Pino Donati

Little is known about Pino Donati. The Provenance list from the Merrin Gallery lists Donati as the first person to purchase the amphora. Edward Merrin noted that the amphora was in possession of Pino Donati in 'Breganza.' Further research, however, reveals that there is no place called 'Breganza.' There is a Pino Donati from Lugano, Switzerland, an antiquities dealer credited thoughout the Christie's Auction and Private Sales catalogs.

As of 2004, Lugano, Switzerland is also referred to as Breganzona-Lugano. Such information leaves the assumption that the Merrin Gallery mistyped Breganzona as 'Breganza', either intentionally or unintentionally, as the location of Pino Donati. According to an article about the Donati Arte Classica of Lugano, Ugo Donati founded the gallery in the 1940s before passing it on to Pino who would later be succeeded by the current director, Stefano Donati.

According to the Provenance list, Pino Donati sold the amphora to Elie Borowski. Both Donati and Borowski have ties to the illicit excavating and trafficking of antiquities involving Marion True, Robert Hecht, Dietrich von Bothmer and the Euphronios krater. They were both friends of Jean-Paul Barbier-Mueller, recieving special thanks in Barbier-Mueller's introduction of the "Collections Barbier-Mueller er a divers Amateurs Arts D'Orient" catalog. Recently, the Barbier-Mueller collection has faced the speculation that a majority of the artifacts were illegally acquired, as they have no provenance. Pino Donati is one of the several people involved with the amphora to have their reputation questioned.

Text Sources:

Barbier-Mueller, Jean-Paul. Collections Barbier-Mueller er a divers Amateurs Arts D'Orient. Paris: Barbier-Mueller Museum, 2007.

Felch, Jason. "Red Flags in Paris: Half of Sotheby's Barbier-Mueller Pre-Columbian Sale Lacks Provenance." Chasing Aphrodite: The Hunt for Looted Antiquities in the World's Museums, March 19, 2013, http://chasingaphrodite.com/2013/03/19/red-flags-in-paris-half-of-sothebys-barbier-muller-pre-colombian-sale-lacks-provenance/ (Accessed March 17, 2014).

Merrin, Edward. Edward Merrin to Roberta Olson, New York, NY, March 24, 1981.

Mollisi, Angela. "Un'antica passione." Ticino Management, September 16, 2011, http://www.ticinomanagement.ch/2011/09/16/unantica-passione/ (Accessed March 24, 2014).

Watson, Peter. The Medici Conspiracy: The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities, From Italy's Tomb Raiders to the World's Greatest Museums. New York, NY: BBS PublicAffairs, 2006.

Image Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lugano_%28Ticino%29_View_on_Lake_Lugano_and_Monte_San_Salvatore.jpg, Accessed April 20, 2014.