Blogger: " I fell for a “Swiss Private Collection” lie, dammit" It's about that Nedjemankh coffin:
My only excuse [...] is that the Metropolitan Museum of Art fell for it too. Had they accepted a fraudulent ownership record starring a Swiss private collector a few years back I would have laughed mirthlessly at the very idea of it, but the sensitivity to potentially looted artifacts is so much higher now that museums and auction houses have been dragged kicking and screaming into giving a damn by source countries creating legal and PR nightmares for them. That such a recent, high-profile, much-publicized sale could be a looted artifact with phony papers is an ugly testament to how deep the rot runs in the antiquities market. [...] I don’t know exactly which day, but the coffin was taken off display this week [...] because the Manhattan’s DA Office had found evidence that the Swiss private collection and legal export document from 1971 were nothing but happy horseshit conjured up by traffickers in looted antiquities. Not only was it not legally exported in 1971, it didn’t leave Egypt until 2011 and I don’t need to tell you the circumstances were very, very far from legal. [...] Here’s one revision to any museum or collector’s acquisition policy that needs to be carved in stone from now on: buy nothing purporting to come from Swiss private collections. It’s a scam every damn time.Interesting thread joining some dots by the indefatigable and well-informed Dorothy King here.
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5 comments:
I have just recently discovered your blog. Although I have not read all of your posts i find the blog very informative.
I thought that my comments sould be posted to this most recent post of of your since I didn’t find a post that would cover all of my thoughts about collectors, metal detectorists, dealers in artifacts and archaeologists and their record keeping.
Some collectors start off with a few item that they may found or inherited and then become obsessed with amassing more objects with no regard to their provenance or ethical considerations. Metal detectorist may start of with a hobby for something new to do and many are excited to find an old harness buckle or an old iron hindge. Ethical ones inform the athorities as to older finds such as roman coins and such as required by British law. Here in the USA this is not required on private property. More on that later.
Many dealers in artifacts start off as collectors and start selling off duplicats and broken objects in their collection and then become more and more and more obsessed with collecting and amassing objects that they loose sight of their ethical and moral obligations to society. This I would compare to other horders but hording old magazines or tools is a bit different.
Now on to archaeologists. A very honorable profession indeed. The professional archaeologist works in approved digs and locations. When working in modern democratic societies the approval to examine a site, document the site and collect artifacts is pretty well conrolled. However, at least here in the USA there are instances of digs being done, collecting of the artifacts and nothing being published.
Many published papers are not available to the public or are archived on inaccessible formats such as floppy disks and old computer code. In my opinion whenever an approval for a site examination is issued it be required that such data be available to the public which is paying for it. Such data should be available in electronic form and also be printed on acidf free paper which when proberly stored will last about five hundered years. Paper good. Other formats who knows how long they willbe readable.
Archaeologists will somtimes get permission to dig from a country not controlled by the people but despots, dictators and other bad guys. Sometimes the official giving permission is not even authorized to give permission and sometimes the artifact are allowed out of the country by unauthorized officials. This, in my opinion, is unethical as well and borders on looting.
The Archaeology community needs to better police themselvs on these important issues. Document digs on paper, publish results and make all a available to the public.
Thank you for your comments on dealers, collectors and archaeologists.
As for the published papers, what would you want to with all of them? Why are books, archaeological journals and online publications not suitable for your needs?
> required that such data be available to the public which is paying for it.<
But in many cases of course, they are not. Much excavation these days is developer funded.
> sometimes the artifact are allowed out of the country by unauthorized officials< Really? the dealers and artefact buyers will love them.
> This, in my opinion, is unethical as well and borders on looting. <
Yes, that's what this blog is about.
>despots, dictators and other bad guys.<
Thank God for Donald Trump eh? At least there there will be a WALL to keep the antiquities in, eh?
>The Archaeology community needs to better police themselvs on these important issues. Document digs on paper, publish results and make all a available to the public. <
Absolutely, a sea of paper, but not just archaeologists, artefact hunters, metal detectorists digging up artefacts, proper paperwork, need to police themselves, publish and report all their diggings and make all of their finds and information about them available to the public. Do you do that in America? Where can I find the US database of historical artefact finds made by the US public? All those Civil War buttons and shot, wagon fittings and harness buckles marking the great route west, the objects from abandoned farmsteads in the Midwest, native arrowheads and banner stones?
So, how do you propose achieving this right across the USA, Mr Toastman?
Mr.Bradfort,
It seems as though several of my comments offended you. That was not my intention.
Your first comment as to what would be suitable for my needs. Yes books, archaeological journals, online publications are wonderful resources. The point I was trying to convey without offending the archaeology community and you as well is that I am sometimes frustrated when trying locate papers published here in the USA in regards to specific digs conducted by public universities. Archaeology surveys for roads and other projects may not be required required to be made public. I actually did not even think of those projects.
Your reply as to artifacts being allowed out of certain countries by unauthorized officials. I believe that many objects are smuggled out of various countries with the aid of bribed officials and police. That is how drugs are somtimes smugged as well. I find it suprising that you don’t agree with my comment.
As to despots, dictators bad guys. I don’t like Trump at all. I think he is a deranged lunatic with Fascist tendencies. I can only hope that we can repair our relations with the European community and our other allies when we rid ourselves of this atrocity.
My comments as to documentation were not directed at you or country you live in.
No, historical finds are not documented properly here in the USA. Unlike the United Kingdom laws are a very lax as to requiring metal detectorist and others to report their finds. Items such as pottey shards and other First Nations items should be left it place for the public to examine and enjoy. There are not enough archaeologists to plot and document the millions of objects lieing about on the surface. The general public certainly should not dig anything up. There have been several high profile cases of persons charged with looting and sales of illegal First Nations artifacts. It is an ongoing problem especially in the American Southwest.
As to publishing. I stand by my comment that it sould be required for publicly funded digs. I also stand by my comment in regards to storage methods of data.
I am sorry, your anonymous off-topic comments on 'what archaeology should do' came over a little as a mansplaining.
You should be aware that the topics you raise are indeed very widely discussed in archaeology and there is consensus on many of these issues, such as publication and data storage. That you seem not to know this should give you pause for thought as to whether you, as an uninformed man from the street, are making a useful and substantive contribution to the discussion.
Does 'toastman' also go on European medical blogs to present his equally imperious postulates and firmly-held common-sense/man-in-the-street beliefs on what anaesthesiologists worldwide (in 'democratic countries and under dictatorships') should do, too?
It is difficult conducting any kind of a discussion with an unknown person coming on here out of the blue - not saying who they are, where they are from, what their background and interest are (and merely going under an assumed name referring to a low-brow TV cartoon character). Especially if they are aiming to use my Portable antiquities Collecting Issues blog as a platform for an irrelevant and ill-informed rant about the state of archaeology in general and US university archaeology in particular.
I really cannot say what you could do to 'locate papers published here in the USA in regards to specific digs conducted by public universities'. How about contacting their authors - not me? I have never carried out a 'dig' while being the member of staff of a public university in the USA so cannot really help you there. But if they send you their full text don't expect it printed out onto acid-free paper, rather expect it in digital form - it is easier to disseminate, archive and locate like that.
> I find it suprising that you don’t agree with my comment. <
I did not disagree, but (as somebody who's been studying the antiquities trade for rather a long time) I think you are oversimplifying.
> My comments as to documentation were not directed at you or country you live in.< But they were one-sided, addressed to 'archaeologists' only.
As for where you can find other blogs dealing with archaeology in general (that would be a better venue for your opinions on archaeology in general) and also issues of public dissemination of archaeological data, try looking here: https://blog.feedspot.com/archaeology_blogs/
but there are many more blogs you could also visit - even if you restrict your search to the English-language ones.
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