Collecting thoughts

  • Manhattan DA Seizes material from Steinhardt (Jan 6, 2018) The NYT reported that the material seized from Steinhardt included: [A] Greek white-ground attic lekythos — or oil vessel — from the fifth century B.C., depicting a funeral scene with the figures of a woman and a youth, according to the search warrant. It is worth at least $380,000. Also seized were Proto-Corinthian figures from the seventh century B.C., depicting an owl and a duck, together worth about $250,000. The other pieces included an Apulian terra-cotta flask in the shape of an African head from the fourth century B.C.; an Ionian sculpture of a ram’s head from the sixth century; and an attic aryballos, a vessel for oil or perfume, from the early fifth century. The objects were all bought in the last 12 years for a total cost of $1.1 million, according to the warrants
    Manhattan DA Seizes material from Steinhardt (Jan 6, 2018)
    The NYT reported that the material seized from Steinhardt included: [A] Greek white-ground attic lekythos — or oil vessel — from the fifth century B.C., depicting a funeral scene with the figures of a woman and a youth, according to the search warrant. It is worth at least $380,000. Also seized were Proto-Corinthian figures from the seventh century B.C., depicting an owl and a duck, together worth about $250,000. The other pieces included an Apulian terra-cotta flask in the shape of an African head from the fourth century B.C.; an Ionian sculpture of a ram’s head from the sixth century; and an attic aryballos, a vessel for oil or perfume, from the early fifth century. The objects were all bought in the last 12 years for a total cost of $1.1 million, according to the warrants
  • Artefacts seized in global operation targeting the illicit trafficking of cultural goods 21 February 2018 Press Release, Europol
    Artefacts seized in global operation targeting the illicit trafficking of cultural goods
    21 February 2018 Press Release, Europol
  • Illicit antiquities trading in economic crisis, organised crime and political violence 8 people arrested in operation in which 14 thousand historical objects were seized. Halil Demir, Anadolu Agency, 19th October 2018.
    Illicit antiquities trading in economic crisis, organised crime and political violence
    8 people arrested in operation in which 14 thousand historical objects were seized. Halil Demir, Anadolu Agency, 19th October 2018.
  • The Euphronios Krater at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006 Following investigations by Italian and Greek law enforcement authorities, the museums world was rocked during the 1990s by revelations that major US art museums had been actively acquiring stolen and trafficked antiquities. Museums such as the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York were forced to return important antiquities to Italy and Greece, including the Euphronios krater.
    The Euphronios Krater at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006
    Following investigations by Italian and Greek law enforcement authorities, the museums world was rocked during the 1990s by revelations that major US art museums had been actively acquiring stolen and trafficked antiquities. Museums such as the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York were forced to return important antiquities to Italy and Greece, including the Euphronios krater.

The trade in Antiquities relies on the existence of willing buyers such as museums and collectors. The appeal of collecting antiquities, in our case ancient pottery, is intimately connected with the notion of material, aesthetic and historical (temporal) authenticity. Collecting antiquities however raises a number of hotly debated ethical. legal and scientific issues and our involvement with the EU funded “Witness the Past” project (http://www.witnessthepast.gr/) points to where we stand on these issues.

Today reputable Auction firms or Antiquities dealers try to comply with the maze of legal issues involved, however, especially for mid-priced pottery (3.000 USD to 8.000 USD), material and technological authenticity is often hard to assess considering the sophisticated forgery techniques and the high cost of most current scientific authenticity tests. We can confidently claim that our pottery would pass most such tests and for this reason we embody in all our “collectible” products an indelible signature. These products are priced at 5% of the corresponding Auction of Art dealers’ prices,
In this way, through the contemporary production of Museum quality, technologically authentic, aesthetically true and archaeologically documented ceramic artefacts we aim to mitigate the demand for the originals, while at the same time allowing access to a wider clientele.
More at
Museum Education and Archaeological Ethics: An Approach to the Illicit Trade of Antiquities https://www.academia.edu/6629233/Museum_Education_and_Archaeological_Ethics_An_Approach_to_the_Illicit_Trade_of_Antiquities

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