Art: The Silver Throne

Many a smart art dealer has been sued by a customer who thinks he has been gypped. But few are the art lovers smart enough to get themselves sued by a dealer on the same grounds. Embroiled in a lawsuit in Hollywood, Calif, last week was a smart, grey, stocky art collector named Dr. U. (for Ulrich) L. (for he won’t say what) Di Ghilini. Dr. Di Ghilini is a magician, an adept at exposing fake mediums, who baffles and intrigues the cinema set.

Collector Di Ghilini claims to own $250,000 worth of paintings and art objects, including a Titian, a Gainsborough, a Rubens, a Romney, which he plans to exhibit in Manhattan this winter. Last summer Dr. Di Ghilini beheld and coveted, in West Hollywood’s Old Colony Antique Shop, a throne which appeared to him to be of hammered silver and gold, of the 16th Century or earlier. Summoning his powers of hocuspocus, Dr. Di Ghilini made small purchases, casually asked Joseph Osiel, tall, excitable part owner of the shop, about the throne. It would cost $2,000, said Mr. Osiel. For two weeks Magician Di Ghilini made more purchases, let Mr. Osiel bring his wares to his house. Finally Mr. Osiel brought the throne and his partner Frank Spencer. According to Dr. Di Ghilini, they closed the deal, signing an unconditional bill of sale for $200 and 14 of Dr. Di Ghilini’s pictures.

The throne his, Dr. Di Ghilini set out to prove what he had suspected from Latin and Spanish inscriptions on it: that it had belonged to Spain’s great Queen Isabella. For years an international art dealer, Benjamin Benguiat, had owned the throne, refused to sell it even for $25,000. But when Benguiat went bankrupt, Dealer Dan Feldman purchased the throne in a lot, priced it at $3,000. Eventually believing it was a jinx, he sold it to Dealer Osiel in another lot for $150.

When Dr. Di Ghilini learned all this, he resolved to have some fun with Mr. Osiel. The magician persuaded yet another dealer to tell Dealer Osiel that he had a buyer for the throne at $5,000. According to Magician Di Ghilini, Dealer Osiel hotfooted over, offered to buy the throne back from him for $1,000. Dr. Di Ghilini thereupon pretended to gointo a trance, told Mr. Osiel of the $5,000 deal. Excited Mr. Osiel rushed to the district attorney, declared that Dr. Di Ghilini had read his mind, hypnotized him.

To court went Partners Osiel and Spencer, demanding 1) return of the throne on the ground that Dr. Di Ghilini had not delivered all the pictures he promised; 2) an injunction restraining Dr. Di Ghilini from selling the throne until the case is settled. Last week Osiel and Spencer petitioned the Hollywood court to strike from Dr. Di Ghilini’s answer to their charges certain “irrelevancies,” notably his reference to the fake trance. Said Mr. Spencer, now convinced the throne was indeed Isabella’s, “Like Great Britain, we’ll win the last battle.” Unconcerned, Dr. Di Ghilini last week gave one of his amazing exhibitions at the Knickerbocker Hotel, showed how clairvoyants (by collecting and disseminating subversive information) could be useful fifth columnists.