The Iraq Embassy in London has supplied the British Museum with a comprehensive list of items missing from the Mosul Museum as a result of looting by ISIS.
The Embassy has asked that the artefacts described be included on the Emergency Red List.
The ADA asks its members to study the list, attached here, and be alert to any of the items turning up on the UK market.
Egypt’s former Antiquities Minister has said that retrieving Egyptian artefacts from abroad is not in Egypt’s interests, news sources from within the country report.
Prof. Mamdouh al-Damaty, an Egyptologist who was Minister from 2014-16 and believes that displaying his country’s heritage in other nations promotes Egypt across the world, also pointed out that the majority of Egyptian artefacts abroad were legally exported before laws were introduced to ban exports.
Vincent Geerling, chairman of the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art (IADAA), has welcomed Damaty’s speech, and is calling on the authorities in Egypt to take note.
Geerling has also suggested that re-introducing licensed sales of minor artefacts might be a way of helping Egypt to finance the urgently needed protection of archaeological sites.
“At IADAA, we have been campaigning for years on the issue of what has and hasn’t been legally exported, while watching with dismay as international bodies introduce inappropriate policy to deal with perceived wrongs that, for the most part, do not exist,” said Geerling.
“So much of what Prof. Damaty is saying is exactly what we have been arguing for a long time now, but our views have been ignored or dismissed. Hopefully, now someone as distinguished and knowledgeable as Egypt’s former Antiquities Minister has put forward the same arguments, we will all be listened to.”
Those arguments acknowledge the fact that Egypt traded its artefacts legally over long periods, including in the 20th century, when the Cairo Museum had its own saleroom.
“In many other cases,” one news report quoted Damaty, “artefacts were presented by Egypt’s kings as gifts to foreign dignitaries, rulers and officials, before the development of the current laws to protect antiquities and ban this habit.”
Foreign archaeological missions were also allowed to take a percentage of the artefacts they discovered in Egypt, making it impossible for Egypt to recover these artefacts now, because they were legally exported, he said.
In fact, Damaty went as far as stating that the majority of Egyptian artefacts abroad had been legally exported.
His speech came as Egypt’s ongoing financial problems led to the suspension of 14 restoration projects and cutbacks in measures to protect archaeological sites, reports said.
Significantly, before the coup the Antiquities Ministry paid for all the projects itself and was a net contributor to government coffers, but now depends on central funding.
Until recently, Geerling said, “Egyptian embassies have challenged the sale of many artefacts, that had been in collections for decades and more, at fairs or auction, without providing any evidence at all to show that they were stolen.
“The current Egyptian authorities’ view is that unless collectors, dealers and auction houses can demonstrate an unbroken provenance from when an object was excavated, it should be deemed illicit – guilty until proved innocent, if you like. That is legally flawed.”
He argues that following the spirit of the former Antiquities Minister’s speech, such a policy needs to be replaced by something more positive.
“Egypt had a legal trade in antiquities up until around 40 years ago. Why not revive a properly licensed, self-sustaining legal trade in minor objects that are of no great importance to Egypt’s national heritage, so that the trade can help Egypt create a revenue stream to finance the necessary protection of archaeological sites, as it is obliged to do under Article 5 of the UNESCO 1970 convention,” he said.
Exciting news that jewellery found in a Staffordshire field is the earliest example of Iron Age gold ever found in Britain.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the collection, made up of four twisted metal neckbands, called torcs and a bracelet, was discovered by two metal detectorists just before Christmas.
The paper has also published an article on the top ten treasure finds by amateurs in the UK.
City law firm K&L Gates will host the second in a series of day-long seminars on February 7 addressing risk in the art and antiquities market. The first of three panels across the day will feature Professor Janet Ulph of Leicester Law School, the University of Leicester, Dr Sophie Vigneron, of Kent Law School at the University of Kent, and art market campaigner and advisor Ivan Macquisten, who also advises the ADA. They will be discussing the Cultural Property [Armed Conflicts] Bill, codes of conduct, ethics, due diligence and compliance for the market and museums, with Ivan adding his perspective on what is happening, why, and what this all means for the trade.
The panel runs between 10 and 11.15am and will be followed by a panel between 11.45 and 12.45 on keeping track of lost and stolen artworks and antiquities, featuring Ariane Moser, COO of Artive Inc, James Ratcliffe, Director of Recoveries & General Counsel at the Art Loss Register, and Sean Kelsey, Senior Associate with K&L Gates.
The final panel, from 2-3.15pm, will focus on risks associated with anti-money laundering and the Proceeds of Crime Act offences, and their mitigation. Speakers include Christine Braamskamp, Partner at K&L Gates, and Richard Abbey, Partner at Ernst & Young Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services.
Further details and tickets are available via this link
Congratulations to ADA member Charles Ede Ltd, who hit the headlines in mid January thanks to their initiative and the expertise of Egyptologist Tom Hardwick.
As reported in Antiques Trade Gazette, two fragments of a decorative wooden box made c1400BC, during the reign of King Amenhotep II, were held at the London-based dealer until Egyptologist Tom Hardwick made the connection to a piece in the National Museums Scotland’s collection last April.
George Ludlow, gallery manager of Charles Ede, recalls that after finding out about the link, the gallery immediately contacted the museum. The museum was then able to purchase for £25,000, with support from the Art Fund and the National Museums Scotland Charitable Trust, the two missing fragments for the box which had been in the museum’s collection for 160 years.
The Scotsman also covered the story. Read both articles via the links here.
The ADA is punching well above its weight when it comes to awards at fairs these days. First Costas Paraskevaides of Art Ancient won Best Stand at the LAPADA Fair in Berkeley Square, London in September for the second year running; now ADA deputy chairman Chris Martin and Ancient & Oriental have scooped the LAPADA Best Stand Award at the Winter Art & Antiques Fair at Olympia.
The panel of judges included Caroline de Cabbarus (Principal, Hotspur Design), Noelle McElhatton (Editor, The Antiques Trade Gazette) and Nicholas Somers (Master, The Worshipful Company of Turners), who picked out the stand from more than 70 LAPADA members exhibiting at the fair. Here is what they had to say:
“The judges felt that the exhibitor’s use of curtains was innovative and created intrigue. It framed the stand and made the visitor want to come in closer to have a look. The display inside the stand was elegantly curated with small objects made accessible to view and a simple black backdrop allowed the artefacts to stand out.”
Well done Chris and colleagues!
Recent Comments