Auctioneers Christie’s and Sotheby’s are conducting in-depth inquiries into whether works of art on their books were plundered by the Nazis during World War 2.

The two houses, which between them account for more than 90% of the global art market, have set up specialist teams headed by lawyers to tackle the issue.

In theory, works taken by the Nazis, thousands of which have been restored to their owners in recent years, should represent a goldmine for auctioneers.

But they can end up being a big hassle for the likes of Christie’s and Sotheby’s because of disputes over ownership.

A Sotheby’s spokesman said that they have started working with Swift-Find, an online database of stolen and looted valuables which is based in London.

And since 1998, Sotheby’s worldwide catalogues have been reviewed by the Art Loss Register, which looks out for recently stolen property, and art seized during the Holocaust.

In Berlin today, German officials and museum directors were meeting to discuss fears that the country could lose countless masterpieces as the treasure hunt for art stolen by the Nazis heats up.

The sale of returned works is a growing market - on November 8 at Christie’s in New York, they made up half of the record $491m (€389m) netted by a sale of impressionist and modern art.

Posted: 11|21|06 at 9:23 am. Filed under: UK News.