Count Alessandro Contini-Bonacossi (18 March 1878 - 22 October 1955) was an Italian politician,
art collector
A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individua ...
,
dealer
Dealer may refer to:
Film and TV
* ''Dealers'' (film), a 1989 British film
* ''Dealers'' (TV series), a reality television series where five art and antique dealers bid on items
* ''The Dealer'' (film), filmed in 2008 and released in 2010
* ...
and
philatelist
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is pos ...
. In 1939 he was made a Senator of the Kingdom of
Vittorio Emanuele III.
Early life
Contini-Bonacossi was born in
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
on 18 March 1878 to Camillo Contini and the Countess Elena Bonacossi Bermudez of Ferrara.
Political career
In 1928, Contini-Bonacossi was made a Count by Vittorio Emanuele III. In 1939 he became a Senator.
Nazi era
Through
Walter Hofer, Contini-Bonacossi sourced art for the
Göring Collection.
Around 1942, Göring's art agent
Sepp Angerer
Josef "Sepp" Angerer (1899–1961) was a rug merchant and art dealer who acted as an agent for Hermann Göring's private art collection, immediately before and during the Second World War. Art that Angerer dealt with for Göring came from a variet ...
, and the local German consul
Gerhard Wolf, went on a tour of Contini-Bonacossi's collection. Angerer supposedly told the count, "What a pity you're not a Jew!" and drawing a finger across his throat continued "If you were a Jew, we could do just that! And all the paintings would be ours!"
Contini-Bonacossi was investigated in 1946 by the OSS Art Looting Investigation Unit for his role in dealing Nazi-looted art and placed on the Red Flag List of Names.
Philately
Contini-Bonacossi was a noted philatelist. He won a Gold-Silver medal at the
London International Stamp Exhibition 1960 for his display of Tuscany and a gold medal at
WIPA 1965, also for Tuscany.
["WIPA 1965", H.R. Holmes, ''The London Philatelist'', Vol. 74, Aug-Sept. 1965, No. 872-873, p. 164.]
Death
Contini-Bonacossi died in Florence on 22 October 1955.
References
External links
*http://www.yourwaytoflorence.com/db/musei/contini.htm
1878 births
1955 deaths
Italian art dealers
Italian art collectors
Italian politicians
Italian philatelists
People from Ancona
{{philatelist-stub