I was tipped off by Nicholas Thomas who I met in the tube about the display Concealed Histories: Uncovering the Story of Nazi Looting which reveals the problematic provenance of objects in the Gilbert Collection.
This beaker is thought to have belonged to Alfred Pringsheim, a Professor of Mathematics at Munich University:-
A clock, which belonged to Nathan Fränkel, a clockmaker in Frankfurt:-
The third item are gates from a monastery in Kiev owned by the dealers, J&S Goldschmidt. Interestingly, it does not speculate how they had acquired such an amazing piece of eighteenth-century Russian goldwork:-
The exhibition brings to public attention the complex issues surrounding provenance. My only regret is that it does not reveal more. For example, the Snuffbox which was seized from Maximilian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild, was given to the Frankfurt Museum. So, how and when was it sold to the Gilberts ?
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
All this makes clear that another book is ready. Thames and Hudson please note.
There is an extraordinary organisation, the Looted Art Commission, which is really an incredible body, with London’s Anne Webber, which has all the latest national and international news: heartbreaking so often, and it is an amazing struggle making anything right. Every country which is involved has a different labyrinth to follow. I think the V and A is the first museum to have a specific post looking at this deeply disturbing problem.
Yes, I think it’s good how upfront they are about it as an issue. Charles