Antidote for the antique dealer

In dictionaries, two concepts in the heading are located not far from each other. And now experts in antiquities seem to really need a tool that will help to cope with the situation.

Laundering a painting is not the same as laundering money

From this year, the relevant articles of the Federal Law No. 47-FZ of March 9, 2022 “On Amendments to Part Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation” came into force, according to which jewelry manufacturers and sellers were deprived of the right to apply the simplified taxation system. These changes in the legislative framework also directly affected antiques collectors.

Of course, this category of citizens does not belong to the mass, a serious collection of artifacts from the depths of centuries is a piece of work. And a person who does not enter into such a specific world cannot advance without a guide. Therefore, for an explanation of what the consequences await the market, the MP correspondent turned to Mikhail Perchenko, vice president of the International Confederation of Antiques and Art Dealers (ICAAD), president of the guild of appraisers, owner of the Old Masters gallery.

To make it easier for the reader to imagine the degree of Mikhail Efremovich’s immersion in the topic, it is worth saying that his experience as a collector exceeds six decades. He became addicted as a schoolboy thanks to a thrift store on the Arbat, met recognized connoisseurs, receiving lessons from them, one of which formulated a short sentence: “You need to collect by eye, not by ear.”

Another rule to follow is not to deal with items that are more than five percent restored. In extreme cases, if a great author, you can allow no more than ten. And often all the intervention of an invited specialist in a work of art is only to wash the picture. Do not look here for associations with the expression “money laundering” – we are talking about removing varnish. As for fakes, there was once a case when I bought and sold one – out of ignorance, later a familiar restorer himself admitted to deception.

It is believed that Perchenko has the world’s best collection of polychrome wooden sculpture – it consists of 126 works. For comparison: in Russia, museums in total have nine similar sculptures dating back to the ninth to fifteenth centuries, the largest repository in the world is 27.

In general, there is the highest level of competence and experience, and positions, including an adviser to five ministers of culture, are only an addition to this level.

Not metal is valued, but work

Even before our conversation, it was clear that the changes were made for the sake of increasing tax collections. Not so long ago, the site rg.ru provided calculations: “Until 2023, jewelers with an annual income of up to 200 million rubles paid a tax of six or 15 percent, depending on the object of taxation. After the amendments to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation came into force, the financial burden on enterprises increased four times. The following information was also published in the media: the steps taken will help increase tax revenues to the budget by 20-30 billion rubles.

With regard to collectors of antiques, Mikhail Perchenko questions the effectiveness of such measures:

“The law applies to everyone who trades in precious metals. That’s right, on the one hand, jewelry stores make huge money and can pay 30 percent tax. But I can’t, and most of my colleagues can’t either. We are considered to be fat cats, although when I live six months without debt, these are the happiest six months of my life.

The law provides for the total cost of goods. If the product is sold with silver, gold or jewelry, then everything is taken into account. Here I have three nautiluses, each item costs from 500 thousand dollars. Silver there – well, a maximum of a thousand. But after all, in our business, people buy and sell not because of the share of the precious metal, but because of the work!

I sold several icons before the New Year, having received them in exchange for some kind of painting. Some of them were in silver. For them, I paid six percent of the tax, and if there were several times more, then it would be unprofitable for me to sell. Because the overheads would exceed the income – valuation, transportation, packaging, restoration … “

The expert emphasizes that, due to the chosen direction, he does not operate with precious metals so often, preferring paintings with wooden frames and sculptures. But most of the comrades in the shop specialize just in this. Therefore, his forecast is pessimistic. The worst thing is if transactions go into the shadows due to unprofitability. But even if this does not happen, the movement in the market will decrease at least tenfold. And the state budget will receive even less funds than before.

The International Confederation of Antiquarians and Art Dealers, which has always made efforts to ensure that the purchase and sale come out of the shadows, first tried to convey its opinion through letters to various authorities. And after the adoption of the law, I decided to adhere to such a plan: out of fifty companies included in the structure, choose one and make all transactions with precious metals through it.

Evaluators are also evaluated

Another feature of the current moment: Russian collectors of antiques were cut off from the European market. Perchenko admits that for the first time in many years he was forced to miss an art fair in Maastricht, Holland, where it was useful, as they say, to look at others and show oneself. And he cites a recent case when at an auction out of 150 buyers 30 were our compatriots who were forced to leave empty-handed – despite the fact that 91 percent of the exhibited found new owners. The reason is the price restrictions for holders of a Russian passport. Collectors with two citizenships can still get out of the situation, although England is trying to infringe on this category as well.

And even if such restrictions did not exist, there would be problems with the payment mechanism and delivery. The previous algorithm does not work now, contacts are cut off.

On the other hand, in the Old and New Worlds, the institution of appraisers inspires less and less confidence. Mikhail Efremovich argues: “I have a friend in St. Petersburg who is wrong two times out of a thousand. But he does not write attribution. In Russia there are unmistakable experts in Russian art and only one in Italy – Victoria Emmanuilovna Markova. And abroad… I don’t deal with Sotheby’s and Christie’s auctions, because they have up to 70 – 80 percent of errors, judging by the catalogue. I’m not talking about some Viennese auction, which has 90 percent. They only think about money! However, from the fact that Russian art disappeared from circulation, people abroad suffered more.”

And in the end, the International Confederation of Antiquarians and Art Dealers, founded in May 2004, formulates one of its tasks as follows: “One of the main principles of the activity of the antique community is to promote the development and protection of the national antique market, including preferences primarily to domestic operators of the antiques market. The antique dealer should not independently or with the use of third parties build business models that could contribute to the formation by foreign operators of forms that are dominant in relation to the Russian participants in the antiques market.”

MKAD strives beyond MKAD

Indeed, even with the suspension of international contacts, the confederation has many options for applying forces. For example, as part of the Great Art – Great Russia program, when items from private collections are shown in various regions of the country.

Thanks to the program, at the end of last year, visitors to the Tver Regional Art Gallery were able to get acquainted with the exhibits of the exhibition “Catherine II. Great era.” It included portrait works, miniatures, engravings, objects of arts and crafts of the 18th century. This period of time was not chosen by chance – the end of the century saw the heyday of portrait art in Russia. The place also turned out to be symbolic, since Catherine II left a mark on the appearance of the city: in 1764-1766, the Tver Imperial Palace was erected here. And for Mikhail Perchenko and his wife Elena Yureneva, this action is also a personal story, because they provided a collection of six family portraits of nobles from the Yurenev family.

However, the exhibition could take place only with the support of the government and the Ministry of Culture of the Tver region, because the confederation has no way to invest in its organization financially. So the receiving party took on the insurance of all copies, their packaging and other expenses. By the way, another exhibition is planned in the Volga city, where works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries will be presented.

My interlocutor complains that the central museums are not invited now. And with a warm feeling he recalls how in 2011 the rarities of the Northern Gothic and Renaissance, collected by him, took their place in the State Museum of Fine Arts named after Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin – samples of painting, sculpture, furniture. How worried I was before the visit of the director of the Pushkin Museum Irina Antonova to get acquainted with the exhibits: “I was terribly afraid of what she would say – well, this is for the Museum of Private Collections. And Irina Alexandrovna delivered a verdict in ten minutes – this is the White Hall … “

Georgy MOROZOV.

Photo from the personal archive of Mikhail Perchenko