The collector is worried about her Picasso: the painting "Femme Assise" from 1958 is estimated at almost eight million dollars, and Stella Isabella Djohan was ready to part with it.

But now an administrative court in New Jersey has to deal with the collapsed deal for the 146 by 114 centimeter oil painting, which had previously been shipped around the world from Singapore to New York.

The court has jurisdiction because the plant is now in a warehouse in New Jersey.

It all started when the art dealer Nevill Keating Pictures Limited from London (NKPL) assured the collector that they would buy the Picasso for $7.75 million.

A deposit of 1.2 million was agreed.

It was agreed that the "Seated Woman" should be kept by SRI Fine Art Services.

SRI specializes in storing and transporting valuable art;

the prospective buyer should be a customer there.

But soon after, Djohan claims to have learned that other companies that she didn't trust had been called in.

NKPL has transferred ownership of the image to a company called Fracassi Worldwide Shipping, which in turn owns the image to Oblyon LLC.

given to an agency that helps with art deals.

NKPL is said to have planned a resale of the Picasso.

None of the transfers had been agreed with the seller - and the alleged last one in particular raises questions.

Namely, Art Lending Inc. is a Los Angeles-based company that operates like a pawnbroker.

The company, according to its website, offers to appraise, store, and provide credit for art.

The work must have a minimum value of $250,000, and the customer will only get it back if their debt is repaid.

Did the presumed buyer want to mortgage a painting that he didn't already own?

Or even pay the purchase price from the deposit amount?

The complaint gives no indication of this, the parties are silent.

In any case, Djohan declared the deal with NKPL to have failed: the London art dealer not only made his down payments too late, he also had no right to transfer responsibility for storage to Fracassi and others, according to the lawsuit.

The passing on to various companies has become so opaque that the court is now to formally determine that Djohan is still the legal owner of the Picasso.

It is unclear whether the companies involved are also threatened with criminal proceedings.

The assumption that things were not right is not far off.

Another lawsuit is currently pending in which a New York art dealer is suing the three companies in question - Fracassi, Oblyon and Art Lending.