt in late March of this year. If the alleged theft took place after the news of this landmark sale, the alleged thieves would certainly expect rather high prices, at least for the Raden Saleh, and therefore would have increased the expected reserve price in the auction.
Unfortunately, the reserves for the pieces remain confidential. However, it seems that the price of portrait still within reasonable limits and is therefore considered suitable for auction.
It seems that the theft also may have occurred after the publication of the Christie's catalog of the March auction. The catalog revealed the high estimate of the piece to parties interested in Indonesian art. High prices for Indonesian art may have seduced the alleged culprits to steal the Raden Saleh which they knew was in the neglected possession of the National Museum. It is also possible that the pieces were stolen even earlier, perhaps after the announcement of the auction of the Deer Hunt late last year or earlier this year. Profile
In terms of the profile of the alleged thief/thieves, we can almost be sure that the seller of the paintings was not involved in the alleged theft, unless he/she were completely naive. As this case has proven, the inclusion of stolen items in auctions tends to reveal cases of alleged theft.
It seems safe to say that the paintings have changed hands at least twice before the paintings reach the seller. We can assume that the alleged theft was masterminded by someone who had reasonable knowledge of art, and even knew that there was a Raden Saleh in the National Museum's collection placed in its storage area.
If there had been any indication of forced entry into the museum's storage space, the theft would have been revealed immediately. It is almost certain that no sign of forced entry to the storage facility was traced, because the theft which, based on reliable sources, happened at least three months ago, was only revealed two weeks ago. This suggests the involvement of insiders.
Worth
Basoeki Abudllah's A Nude has been estimated as being worth between S$8,000 to S$12,000. Was it worth stealing? If the piece was expected to sell at around Rp 20 million, then, minus commissions and other expenses, the seller would have bought it for Rp 12 million at most. Therefore, we can assume that the persons behind the alleged theft paid less than Rp 2.5 million for the job.
Then we can almost be sure that the six paintings were stolen as a lot, and later sold to the seller as a lot as well. The Raden Saleh is estimated between S$100,000 to S$150,000. If the painting were to be sold (which I doubt, because of its poor condition), I think it would only reach the low end of the estimate. At Rp 165 million, minus commissions and expenses, the seller would have bought it for around Rp 100 million. For this painting, the alleged culprits behind the theft may have paid Rp 20 million for the job. Coupled with the other paintings in the lot, the value of the job may have reached Rp 30 million. This amount would presumably be divided among two to three persons. Although the sum, averaging Rp 10 million, might not seem large, it is actually still quite substantial, considering the wages of government employees in this country.
If the involvement of insiders is revealed, then punishment is of course necessary. However, we should not treat the involved insiders as having sold national treasures, even though they are in the National Museum's collection. It should be taken into account that the paintings most likely had been neglected in the museum's storage space and treated as insignificant pieces.
Of more crucial importance is to reveal the masterminds of this alleged theft. It should be stressed that the masterminds have significant knowledge about art, including Indonesian art, and the existence of important paintings in certain collections in the government. They also seem to know that some key paintings are kept in storage spaces of certain museums, although cooperation with insiders may lead them to this kind of information. Certainly, there is possibility that it is the work of a syndicate, which may also be involved in other art crimes, including art forgery, which is also rapidly developing in the country.