Risk in buying from collector/dealer

Just in case you miss this story... I thought it is worth posting this, just in case you are like a couple of my gallery visitors who always ask for deals from dealers/collectors. Buy at your own risk...

Singapore art story

Tuesday November 17, 2009
World

CEO takes on tycoon over soured art deal
SINGAPORE, Nov 17 — Two prominent business people will be battling in court over an art deal that turned sour.
Dr Xiaoyan Baumann, 40, wants a refund of US$300,000 (RM1.01 million) for 17 paintings and a wood carving she and her husband had bought.
But the seller, Tong Djoe, 82, is contesting the claim and counter-suing for US$500,000 which he alleges was for another seven art pieces delivered to them but were not paid for.
China-born and German-educated Baumann is chief executive officer of the Singapore Medical Group, which runs a cluster of specialist clinics.
Indonesia-born Tong is a millionaire who made his money in shipping, petroleum and trade.
He operates out of an office in Anson Road. Among other artworks, he is said to own a Picasso.
According to court documents filed by both sides, Tong sold seven paintings and a wood carving to Dr Baumann and her husband Felix Huang in September last year for US$150,000.
These were said to include works by Walter Spies, Wang Yi Dong, Hendra Gunawan and another signed ‘AF’, which is purportedly the initials of painter Affandi, a legendary Indonesian expressionist painter whose works have fetched high prices at art auctions.
Baumann claimed in court papers filed that Tong told her they were original works. He said he would return the money paid if they were copies.
Four days later, her husband met Tong at Ann Siang Hill and viewed more works by Affandi in a storeroom.
Huang chose another 10 pieces which included works by Walter Spies, Xu Beihong, R. Bonnet, Chen Yi Fei and Antonio Blanco, for which Baumann paid another US$150,000.
About a fortnight later, she sent one Affandi piece from the first sale and three other works from the second sale, including those by Walter Spies and Antonio Blanco, to Sotheby’s Singapore to check their authenticity. The auction house declared all four works to be not originals.
The couple then met Tong and his assistant at their Draycott Drive home for settlement talks last November. Baumann alleged that Tong gave a written undertaking to return the US$300,000 paid to him by August this year and to take back the artworks.
As the matter remained unsettled, the couple went to court, represented by Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim, to sue for damages and alleged breach of the undertaking.
Tong, through lawyer Cheah Teck Lim, is contesting the suit. He claims the couple owed him US$500,000 for seven other artworks that he had delivered to their Ardmore Park home.
Even if the couple’s claim were justified, he wants the amount offset against the US$500,000. Effectively, Tong is claiming US$200,000 from the couple.
Tong, who made clear he is an art collector and not an art dealer in court documents, said that at no time did he vouch for the authenticity of the works which the couple bought.
There was no assurance that each of the art pieces was anything other than what Huang saw himself, he claimed in his defence.
A pre-trial conference on the lawsuits is due next month. — The Straits Times