Search for other seven paintings continues
JAKARTA (JP): Although five of the 12 Indonesian paintings allegedly stolen from the National Museum have been flown home, the government is still tracing the fate of the other seven paintings.
"Together with the police, we hope that we'll be able to find the other seven paintings, which are believed to have been stolen by the same culprits," Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro told The Jakarta Post last night.
Five of the seven still-missing paintings are by foreign artists and the remaining two by locals, including the master of portrait painting, Raden Basoeki Abdullah.
The first five are Jacqueline en Robe de Taffetas, by Albert Andre, Alerte Aerienne, by Charles Walch, La Maison on Briques, by Yves Fancheur, Village Provencal, by Raymond Moisset and an untitled painting by Paul Collomb.
All of these paintings were donated to the Indonesian government shortly after being displayed in an exhibition in Jakarta a few years ago.
The other two paintings are an untitled painting by Basoeki Abdullah and Mbah Irosentono, by Trubus Sudarsono.
According to Wardiman, six of the 12 paintings were discovered missing on Sept. 6, and the others just this week.
As of yesterday, none of the museum staff have been arrested by the police, although some of them have been constantly questioned. Wardiman said earlier that the thefts were believed to involve insiders.
According to Wardiman, all of the paintings were kept together with the other paintings, categorized as a national collection, at three different stores in the National Museum on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta.
The minister urged local and foreign collectors to be more careful in purchasing artworks from Indonesia.
"They should refuse to buy any works that do not have legitimate documentation," he said.
"It's imperative there be international rules of principles that buyers, possessing any cultural object, not be protected unless they can prove unquestionably the legitimacy of the objects in their possession," said Wardiman, who is also a painting collector.
As reported earlier, five of the 12 allegedly stolen paintings, which were listed in Christie's catalog for its Oct. 6 auction in Singapore, were presented as donations by the last owner, a Singaporean collector, to Indonesian envoys on Thursday evening.
Agreement
Wardiman said that according to an agreement reached between the delegates and the collector's lawyer, Indonesia will not sue the Singaporean.
"The lawyer said that his client had no idea the paintings he bought were those stolen from the Jakarta museum," said Wardiman.
A reliable source said that the Singaporean was the third person to owned the paintings after they were allegedly stolen from the museum.
The five paintings are A Nude by Basoeki Abdullah, Portrait of a Dutch Governor Wearing the Willems Order, by legendary master Raden Saleh, and three paintings by Affandi: Parang Tritis, Kawah Tangkuban Perahu, and Wadjah Diri dan Topeng.
"All of the five paintings are now being kept at the museum," said Wardiman.
Under the supervision of the Indonesian envoys led by Suwati Kartiwa, head of the National Museum, the five paintings were flown back to Jakarta on a Sempati flight, which arrived at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 10:35 p.m. Thursday, said the minister.
The return of the five paintings, which were automatically withdrawn from Christie's auction, was hailed by local painting enthusiasts as a remarkable success.
"I'm so happy with the news but I still can't understand why an international auction house failed to make an in-depth check on the authenticity of the paintings," tycoon Sudwikatmono. a serious painting collector, told the Post yesterday.
Art observer, Amir Sidharta, said: "It's good news for us but bad for the Singaporean collector, who finally had to donate the paintings to Indonesia." (bsr)