Georgian family had Van Dyck painting worth some $14 million for 15 years - TV
TBILISI. Jan 9 (Interfax) - Georgian resident Eka Abashidze says a painting by Anthony van Dyck, which was considered missing and was found in Istanbul, belongs to her family and has been on the wall of their residence for 15 years.
Georgia's Imedi television reported on Saturday that Abashidze said the family had decided to sell the picture in 2010 due to financial difficulties. The owners did not know the author of the painting and its real value.
Two men agreed to buy the picture and promised to pay $37,000 for it, Abashidze told Imedi. She said the buyers had deceived them and paid only $7,000.
She says she has filed a lawsuit against those people.
In the meantime, Imedi has reported that the National Museum had no knowledge about the location of the picture and said private collectors often do not report the museum about it.
According to earlier media reports, a painting by famous Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck, which had been smuggled to Turkey from Georgia, had been found in Istanbul.
According to the media reports, the Turkish law enforcement agencies believe the painting was brought into Georgia from Russia, where it was brought from Europe. The detainees said in their testimonies they had bought the painting in Georgia and intended to sell it in Turkey for 14 million lira.
The media reported that two businessmen, who, according to unofficial information, had made attempts to illegally sell the painting.
In the meantime, the Georgian Interior Ministry and the Georgian Foreign Ministry had denied the information that the detainees are citizens of Georgia. The Interior Ministry said, citing information received from its Turkish colleagues, that the detainees are citizens of Turkey.
According to the media reports, an expert evaluation showed that the picture is an original and was painted by van Dyck.
According to the media reports, the Turkish law enforcement agencies believe the picture, whose worth is estimated at some $14 million, had been taken to Georgia from Russia, where it was brought from Europe.
The media reports state two businessmen, who are citizens of Georgia, have tried to illegally sell the picture. They have been detained.