A criminal investigation amid a family crisis casts a dark shadow over the illustrious history of the French studio Ateliers Hugo, which produced jewellery and silverware created by major artists of the 20th century. According to a legal source, the court of Aix-en-Provence in the south of France has opened an investigation following a complaint by the Picasso family.
On 10 March, Paloma Ruiz-Picasso, representing the nine heirs of the Spanish artist, filed a complaint alleging “fraud, counterfeiting, forgery and concealment of these felonies”. The file does not name the alleged perpetrators, and their identity is not presently known. The following month the Picasso family published a formal warning in the Gazette Drouot, titled “Hugo silverware”. It urged “all art market professionals and buyers to exercise the utmost vigilance”, following the appearance of what it described as “a…
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