An Oxford Scholar and the Antiquities Trade

An antiquity dealer's home

As a followup to the alleged sale of the so-called "First Century Mark" to the Green Collection Brent Nongbri ('Dirk Obbink and the Oxyrhynchus “Distribution” Papyri', Variant Readings June 24, 2019) has done some searching in the Green Collection provenance records, online and found something that escaped notice earlier not only of heritage activists, but also - it would seem - Oxford University:

Now, the buying and selling of these “Distribution Papyri” is legal. Whether it’s ethical is a separate question (the Egypt Exploration Society has taken a stand against the sale of “Distribution” items). These records, if accurate, show that Professor Obbink was active in the antiquities market, and it is fascinating to see that Professor Obbink was buying and then almost immediately reselling these pieces to the Green Collection. It’s not just this Psalms fragment [P.Oxy. 1779,  PMB]. It’s several pieces bought from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio: P.Oxy. 1353; P.Oxy. 1459; P.Oxy. 1678; P.Oxy. 1688; P.Oxy. 1728; P.Oxy. 1756; and P.Oxy. 1775, as well as a Tebtunis papyrus.  It’s also noteworthy that this was happening quite early in the formation of the Green Collection–in 2010. If these records are accurate, then almost from the beginning of the enterprise, Dirk Obbink was not just an advisor, but also a supplier of manuscripts to the Green Collection.

How is this possible? There are eight fragments listed, the invoice discussed earlier today is number 17 - what else did the academic seller sell and to whom?