Who are They Trying to Kid?

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr.:

"With high demand from all corners of the globe, collectors must be certain of provenance before purchasing. I urge dealers and auction houses to take every necessary precaution to avoid facilitating the sale of cultural heritage stolen from other civilizations. If a provenance is in doubt, report it to law enforcement authorities."

Maybe HSI could tell us just how many notifications they receive a year from dealers and auction houses that an item that they have had offered to them has "provenance in doubt". I'd say that was a pretty good description of the state of play regarding verified collecting history of the bulk of material on the market, isn't it?