"Underscoring the Professionalism of our Members through responsible and ethical practice".

ADCAEA dealer and Board Member Randall Hixenbaugh has some interesting "recent acquisitions" - especially those from the Middle East. Among them is a group of incantation bowls, which he put in the section "Phoenician and Judaean Pottery"

Screengrab 11th July 2015

1) Inv#: 6213 An ancient Babylonian-Aramaic incantation bowl with a spiraling text inscription around an image of a horned demon in the center. "Formerly in an American private collection". $3,750

2) Inv#: 6212 An ancient Judeo-Aramaic incantation bowl with a spiraling text inscription around the center  [...] Ca. 6th - 8th century AD. "Formerly in a New York private collection". $3,500

3) Inv#: 6130  A large ancient Judeo-Aramaic incantation bowl with a spiraling text inscription around a figure in the center. Ca. 6th - 8th century AD.  Untranslated."Formerly in the G. B. collection, New York".  $6,000

4)  Inv#: 6218  An ancient Babylonian-Aramaic incantation bowl with a long spiraling text inscription in 15 lines around an image of a head within an enclosure. Ca. 6th - 7th century AD. [...] "Formerly in an American private collection". $3,750

Given the long history of legislation protecting archaeological sites from commercial explouitation and excavated objects from unauthorised export, an unsupported "Formerly in an American / New York (or even the G.B.) private collection" is NOT a collecting history that affords any evidence that these can be considered  licit artefacts. All the more so because there is no date telling us when the items left which source country in relationship to the recent conflict that is going on there. Mr Hixenbaugh, if you have firm data showing these are not conflict antiquities why do you not at least mention it on the website? And if you have no such data, then what are they doing on the website of an ADCAEA dealer and board member?

Ms McGovern-Huffman, what is going on here? Ms McGovern-Huffman, you said you'd have a word with one of your dealers about his pre-columbian artefacts he said for some reason he could not export to the USA, they are all still up on his website and he is still an ADCAEA dealer. Why?

Just what does one get for paying the 500 dollars annually to the ADCAEA and what do you actually have to do in return? Anything? Or just continue paying the subs and carry on as before?

UPDATE 17th July 2015 Ah there you see? They can do it if somebody asks for more details... all four of them now have altered collecting histories not offered before... Although they were all added to the "recent acquisitions" together (inventory numbers) they come from different sources:

Inv#: 6213 Formerly in an American private collection, previously in an Israeli private collection, 1980's, translated by Dr. James Nathan Ford, Bar-Ilan University, Tel-Aviv.

Inv#: 6218 Formerly in an American private collection, previously in an Israeli private collection, 1980's, translated by Dr. James Nathan Ford, Bar-Ilan University, Tel-Aviv.

Inv#: 6212 Formerly in a New York private collection, deaccessioned from an American institution, acquired in the 1980's.

Inv#: 6130 Formerly in the G. B. collection, New York, acquired at Sotheby's, New York, from a previous private collection.