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January 29, 2020

30 art objects held in precautionary seizure at the Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts fair



Begun in 1956, BRAFA, the eight day Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts fair (Salone dell'Antiquariato e dell'Arte di Bruxelles) is Europe's most unashamedly eclectic art fair, covering artworks from antiquity to even a charity auction of five original segments of the Berlin Wall.  Kicking off Europe's annual art market sales, the event takes place inside the former Entrepôt Royale at the Thurn & Taxis railway depot which overlooks the industrial canal that links Brussels to the North Sea.  There it gathers together some 50 Belgian and 83 international galleries, showcasing more art than one can find in some fine museums around the globe, and attracting everyone from the curators of important museums to wealthy millionaires.


That said, despite the champagne, candelabras and exclusivity, the 65th edition has got off to a bumpy start.  Despite what some feel is a sufficiently strict vetting process, which is said to examine each work prior to the fair’s opening, relying on a panel of 100 independent experts, checks by the Art Loss Register, and a scientific laboratory specialising in the analysis of art objects, a number of artworks have raised concerns in the days leading up to the fair's opening.

A joint inspection operation, carried out by the Belgian Federal Public Service Economy ( French: SPF Économie, Dutch: FOD Economie), conducting routine controls to make sure that exhibitors fully respect all regulations according to the import, export and transit of goods revealed some objects of concern.  The inspectors attention is reported to have been focused on merchandise, intended for sale directly, or under consignment by various dealers listed in the Belgian news journal L'Echo.  

Following their preliminary inspection, authorities moved forward with what is known as a precautionary seizure, or the freezing of a traceable asset, for a total of thirty ancient artifacts and tribal art objects, on the basis that the objects were either of suspect authenticity or may be proven to have issues of concern regarding their provenance.

Speaking to journalists with the Belgian business newspaper, L'Echo, the deputy spokesperson of the FPS, Étienne Mignolet, confirmed that on January 27, the FPS Economy (Directorate General of Economic Inspection) carried out a routine check of some of the dealers participating at the BRAFA fair.  Mignolet, stated:


That review, in turn, resulted in the precautionary seizure of some works of art.  


In addition to the seizures, two merchants, from France and Mali, were taken into custody.   
Youtube Screen Capture:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XObAk1kDVp4

Other dealers exhibiting at BRAFA in previous years have undergone probes into allegations of art trafficking from current war zones.  In 2018 Jaume Bagot Peix, once hailed as the "child prodigy of ancient arts" and a regular dealer at BRAFA through his business J. Bagot Arqueología Ancient Art, was arrested by Spanish authorities on suspicion of jihadi terrorist financing through the sale of illicit antiquities, some of which he displayed at the Brussels-based fair.   Earlier, in 2016, the Wall Street Journal reported that Belgian customs authorities seized objects sent to Belgium for the BRAFA fair by Phoenix Ancient Art SA, cofounded by Hicham  and Ali Aboutaam.  The objects were two 4500-year-old bas-reliefs from Syria. Both cases are ongoing.


While it has been noted in the press by BRAFA administration that these types of controls are commonplace prior to the Fair,  the art fair organizers fully support the general goal of transparency and due diligence within the art art market and fully cooperates with the authorities in the common interest of insuring the best practices within legal art market.

Update 29 January 2020/18:50:  ARCA has received a Press Release from the BRAFA fair administration.  This document (in French) can be downloaded here and is translated into English below.  This release seems to indicate that several of the dealers mentioned in the L'Echo and other Belgian news article were not subject to seizures.   Please see that BRAFA press release in its entirety below.

-------------------

PRESS RELEASE - 29.01.2020
Official correction to the article published in L’Echo and relayed by other Belgian media this Wednesday 29 January 2020.
BRAFA confirms that a routine check was carried out by the SPF Economy this Monday, January 27 in the morning.
This is a usual procedure which, moreover, takes place regularly at the various trade fairs in Belgium and abroad. BRAFA has always collaborated with the various administrative services and maintains a completely transparent relationship with them.
Certain pieces were in fact the subject of a simple conservatory seizure pending further information.
It is important to note that none of the items seized were on display on the BRAFA. Following the internal appraisal procedure, these objects were stored in a reserve closed to the public and exhibitors throughout the duration of the show. This procedure for admitting objects is in force at all international fairs and is based both on an examination of authenticity and on the guarantee of its provenance, but also on its intrinsic artistic quality.
BRAFA deplores the publication of names of galleries which are not involved in the current checks (Aaron, Desmet, Cybèle, De Jonckheere), as well as the use of illustrations from other galleries completely foreign to the subject of the article. BRAFA regrets the negative image and the confusion that can arise from the publication of erroneous information, being normal and routine procedures, which has been going on for many years.
BRAFA - Brussels Art Fair - 26/01 → 02/02/2020Tour & Taxis, Avenue du Port 88 - 1000 Brusselswww.brafa.artAlso follow BRAFA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.Press contact Belgium and international coordinationBruno Nélis - b.nelis@brafa.be - Tel +32 (0) 2 513 48 31 - GSM +32 (0) 476 399 579

February 16, 2011

St. Louis Art Museum Sues the United States to Preclude a Forfeiture

The Ka-Nefer-Nefer Mask, acquired in 1998
 by the St. Louis Art Museum
The St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM) has sued the federal government to preclude it from initiating a forfeiture claim against the Ka-Nefer-Nefer mask. The museum was approached in January by several U.S. attorneys in January, who indicated an intention to bring a forfeiture action against the mask. Civil forfeiture was the legal mechanism under which the Portrait of Wally litigation and subsequent settlement emerged. It is a powerful tool for claimants, which uses the resources of the federal government, and a favorable burden of proof, to pursue claims for objects which may have been looted or stolen.

But in this case, rather than waiting for the forfeiture action, the museum has decided to try to preclude a suit by the U.S. attorneys, arguing that from December-January of 2005-06, the U.S. was a party to several communications regarding questions with respect to the history of the mask. They use as examples, posts and emails sent by Ton Cremers, of the Museum Security Network. He sent at least two emails to Bonnie Magness-Gardiner of the FBI, INTERPOL, as well as James McAndrew at Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Museum's complaint quotes emails from Cremers, which were published on the Museum Security Network:
  1. “So I should think that if the Egyptian Government lodged a complaint or request with the USA Government and the FBI Crime Team (to which I am copying this), then the Museum would be obliged to answer the questions.”
  2. “The FBI is just waiting for Egypt to file a complaint. A [sic] soon as Egypt files a complaint [sic] the FBI is expected to act.”
  3. “Maarten Raven, a Dutch archaeologist, saw the mask in the Saqqara and is VERY positive that the mask in the SLAM [Museum] is the same as . . .the one stolen in Saqqara . . . .
The SLAM argues in the complaint that the relevant U.S. government officials had knowledge of the potential claim over five years ago, and the five-year statute of limitations period has expired under 19 U.S.C. § 1621. A court will decide whether these emails, and queries the Museum sent to INTERPOL in the 1990's about the mask are sufficient to have given the U.S. government actual or constructive knowledge of the potential claim. The Museum seeks a declaratory judgment under the Tariff Act that the action is barred by the statute of limitations.

February 7, 2015

Sir, how much is that (2nd Century B.C.E.) Vase in the Window? Part I

2015 has barely started and antiquities traffickers have begun making headlines in multiple countries.  In this three part series, ARCA will explore three current trafficking cases in detail to underscore that the ownership and commodification of the past continues. 

Part I - Operation Aureus - Bulgaria's Blues

On January 30th the State Agency for National Security (DANS) in Bulgaria reported that it had conducted two significant trafficking investigations into illegally circulated ancient and medieval objects and coins.  The two-month long probe started November 26, 2014 and ran until January 26, 2015 during which time DANS officers conducted thirty-six searches in eleven cities seizing a total of 2,289 objects protected by Bulgaria’s Cultural Heritage Act.  The Act encompasses intangible and tangible immovable and movable heritage as an aggregate of cultural values which bear historical memory and national identity and have their own academic or cultural value.   SANS reported that they detained several individuals for their participation in an organized criminal group trafficking in antiquities but their names have not been currently been released to the public, citing the ongoing nature of the ongoing investigation.

Google Maps Looters

Google Maps Looters
From an ancient world perspective, Bulgaria has some of the richest archaeological sites in Europe.  From an economic perspective, regions such as Severozapaden, have some of the lowest-ranked economies in Bulgaria and the European Union.  That makes archaeologically rich areas, like Ratiaria, which is located on the Danube River, near the modern-day city of Archar, in the Vidin District of Northwest Bulgaria particularly vulnerable.  With unemployment high and limited work possibilities since the fall of Communism, it's not surprising that subsistence looters have treated the site as their own personal Automatic Antiquities Machine.  The territory has been so heavily looted in the past twenty years that even a Google Street View car managed to snap shots of a local looting crew while mapping area roads.

Working with shovels and metal detectors, looters generally make little, often passing their finds on to local middlemen dealers, like this one arrested in Ruptsi, Bulgaria in 2011. Hiding in plain sight,  the businessman was known among the locals and among treasure hunters as an active dealer in cultural goods in the region and was brazen enough to keep a storage of heavier items in his garden.

Where There are Looters there are Buyers and Not all Roads Lead to Rome

While the number of items seized in this 2015 Bulgarian investigation is distressingly large, the types of objects confiscated are all too familiar to art police whose investigative work revolves around combating heritage looting and smuggling.  To those who examine heritage trafficking in search of patterns, there are also a few interesting points to consider.

The Bulgarian investigators seized everything from pottery and figurines, bronze and precious metal, jewellery of all types, ancient and medieval seals, religious crosses and icons, pieces of marble, and even Thracian weapons and horse-riding decorations. The objects have common denominators: they were, for the most part, easy to traffic because of their small size and they were the types of objects buyers willingly purchase, and with increasing frequency via online auction sites. 

Whether or not these items were destined for sites similar to eBay would be a hypothesis that hasn't be proven, but what we can underscore is that there is an ongoing supply market furnishing ancient objects for online transactions.  Platforms like eBay, with millions of auctions annually, are difficult for law enforcement to police, but easy sites for traffickers to navigate to connect with potential buyers internationally. The seller can be relatively anonymous and as their ratings are built on successful sales with satisfied customers, shady dealers can add or drop seller profiles to masquerade as being ethically legitimate.

Who is their preferred buyer?  

The individual who is willing to purchase heritage objects from anonymous suppliers.  The novice collector or aficionado who is not worried about owning objects which might turn out to be fake or might not have a pristine collection history that explains the context of the item, where it has originated from or who has been its custodian up until the point of sale.  For the purpose of this article, ARCA has highlighted three current online auctions with similar Bulgarian items to those seized during the Aureus investigation.

Auction I lists a purported 9th century BC Ancient Bronze Thracian Fibula. The object was being offered by a seller in Bulgaria but listed nothing in the way of collection history as was absent in most of the auctions we viewed.  Provenance isn't something auction participants seem to require in order to consider an item attractive for purchase.

Auction II claims to be of a rare iron Thracian battle weapon, CIRCA IV-Ic. B.C. This auctioneer is reportedly UK-based, applying a layer of legitimacy, but the item's auction detail states the object will be shipped to the buyer "from Eastern Europe".  Again there is no collection history and the buyer is far removed from the trafficker.
Auction III lists an object on sale described as an Ancient Thracian Honrseman Bronze Figure. This auction item has purportedly travelled a long way and is now being sold by a Canadian antique trader, again without benefit of a collection history indicating how it made its way to North America. The seller does not appear to be a novice and states he has been in the trading business since 1970.

Interesting Observations

During the Bulgarian DANS investigation law enforcement officers also seized metal detectors and specific geophysical detecting instruments used to determination of the exact position and depth of objects while still in the ground thus showing that these devices are not used exclusively by law-abiding recreationists willing to abide by established laws.

Like with Italy's Gianfranco Becchina case, officers confiscated binders with multiple photos, auction house catalogs and invoices indicating that the scale of items being sold was a fluid enterprise level operation and not a casual one-off sale. 

Landscapes of looted terrain in Bulgaria have a similar moonscape pattern to those we have seen repeatedly in satellite imagery in Syria and Iraq.  This should be highlighted as proof that large-scale antiquities looting is not solely a funding source for criminal groups such as ISIS in conflict zones but also a source for revenue streams in economically challenging areas with a high rate of under or unemployment.  In this Google Street View image one can see an example of the looting pits that cover large swaths of Bulgaria terrain as well as a brazen group of looters working in broad daylight as an organized team.
 
In addition to searching workshops, DANS agents undertook an evaluation of Bulgaria's largest private museum in search of irregularities. The businessman who owns this vast collection was listed in law enforcement press releases using his initials, "VB".   The Bulgarian press has indicated that the initials represent millionaire Vasil Bozhkov who is known to have a vast collection of Roman, Greek and Thracian works of art and whose coin collection is listed as one of the most extensive in the country. Bozhkov is also the founder of The Thrace Foundation an organization active in heritage-based events.

Previously, in January 2009, Petar Kostadinov published an article reporting that Vasil Bozhkov and Bulgarian prosecutor Kamen Mihov were alleged to have been involved in government-level corruption plot devised to prevent the extradition of international art dealer Ali Abou’Taam to Egypt on antiquities trafficking charges.

The allegations presented in the newspaper article cited an email published by Dutch private art investigator Arthur Brand to the Museum Security Network mailing list.  A representative of Phoenix Ancient Art replied to David Gill's Looting Matters blog with this letter relating to the detention of Ali Aboutaam in Sofia.  No mention of Mr. Bozhkov's relationship with the art dealer was made.

Eight months later, a diplomatic cable from the US Embassy in Sofia, dated September 11, 2009, released first via WikiLeaks and later republished by the Sofia News Agency Novelite indicated that Bozhkov has been long suspected of having ties to organized crime.

On January 14, 2015, the US ambassador to Bulgaria Marcie B. Ries and Bulgaria’s Culture Minister Petar Stoyanovich signed a memorandum of understanding at the National History Museum in Boyana on the outskirts of Sofia.  This US/Bulgarian MOU calls for the protection of cultural heritage and is designed to prevent the illicit trade of Bulgarian cultural heritage items into the United States and to allow the return of said items to Bulgaria of any such item confiscated. 

ARCA will continue to follow this case as details on the investigation are released.

By Lynda Albertson, ARCA











(Photos: dans.bg)
References Used in this Article

http://www.all-sa.com/GaleriasCataluna.html

http://html.ancientegyptonline.org/spain-recovers-egyptian-artifacts-in-smuggling-ring/

http://archaeology.archbg.net/

http://www.elmundo.es/cultura/2015/01/28/54c8d1f5e2704e4e0c8b457f.html

https://www.europol.europa.eu/content/european-police-arrest-35-and-recover-thousands-stolen-cultural-artefacts

https://frognews.bg/news_85185/DANS-pogna-V-B-proveriavat-antichnata-mu-kolektsiia/

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Colonia+Ulpia+Ratiaria/@43.5557251,24.675708,9z

http://www.guardiacivil.es/ca/prensa/noticias/5219.html

http://www.lavanguardia.com/sucesos/20150128/54425193062/desmantelada-banda-arte-egipcio-ilegal.html

http://lootingmatters.blogspot.it/2009/01/sofia-detention-comment-from-phoenix.html

http://m.novinite.com/articles/162960/Bulgaria+Busts+Int%27l+Antiquities+Trafficking+Ring

http://www.novinite.com/articles/130391/WikiLeaks%3A+US+CDA+Report+on+Top+Bulgarian+Criminals#sthash.1qrWNiES.dpuf

http://www.museum-security.org/2009/01/bulgarian-prosecutor-kamen-mihov-and-bulgarian-millionaire-and-art-collector-vassil-bozhkov-were-alleged-to-have-been-involved-in-an-elaborate-scheme-to-let-international-art-dealer-ali-aboutaam-esc/

http://www.museum-security.org/2009/01/press-release-the-continuing-story-about-art-dealer-ali-abou%E2%80%99taam-can-justice-be-bought-in-bulgaria/

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/264380100_Pegman_caught_looters_in_the_act!_How_digital_media_can_help_raising_awareness_of_looting_and_destruction_of_archaeological_sites._The_example_of_Ratiaria._The_European_Archaeologist._Issue_41_Summer_2014_25-27

http://sofiaecho.com/2009/01/21/666138_bulgarian-prosecutor-art-collector-conspired-to-free-controversial-art-dealer-journalist-alleges

http://sofiaglobe.com/2015/01/30/bulgaria-busts-international-antiquities-trafficking-ring/

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/archaeology-in-crisis-bulgaria-plagued-by-grave-robbers-a-524976.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay

October 14, 2023

Exploring Michael Ward and some peppered-about, possibly-problematic, pieces which might have provenance problems

While there are numerous artefacts which passed through Michael L. Ward's variously named galleries which may be worth further exploration,  here is a growing list of classical world artefacts ARCA has documented (so far) as perhaps needing a closer review by their various holders.   There may be others, and we will add what we find to this posting but these are the art and artefacts we have documented so far with readily available digital footprints.  
Some have been restituted. Others, identified at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Michael C. Carlos Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Johnson Museum of Art, at Cornell University, the Museum of Fine Art's - Boston, the Princeton University Art Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Walters Art Museum and the British Museum should probably be given a closer inspection and provenance review. 

Note that this dealer also sold African and Tribal Art which is not documented within this first round-up. 

7 January 1964
A gang of thieves, break into the Museo archeologico Oliveriano di Pesaro and make off with multiple objects, one of which is this Etruscan statuette of Hercules from the 6th to the 5th century BCE. 

19 December 1979
David Meadows identified this 300 BCE Thracian round Silver Plaque is purchased by the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston and is given Object Number: 1979.620

The provenance is listed as:
1979, sold by Michael L. Ward (dealer), Brooklyn Heights, NY to the MFA. 

19 December 1979
David Meadows identified this 300 BCE Thracian round Silver Plaque is purchased by the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston and is given Object Number: 1979.621

The provenance is listed as:
1979, sold by Michael L. Ward (dealer), Brooklyn Heights, NY to the MFA. 

1981
This c. 1600 CE Corpus for Crucifix from the studio of Antonio Susini, after Giambologna is gifted to the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: y1981.42

The provenance is listed as:
Michael Ward, New York; purchase by Henry Berg; 1981 gift to Princeton University Art Museum.
                                                                         
1986 
Michael Ward sells a silver applique head of a satyr, a half-human companion of Dionysos to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1986 which is later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 and given Object Number: 96.AM.157.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1986 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1987
Dr. David Gill identified this ca. 200–150 BCE South Italian, Campanian Fragment of a lamp-filler in the form of a comic actor's mask sold by Michael Ward to the Princeton University Art Museum and given Object Number: y1987-69

No provenance details prior to Michael Ward are listed for this artefact within the Princeton University Art Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1987
Michael Ward sells a silver 4th century BCE Greek Bowl to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1987 which is later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 and given Object Number: 96.AM.89.1.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1987 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1987

Michael Ward sells a silver 4th century BCE Oinochoe to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1987 which is later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 and given Object Number: 96.AM.89.2.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1987 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1987
Michael Ward sells a silver 4th century BCE Ladle to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1987 which is later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 and given Object Number: 96.AM.89.3.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1987 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1987
Michael Ward sells a silver 4th century BCE strainer to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1987 which is later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 and given Object Number: 96.AM.89.4.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1987 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1987
Michael Ward sells a 150-250 CE Roman Statuette of the Lar/Genius of Aurelius Valerius and Base to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1987 which is later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 and given Object Number: 96.AB.200.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1987 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1987
Michael Ward sells a 3rd century CE Roman gold with amethyst necklace to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1987 which is later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 and given Object Number: 96.AM.208.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1987 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1988
Michael Ward sells a 480 to 460 BCE Statuette of a Satyr to the J. Paul Getty Museum which is given Object Number: 88.AB.72

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1988 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object.

1989
Dr. David Gill identified this 5th century bronze Steelyard Weight sold to the Walters Art Museum and given Object Number: y1987-69


The provenance is listed as:
Michael Ward, New York, ca. 1977, by purchase; L. Alexander Wolfe, Jerusalem [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Sale, Frank Sternberg, Zurich, November 20, 1989, no. 423; Walters Art Museum, 1989, by purchase.

1989
This 5th century BCE Greco-Persian Intaglio seal with Artemis and deer, is purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum from Michael Ward and is given Object Number: y1989-72

The provenance is listed as:
Michael Ward, New York

1989
This 5th century BCE Greek plain black Attic Mastos cup, is purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum from Michael Ward and is given Object Number: y1989-72

The provenance is listed as:
Michael Ward, New York

1989
Dr. David Gill identified this 1st century BCE –1st century CE Lead-glazed cup with relief decoration purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum and given Object Number: y1989-73

The provenance is listed as:
Michael Ward, New York

1989
This Late 2nd century CE Roman, British or Gallo-Belgic Parisian ware beaker is purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: y1989-74

The provenance is listed as:
Michael Ward, New York

1989
This 2nd century CE Roman Balsamarium in the form of three conjoined heads is purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: y1989-75

The provenance is listed as:
Said to have been found in Sirmium, Yugoslavia; Purchased from Michael Ward, New York.

1989
Michael Ward sells a Greek bronze 500 BCE Handle of a Vessel to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1989 which is later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 and given Object Number: 96.AC.79.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1989 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1989
Michael Ward sells a Greek-South Italian bronze 550 BCE Side Handle of a Hydria previously with Mathias Komor to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1989 which is later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 and given Object Number: 96.AC.107.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1989 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1990
Michael Ward sells three Greek 550–525 BCE bronze statuettes of Banqueters to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1990 which are later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 and given Object Number: 96.AC.77.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1990 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1990
Michael Ward sells a Greek 550 BCE bronze Statuette of a Rider to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1990 which is later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 and given  Object Number: 96.AB.45.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1987 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1991
Michael Ward sold a late 4th-3rd Century BCE Gold Olive Wreath to the Michael C Carlos Museum.  Object Number 1991.014

The provenance is listed as:
Ex private collection, Europe, assembled prior to early 1980s. European art market. Ex private collection, London, England, from ca. 1984-1985. Purchased by Emory University Museum of Art and Archaeology from Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, Inc.], New York, New York.

1992
Michael Ward sells a 325 BCE Greek Side Panel of a Grave Naiskos with the Relief of a Young Hunter to Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman in 1992 which is later donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996 Object Number: 96.AA.248.

No provenance history, prior to the Michael Ward 1992 sale, is listed for this artefact within the Getty Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1992
Michael Ward contacts the Greek Culture Ministry and shares photographs and measurements of a grouping of golden Mycenaean jewellery from the 15th century BCE, hereinafter referred to as the Aidonia Treasure, which he was considering before purchase in Early 1992.  When placed on the market a length battle begins when it is determined that these pieces were plundered in 1978 from a Mycenaean cemetery at Aidonia, near Nemea, in southern Greece.  The parties eventually settle out of court.

The objects include necklaces with lilies, large cusped rosettes from a belt, decorated gold rings, sealstones, beads, and other stylized jewellery and ornaments totalling about 50 pieces

1992
This late 2nd century CE Roman Bronze Balsamarium in the form of a hunchback, adapted for use as a steelyard weight, is purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum from Michael Ward and is given Object Number: y1992-6

The provenance is listed as:
Purchased from Michael Ward, New York, in 1992.

1992
This 712-305 Bronze Egyptian Woman with Barrel-Shaped Drum is gifted by Michael Ward to the Brooklyn Museum and is given Object Number: 1992.169

No provenance details are listed for this artefact within the Brooklyn Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

1993
Dr. David Gill identified this c. 1500 BCE Large Romania, possibly Cirna, Middle Bronze Age earthenware Bowl, donated by Michael Ward in honour of Evan H. Turner to the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Accession No. 1993.229 

No provenance details are listed for this artefact within the Clevelend Museum of Art's digital accession record for this object. 

1993
Michael Ward donates a Greek Corinthian mid 6th century BCE Couchant lion to the Princeton University Art Museum. 
Object No: y1993-42

No provenance details are listed for this artefact within the Princeton University Art Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

Mid to Late 1990s

Lot 3: 'a Greek silver-gilt repoussé plaque'. 'circa 540-525 BCE'. 'With winged Nike in a frontal chariot with facing quadriga, each pair of horses with heads turned to opposing sides, with finely incised details, bound lotus filling motifs, pierced around the edge for attachment, from an arm-guard'. 6.8 cm high. Unsold.

Lot 5: 'a Greek bronze goat'. 'circa 5405 BCE'. 'From a vessel lid or rim, the goat recumbent with head turned to the right, with short pointed beard and upturned tail, finely incised details, the underside with lead infill, horns partially missing'. 7.6 cm high. Sold for 9,000 GBP.

Lot 14: 'A Geometric Greek Bronze Seated Male Figure'. 'circa 750-700 BCE'. 'Seated on a stool with elbows resting on his knees and left hand to chin, with long instrument in right hand, finely detailed with striated fringe of hair at back of head and eyes rendered with depressed circles, on integral square seal base with four triangular divisions on underside, on wood mount'. 63 cm high. Sold for 28,800 GBP.

Lot 18: 'Three Laconian bronze helmeted warriors'. '6th century BCE'. 'Each animated nude standing figure standing with right arm outstretched to the side and left arm raised, with fists clenched, wearing tall crested helmet'. 6.4 cm high (max). Sold for 30,000 GBP.
 
1995  
Betsy Alley identified this 2nd century Roman Empire Lynx Head gifted to Cornell University in 1994 and given Accession No. 95.030

The provenance is listed as:
Michael L. Ward, Inc., New York, NY; before 1994, David B. Simpson; 1995, collect(…)
     
1996
Dr. David Gill identified this c. 1200 CE Cauldron Ornament donated by Michael Ward in honour of Arielle P. Kozloff  to the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Accession No. 1996.312 

There is no provenance listed for this artefact. 

1996
David Meadows identified a pair of late 2nd–early 3rd century CE Roman earrings at the Dallas Museum of Art purchased via a museum credit line along with a gift of Stark and Michael Ward in honor of Virginia Nick and Anne Bromberg.  The pair are given Object Numbers: 1996.35.A-B

There is no provenance listed for this jewellery grouping. 

1997
Dr. David Gill identified this 2nd–1st century BCE Hellenistic Red Slip Bowl gifted by Lawrence A. and Barbara Fleischman in honour of Michael Padgett to the Princeton University Art Museum and given Object Number: 1997-1

The provenance is listed as:
Owned by a succession of dealers (C. Ede, H. Humbel, B. Aitken, M. Ward) before acquired by Fleischman; given to the Museum in 1997

1997
This early Byzantine vertical dial was purchased by the British Museum from Ward & Company Works of Art and assigned the Object No: 1997,0303.1

The provenance is listed as: 
Previous owner/ex-collection: Kummer
 
1997
The Judy and Michael Steinhardt Foundation donates a 12th century Byzantine Disk, possibly a pilgrimage token to the Princeton University Art Museum. Object No: 1997-34

The provenance is listed as: 
Museum purchase in 1997 from Ward & Company, Works of Art, Inc., gift of the Judy and Michael Steinhardt Foundation

October 1997
Michael Ward reports in the New York Times that he nearly sold out his booth to new customers, American and European at the International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show.  Three of the objects mentioned at his booth are a mosaic sold to a museum, a fifth-century BCE Greek marble grave stele for $650,000 that depicts a man walking with a staff, and a $125,000 circa 800 BCE Egyptian bronze of Osiris. 

1998
This 8-9th century CE bronze finger Ring is gifted to the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: 1998-336

The provenance is listed as:
Geber, Budapest. Michael Ward, NY; purchase by John B. Elliott; bequest to Princeton University Art Museum.

1998
This 9-10th century CE Anglo Saxon bronze Applique in the form of a lion is purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum from Michael Ward and is given Object Number: 1998-343

The provenance is listed as:
Michael Ward, New York; purchase by John B. Elliott; bequest to Princeton University Art Museum

1998
This 8-9th century CE Avar culture pair of Strap ends is gifted to the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: 1998-360a and b

The provenance is listed as:
Geber, Budapest. Michael Ward, NY; purchased by John B. Elliott; 1998 bequest to Princeton University Art Museum.

1998
This 8-9th century CE Avar culture pair of Strap ends is gifted to the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: 1998-361a and b

The provenance is listed as:
Geber, Budapest. Michael Ward, NY; purchased by John B. Elliott; 1998 bequest to Princeton University Art Museum.

1998
This 8-9th century CE Avar culture pair of Strap ends is gifted to the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: 1998-362a and b

The provenance is listed as:
Geber, Budapest. Michael Ward, NY; purchased by John B. Elliott; 1998 bequest to Princeton University Art Museum.

1998
This 8-9th century CE Avar culture Strap end is gifted to the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: 1998-363

The provenance is listed as:
Geber, Budapest. Michael Ward, NY; purchased by John B. Elliott; 1998 bequest to Princeton University Art Museum.

1998
This 8-9th century CE Avar culture Strap end is gifted to the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: 1998-364

The provenance is listed as:
Geber, Budapest. Michael Ward, NY; purchased by John B. Elliott; 1998 bequest to Princeton University Art Museum.

1998
This 8-9th century CE Avar culture Strap end is gifted to the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: 1998-365

The provenance is listed as:
Geber, Budapest. Michael Ward, NY; purchased by John B. Elliott; 1998 bequest to Princeton University Art Museum.

1998
This 19-20th century CE brass Ekonda anklet is gifted to the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: 1998-640

The provenance is listed as:
[Michael Ward, Inc., New York, NY]; John B. Elliott, New York, NY by 1989; Princeton University Art Museum, 1998

1998
This 12-17th century CE Djenné copper bracelet is gifted to the Princeton University Art Museum and is given Object Number: 1998-643

The provenance is listed as:
[Michael Ward, Inc., New York, NY]; John B. Elliott, New York, NY by 1989; Princeton University Art Museum, 1998

1999 through 2022
According to the Michael L. Ward Criminal Complaint, from 1999 through 2022, Eugene Alexander had a money laundering scheme in which he sold looted antiquities to European and American collectors.  

In an open source  6 September 2023 stipulation Michael Ward affirmed that he would plead guilty to Criminal Facilitation in the Fourth Degree (N.Y. Penal Law §115.00[1]), a class A misdemeanor, and as part of his plea agreement he voluntarily agreed to surrender (40) additional antiquities, or others that he or DANY identified in his possession that were sold, consigned, or previously possessed by Eugene Alexander; and that he will cooperate truthfully and fully with DANY and, if requested by DANY and with DANY's coordination, he will assist Italy and Germany in their investigation and prosecution of Eugene Alexander.

In return, the Manhattan authorities affirmed:
    • they will not pursue any additional charges or arrests of Michael Ward for any crimes arising from his antiquities dealings or business transactions with Eugene Alexander;
    • that Michael Ward will not be prosecuted in Italy for any crimes arising from his antiquities dealings or business transactions with Eugene Alexander; 
    • that no evidence developed by DANY or provided by Michael Ward to DANY will be used for any prosecution in Germany or any other country; 
    • and that, although Michael Ward's antiquities dealing and business transactions with Eugene Alexander will be described in any charging documents of Eugene Alexander, Michael Ward will not be named as a co-conspirator.
1999
Michael Ward sold a ca. 480-470 BCE Red-Figure Calyx Krater with Apollo and Artemis Offering Libations to the Michael C Carlos Museum.  Object Number 1999.011.002

The provenance is listed as:
Ex coll. Jonathan Kagan, New York, New York. Ex coll. Damon Mezzacappa (ca. 1936-2015), New York, New York. Purchased by MCCM from Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, Inc.], New York, New York.

1999
Michael Ward sells a 4th century BCE Votive Relief with Banquet Scene to the Michael C Carlos Museum. Object Number 1999.011.003

The provenance is listed as:
With Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, Inc.], New York, New York, from ca. 1996. Purchased by MCCM from Ward.

1999
Michael Ward sells a 1-2nd century CE Roman Statue of Mercury to the Michael C Carlos Museum. Object Number 1999.011.005

The provenance is listed as:
Ex coll. Tempelberg Foundation, Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Purchased by MCCM from Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, Inc.], New York, New York.

2000
Michael Ward sold a 440-430 BCE Chous with Maenad and Baby Satyr to the Michael C Carlos Museum.  Object Number 2000.001.001

The provenance is listed as:
With Galerie Blondeel-Deroyan, Paris, France, November 1999. Purchased by MCCM from Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, Inc.], New York, New York.

2000
Michael Ward sells a 6th century BCE Votive Statuette of an Enthroned Athena to the Michael C Carlos Museum. Object Number 2000.006.003.

The provenance is listed as:
Purchased by MCCM from Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, Inc.], New York, New York.

2000
Michael Ward sells one diadem, two 1200 - 800 CCE Bronze brooches with Spirals,  and one axe blade pendant to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Accession Number: 2000.281.1 lists the provenance as:
Ward & Company Works of Art (American), New York (sold 2000)

Accession Number: 2000.281.2 lists the provenance as:
Charles Ede Limited Antiquities, London (1999)]; [ Ward & Company Works of Art (American), New York (sold 2000).

Accession Number: 2000.281.3  lists the provenance as:
Ward & Company Works of Art (American), New York (sold 1989)

Accession Number: 2000.281.4  lists the provenance as:
Ward & Company Works of Art (American), New York (sold 2000)

1 January 2000
The Art Newspaper published an ancient art market survey with dealers responses to the question of how many clients do you have who spend more than $50,000 per artefact.

Michael Ward replied that he has seen his client base in this price range and higher as doubling in number over the past five years. He counts forty clients in this price bracket.

2001
Michael Ward gifts an 8th century BCE Bird Pendant to the Michael C Carlos Museum. Object Number 2001.029.002.

The provenance is listed as: 
With Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, Inc.], New York, New York, from at least August 1997.

2001
Michael Ward gifts a 7th Century BCE Male Orant to the Michael C Carlos Museum. Object Number 2001.029.001.

The provenance is listed as:
With Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, Inc.], New York, New York, from at least May 1999.
2002
This 530 BCE Greek Hoof, possibly from a centaur statuette is gifted by Michael Ward to the Princeton University Art Museum from Michael Ward and is given Object Number: 2002.283

No provenance details are listed for this artefact within the Princeton University Art Museum's digital accession record for this object. 

2002
This 7th century BCE Greek Double-sided seal with centaur and two men is purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum from Michael Ward and is given Object Number: 2002.284

The provenance is listed as:
Purchased from Michael Ward, NY, in 2002.

2002
Dietrich von Bothmer gifts a 480 BCE Red-Figure Amphora Neck Fragment with a Fight to the Michael C Carlos Museum. Object Number 2002.043.026.

The provenance is listed as:
With Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, Inc.], New York, New York, from at least May 1999.

2003
Michael Ward sells a 350 to 325 BCE Seated Figure From a Grave Naiskos to the Michael C Carlos Museum. Object Number 2003.005.001

The provenance is listed as: 
With Gianfranco Becchina, Basel Switzerland. Purchased by MCCM from Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Fine Art, Inc.], New York, New York.

2003
Michael Ward gifts a 3200-2700 BCE early Cycladic Faceted Core to the Michael C Carlos Museum. Object Number 2003.025.001

The provenance is listed as: 
Ex coll. K.John Hewett (1919-1994), England. Ex coll. Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, acquired from Hewett, London, England, by 1989. Loaned to San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas (L.89.1.15). Gifted to MCCM by Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, Inc.], New York, New York.

10 December 2004
A late first century BCE Roman parcel gilt silver Skyphos decorated with a Nilotic scene, some areas raised in relief, with one side centered by a grotesque man teasing a crocodile is consigned to Christie's and sells for $623,500. 

The provenance is listed as:
London Art Market, mid 1990s.
with Ward & Company Works of Art, New York, 2000.

2005
Michael and Stark Ward gift a Greek 6th Century BCE bronze Bronze handle of a patera (shallow basin) in the form of a youth to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accession Number: 2005.457.

No provenance details are listed for this artefact within the Metropolitan Museum of Art's digital accession record for this object. 

2005
Dr. David Gill identified this mid–4th century BCE Black-glazed calyx-cup gifted to  the Princeton University Art Museum and given Object Number: 2005-113

The provenance is listed as:
Acquired by Andrés Mata at Christie's, New York, December 10, 2004, lot 485. The consignor was Ward & Company, New York, which had acquired it from James Ede, London, who in turn had purchased it from Michael Petropoulos, Zürich, on November 13, 1999; given to the Museum in 2005

2005
Michael Ward sells a 1st century CE Roman Head of Nike to the Michael C Carlos Museum. Object Number 2005.083.001

The provenance is listed as:
Ex coll. Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, LLC], New York, New York, purchased July 1999.


2005 
According to the Michael Steinhardt Statement of Facts document, Michael Ward sold a red-figure calyx krater, dated to the fourth century BCE to the Dallas Museum of Art stating that the vase had come from a “Swiss private collection”—the vase had actually been looted by Becchina and smuggled to Becchina’s gallery in Basel.



2007
Michael Ward sells a 2305-2152 BCE Egyptian Relief of a Funerary Ceremony to the Michael C Carlos Museum. Object Number 2007.009.001

The provenance is listed as: 
Ex coll. Dr. Henry R. Hope (1905-1989), United States, acquired 1950s. Thence by descent. Purchased by MCCM from Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, LLC], New York, New York.

By March 2010
The Krater of Koreshnica, photographed here on Flickr in 20016 was loaned to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in 2010 by an anonymous lender.  This artefact  is believed to have been looted on/around 1996 from a 6th century BCE Macedonian burial chamber near the village of Koreshnica, in the southern part of the Republic of Macedonia.   



2012
The stolen Etruscan statuette of Hercules stolen from the Oliveriano Archaeological Museum in Pesaro is identified by experts in Italy when the object comes up for sale with Ward & Company.  It was restituted to Italy on 24 February 2015 during a ceremony in the federal prosecutor's office in Manhattan.

17 December 2013
According to the Edoardo Almagià sentencing document, the convicted dealer sold Michael Ward the following artefacts:
a. A black figure kylix;
b. A marble lion mask;
c. A  marble sculpture depicting a draped woman; 
d. A terracotta mask;
e. A torso of Aphrodite;
f. A romanesque capital;
g. A cameo female bust in marble;
h. A Roman marble urn;
i. A python crater from  Paestum  + 2 bronze vases;
j. A black figure olpe and marble torso;
k. 2 Attic craters, a hydria and abell crater.

Between 2015 and 2019
Michael Ward obtained more than 100 antiquities from Eugene Alexander between 2015 and 2019, 80 of which, according to the Michael L. Ward indictment, were clearly looted.

2016
Dr. David Gill identified this silver and gold late 5th – early 4th century BCE Greek Phiale with Thetis and the Armour of Achilles in a Phoenix Ancient Art 2016 catalogue for Spring Masters NYC. NB: Most gold-figured silver vessels have been found in Macedonian and Thracian tombs.

The provenance is listed as:
Ex- European private collection, early 1980s; Ward and Co., New York, USA, 1990 or prior; Ex- US pri- vate collection, New York, acquired in 1990.

2016
Michael Ward sells a 480 BCE Red-Figure Pelike with Two Youths in Conversation to the Michael C Carlos Museum. Object Number 2015.005.001

The provenance is listed as:
Ex coll. Vicomte du Dresnay, France, acquired before 1970. Purchased by MCCM from Michael Ward [Ward & Company, Works of Art, LLC], New York, New York.

10 November 2022
Four 4th Century B.C.Thracian Gilt-Silver Double Eagle Plaques are auctioned at Hindman in Chicago.  The artefacts sold for just $500.

The provenance is listed as: Michael Ward Gallery, New York, prior to 1992. Lewis B. Cullman, acquired from the above in 1992.

18 October 2023
And with just 4 days until bidding opens on Sotheby's online sale of The Edith & Stuart Cary Welch Collection, I will finish my round-up with this late 5th/ early 6th century Byzantine spoon, again with only Ward and Co provenance.  

 So as ARCA always says with problematic dealers, Buyers Beware. 

By: Lynda Albertson