Sold by the Liro
According to a German ordinance of 21 May 1942, Jewish owners were required to surrender their art works and other valuables; such as gold, silver and jewellery, to Lippmann Rosenthal Sarphatistraat, the Liro for short. This looting bank was established in 1941 and sold the most valuable pieces to Germany. The rest was sold to Dutch dealers or at auctions at among others, Mak van Waay. The surrendered objects were registered and the profits of the sale were officially credited to the Liro account of the owner. Of course, the owner was unable to actually have the funds in their account at their disposal. For some of the unique pieces known to have been sold through the Liro, it is possible to determine who they belonged to by consulting the registers. However, it is not often possible to find a connection to the less rare paintings and objects described as pottery, silver or furniture, unless the object still has a registration number. For this reason, the trail back to the original owner of many NK objects known to have come from the Liro as confiscated Jewish property ends in a dead end.
