News:
London’s Christie’s returns art piece looted by Germany during World War II
TVP World 5 October 2023
During a ceremony at the Polish Embassy in London, Christie’s auction house transferred an art piece looted by the Germans during World War II, to the Polish Minister of Culture Piotr Gliński. The official stressed how the Germans were no better than the Soviets when it came to looting occupied nations such as Poland.
During a ceremony at the Polish Embassy in London, Christie’s auction house transferred an art piece looted by the Germans during World War II, to the Polish Minister of Culture Piotr Gliński. The official stressed how the Germans were no better than the Soviets when it came to looting occupied nations such as Poland.
On Thursday, Minister Gliński presented a decorative wall candle holder that was stolen in 1944 from the Palace on the Isle in the Royal Łazienki Park in Warsaw and has now been retrieved thanks to the efforts of the ministry.
“The Royal Łazienki had been systematically looted since September 1939. These ‘civilized’ German occupiers were brazenly stealing, and were no different from the Russians,” he said, stressing that just as the Germans came with prepared lists of people proscribed to be shot, they likewise came with a list of artwork to be looted.
The press conference took place in the Polish Embassy in London, as the retrieved candle holder was identified as having been looted in 2017 when it was put up for auction by London’s Christie’s. The auction house immediately withdrew it from the auction after being informed of the piece’s origin, but it took six years to negotiate the return of the item with the person who was in its possession.
As Gliński explained, people in possession of stolen artwork often try to dodge talking about returning them, although in some cases the pieces do get returned very swiftly.
He admitted that while in recent years the recovery of stolen artwork gained momentum, 700 recovered pieces are merely a drop in the ocean of Polish losses. Gliński pointed out that the process was ineffective during and also after the fall of communism, and more could have been recovered if previous Polish governments had applied themselves to it better, however, he did praise the effort of a small number of more determined officials who worked toward the purpose.
Minister Gliński also expressed the hope that in the future it will be possible to recover the most precious artwork that was stolen from Polish collections during World War II, the “Portrait of a Young Man” by Raphael. A copy of the painting hangs in the Polish Embassy in London.
https://tvpworld.com/73218163/londons-christies-returns-art-piece-looted-by-germany-during-world-war-ii“The Royal Łazienki had been systematically looted since September 1939. These ‘civilized’ German occupiers were brazenly stealing, and were no different from the Russians,” he said, stressing that just as the Germans came with prepared lists of people proscribed to be shot, they likewise came with a list of artwork to be looted.
The press conference took place in the Polish Embassy in London, as the retrieved candle holder was identified as having been looted in 2017 when it was put up for auction by London’s Christie’s. The auction house immediately withdrew it from the auction after being informed of the piece’s origin, but it took six years to negotiate the return of the item with the person who was in its possession.
As Gliński explained, people in possession of stolen artwork often try to dodge talking about returning them, although in some cases the pieces do get returned very swiftly.
He admitted that while in recent years the recovery of stolen artwork gained momentum, 700 recovered pieces are merely a drop in the ocean of Polish losses. Gliński pointed out that the process was ineffective during and also after the fall of communism, and more could have been recovered if previous Polish governments had applied themselves to it better, however, he did praise the effort of a small number of more determined officials who worked toward the purpose.
Minister Gliński also expressed the hope that in the future it will be possible to recover the most precious artwork that was stolen from Polish collections during World War II, the “Portrait of a Young Man” by Raphael. A copy of the painting hangs in the Polish Embassy in London.
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