Alexander Ivanov (art Collector)
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Alexander Ivanov (Russian: Александр Иванов, born October 27, 1962) is a Russian
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 individual ...
who lives in Moscow. He is best known for the Fabergé Museum in
Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
, which is the first private Russian-owned museum outside of Russia. In the 2010s, he claimed that a Middle Eastern collector offered him $2 billion for his Fabergé collection, the world's largest collection in his own words. Other collecting interests include
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
s,
ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
and
Roman art The art of Ancient Rome, and the territories of its Republic and later Empire, includes architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. Luxury objects in metal-work, gem engraving, ivory carvings, and glass are sometimes considered to be m ...
,
pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...
gold,
Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...
paintings,
Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
paintings,
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icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
s, and vintage automobiles. His most significant purchase was the 1902 Fabergé egg made as an engagement gift to Baron
Édouard de Rothschild Baron Édouard Étienne Alphonse de Rothschild (; born 27 December 1957) is a businessman and part of the French branch of the Rothschild family. Early life and education Édouard de Rothschild was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He ...
fiancée. The collector bought it at
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...
in London on 28 November 2007 for £8 million (£8,980,500 including buyer's premium),£9m that broke three world records, Daily Mail, 29 November 2007 almost $16.5 million at the time, saying it was Fabergé’s "finest ever." The item broke three world records, a record auction price for any Russian object and both the world's most expensive timepiece and Fabergé object ever sold.


Early life and career

Born in
Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...
,
Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
, in 1962, Ivanov served in the
Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...
before making his studies in Moscow, eventually graduating in Law from
Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...
. In the late 1980s, as the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
began to allow some capitalism, Ivanov was one of the first Russian businessmen to start trading in computers, and he quickly built up a successful and lucrative business. He began collecting Fabergé eggs and other art soon afterwards, because he had bags full of cash that he didn't know what to do with.


Activities as art collector


Fabergé Museum

In May 2009 Ivanov opened the Fabergé Museum in the German
spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...
city of
Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
. He said his museum building cost about 17 million
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
s to buy and renovate, including a 1 million euro security system. He chose Baden-Baden, near Germany's western border, because it's "close to France, a resort for the rich, and historically it has always been the most popular resort for Russians." He stated that the local government had been supportive.
Peter Carl Fabergé Peter Carl Gustavovich Fabergé (; – 24 September 1920; also known as Charles Fabergé) was a Russian goldsmith and jeweller. He is best known for creating Fabergé eggs made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and ...
was official supplier to the Russian Imperial court from 1885 to 1917. It also catered to the growing demand for luxury items from the Russian Empire's newly rich as the economy boomed in the two decades before
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. In addition to
Easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are Egg decorating, decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter ...
, Fabergé made a wide range of jewelry and decorative artworks, such as figurines of people, animals, vases with flowers, etc. The company had international brand recognition, with a shop in London, and among its international customers were the
Queen of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...
, and the
King of Siam The monarchy of Thailand is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government of Thailand (formerly ''Siam''). The king of Thailand (, historically, ''king of Siam''; ) is the head of state and head of the ruling Chakri dynasty. ...
(now
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
). After 1917 Bolshevik revolutionaries began to sell off Imperial treasures, and Fabergé's artworks became popular with American collectors, such as Lillian Thomas Pratt,
Matilda Geddings Gray Matilda Geddings Gray (March 18, 1885 – February 26, 1971) was an American heiress, businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. Life She was one of three children born to wealthy oilman John Geddings Gray of Lake Charles. Her siblings w ...
,
Marjorie Merriweather Post Marjorie Merriweather Post (March 15, 1887 – September 12, 1973) was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist. She was the daughter of C. W. Post and the owner of General Foods, General Foods Corporation. For much of Post's l ...
, India Early Minshall,
Malcolm Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (August 19, 1919 – February 24, 1990) was an American businessman and Republican Party politician most prominently known as the publisher of ''Forbes'' magazine, which was founded by his father B. C. Forbes. He repres ...
, etc. When Russian billionaires appeared on the market in the early 2000s, prices soared to record levels. The collector said another reason why he opened the museum in Germany was security. He told Britain's ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' newspaper: "It's very difficult
n Russia N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphab ...
because of all the administrative barriers. You have to be indebted to someone, and you can never feel that your collection is safe – not from the state, not from bandits, not from anyone. In Germany we spend serious money on security of course, but at least you know that the state itself won't do anything." In April 2009, just a month before the opening of the Fabergé Museum, a company called Fabergé Ltd., registered in the
Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...
, filed a lawsuit against the Fabergé Museum claiming it owned the rights to all things named "Fabergé". However, in January 2010, a German court upheld the Fabergé Museum's right to use its name.


Tax investigation and the Rothschild Egg

On 8 December 2014, Russia's President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
gifted the Rothschild Egg to the State Hermitage Museum on occasion of its 250th anniversary. Days before this gift was made, on 1 December, around 40 British law-enforcement officers raided the museum, as well as the private home and vehicle of the museum's director. Ivanov said that the officers' actions were politically motivated, coming amid tensions between the West and Russia, and hoping to ruin the gift ceremony and embarrass Russia's head of state. Actually, British investigators at the behest of UK's
HM Revenue and Customs His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a department of the UK government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of stat ...
department, claimed that the museum had failed to pay nearly £70,000 in
VAT A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...
on objects bought over the past 15 years in London auction houses. The raids were carried out with support from Germany's Financial Investigation and Customs Department. The museum denied the charges and declared that nothing incriminating was found during the operation. The charges originated in February 2012, when the museum's director, Sergei Avtonoshkin, missed a flight to Moscow departing from London, where he had purchased a number of items at
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...
and
Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought t ...
. When he tried to buy a ticket for another flight,
Heathrow Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
's custom agents stopped him for questioning. Agents seized nearly 60 items and grew suspicious that the museum might have other items that had violated VAT regulation. Regarding the Rothschild Egg, when Ivanov bought the egg in London in 2007 he claimed a VAT refund of approximately £600,000 because he had the egg shipped to Russia, which exempted the purchase from EU tax, but investigators suspected it had been first transported to Germany. When investigators raided the museum, Avtonoshkin told them that the egg had been loaned to Baden-Baden briefly for an exhibition and then sent back to Moscow. The egg was part of the Fabergé Museum collection and was on show during its opening ceremony on 9 May 2009, as reported by the Russian TV channel
NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televisio ...
: "the pearl of the collection is the Rothschild egg". The Rothschild Egg record in the Hermitage website says: "Entered in 2015. Gift of the President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin through the donor A. N. Ivanov". According to the so-called Russian anticorruption project "Municipal Scanner", Ivanov made his most expensive purchases after he partnered with Konstantin Goloshchapov, a well known figure in the political and business circles of St. Petersburg whom the Russian media consider an acquaintance and even a close friend of Putin. Deducing that it was with Goloshchapov's money that this egg was actually purchased. Ivanov and Goloshchapov partnership began at least from 2003, when they co-founded AllianceInvest. Both also co-founded in January 2008 the
private limited company A private limited company is any type of business entity in Privately held company, "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a Public company, publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Example ...
Fabergé Museum
GmbH (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...
, which owns the museum in Baden-Baden. In the Hermitage website Goloshchapov also appears as the donor of another piece by Fabergé, the Alexander III 25th Wedding Anniversary mantel clock, which was also presented by Putin in December 2014.


Fauxbergé and the Hermitage scandal

In January 2021, an art dealer claimed in an open letter to the director of the
Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...
Mikhail Piotrovsky Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky (; 9 December 1944) is a Russian historian. He is the director of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Life and career He was born in Yerevan in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic on 9 December 1944 ...
that a number of fakes (so-called
Fauxbergé Fauxbergé () is a term coined to generally describe items that are faking a higher quality or status and in specific terms relates to the House of Fabergé (Russian: Дом Фаберже), which was a Russian jewellery firm founded in 1842 in Sa ...
), including five eggs, were on show at the exhibition “Fabergé: Jeweller to the Imperial Court” (25 November 2020 – 14 March 2021). The international press reported the scandal. In the research article in Russian "Роковые яйца. История скандальной выставки Фаберже в Эрмитаже и тех, кто за ней стоит" (Fatal Eggs. The Story of the Scandalous Fabergé Exhibition and Those behind it) published in February 2021 by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, it was reported about the activities and connections of the two partners of the exhibition, as well as on a few of the
counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...
s exhibited and the Hermitage's involvement. The Hermitage's partners in the exhibition were the so-called Russian National Museum and the Museum of Christian Culture. Under the first name was Ivanov's
legal entity In law, a legal person is any person or legal entity that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, lawsuit, sue and be sued, ownership, own property, and so on. The reason for the term "''le ...
, which has no premises, under the second, a museum patronized by Konstantin Goloshchapov. It was from these two interrelated collectors that a number of exhibits were loaned, the authenticity of some which leading Fabergé experts doubted. No fewer than 65 of the 91 Fabergé exhibits originated from the following museums: the Fabergé Museum in Baden-Baden (46 items), the Russian National Museum in Moscow (11) and the Museum of Christian Culture in St Petersburg (8). Around 40% of the 91 Fabergé items present in the exhibition were fake, in the opinion of the above-mentioned art dealer. The BBC sent questions to the Hermitage about the criteria for cooperation with private museums, but they, like other questions, remained unanswered. Piotrovsky, through the press service, declined to talk to a BBC correspondent. Museum staff, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, expressed bewilderment at the partnership and exhibition, but added that they preferred not to get involved in this matter. Some of them mentioned fear. On the website of the Hermitage museum, Ivanov was presented as "a professor", "a member of the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
Special Commission for the Preservation of the World Cultural Heritage", and "expert of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation." UNESCO responded to a request from the BBC that Ivanov was not an expert of that commission. The Ministry of Culture pointed to the list of certified experts, Ivanov was not in it. In an interview with the BBC, Ivanov admitted that he was neither an expert of the Ministry of Culture, nor a member of the UNESCO commission, and stated that the Hermitage presented him this way, and he presented himself only as an "expert on Fabergé". He insisted that he was an "honorary professor", but could not specify either the subject or the educational institution, avoiding answering several times. The press service of the Hermitage said that the biography details were provided by Ivanov himself.


References


External links


Faberge Museum website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov, Alexander People from Pskov 1962 births Living people Russian art collectors