Sotheby's, the Anglo-American auctioneers have been facing
a serious crisis following the disclosure of an art-smuggling scandal in Italy. Some of the directors of the company have been directly involved in illegal smuggling of works of art from Italy, notably
a painting by the 18th Century artist Giuseppe Nogari, " Old Woman with a cup ", which their old master expert in Milan agreed to smuggle to Britain where it would have put on sale. Sotheby's officials claimed this was an isolated case and blamed their expert whom they described as a " rotten apple in an otherwise sound barrel ".
However, on February 6th 1997, the Corriere della Sera newspaper said the number of Sotheby's employees involved was almost certainly greater.
The man behind the disclosure of such illegal activity is Peter Watson who spent years of sleuthing in the international art world. Posing as an art dealer, Mr Watson was a key-element in a television documentary which served to expose the scandal.
Thousands of works of art, including stolen pieces, have been smuggled out of many countries during the past 15 years and Mr Watson claims Sotheby's have been more than once guilty of wrongdoing.
Dozens of paintings have been stolen in Italy, notably in several churches, by a well-organised gang and many made their way illegally to the U.S where Mr Watson managed to trace back some of these pictures.
Mr Watson has also denounced certain practices between dealers as well as tricks used by auctioneers to drive bids up. He added that people in the art market who were corrupt did not see themselves as such.
Meanwhile, Sotheby's high ranking officials are conducting an investigation regarding the smuggling scandal following which two employees, including their expert in Milan, have been suspended.
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