Looting, Collecting, and the Antiquities Market
Description: Fact and fiction in the antiquities market. We
look at looting, collecting, and the market as components of an international
economic system that combines legal and illicit aspects. The nature
of this system, and its consequences, are discussed by archaeologists,
collectors, and dealers.
Learning Objectives:
• Analyze the antiquities market as an economic system operating under the principle of supply and demand.
• Assess the workings of the antiquities market system through an analysis of the looting, collecting, and selling of Apulian red-figure pots from South Italy.
• Evaluate the role of dealers in the antiquities market and appraise their ethical values.
Readings:
VITELLI, chs. 2, 4, 6, 15.
R. J. Elia, "Looting, Collecting, and the Destruction of Archaeological Resources," Nonrenewable Resources 6, no. 2 (1997): 85-98.
R. J. Elia, "Analysis of the Looting, Selling, and Collecting of Apulian Red-Figure Vases: A Quantitative Approach," in Trade in Illicit Antiquities: The Destruction of the World’s Archaeological Heritage, ed. N. Brodie, J. Doole, and C. Renfrew (Cambridge: McDonald Institute, 2001).
M. C. Coe, "From Huaquero to Connoisseur: the Early Market in Pre-Columbian Art," in Collecting the Pre-Columbian Past, ed. E. H. Boone (1983), 271-290.
Peter Marks, "The Ethics of Art Dealing," International Journal of Cultural Property 7 (1998): 116–127.
James Ede, "Ethics, the Antiquities Trade, and Archaeology," International Journal of Cultural Property 7 (1998): 128-131.
1. The Antiquities Market: An Introduction
a. Antiquities Market as Economic System: Comprising, in Michael Coe's (1983) model, three elements—production, distribution, and consumption. Production of the inventory (salable antiquities) is handled by Looters (and Fakers). Distribution is overseen by the Dealers, and includes "runners," "residents," and "couriers" who deliver the antiquities from the looters to the dealers. This stage often includes smuggling out of the country of origin. The dealers arrange for the valuation, conservation, restoration, and marketing of the antiquities. Consumption involves purchasing of the antiquities by collectors, both private and institutional (museums).
b. Supply and Demand: The antiquities market operates almost purely by the law of supply and demand. Because looting and smuggling are illegal in most source countries, there is no incentive to dig up antiquities without a commercial motive. The demand comes from the collectors who, through the dealers, are willing to pay for the product. The looters respond to the demand by creating a supply.
c. Legality: The antiquities market is a fascinating case of a quasi black market, or a "double market." Looting and smuggling are illegal in the source countries, but once the material gets to a market country (usually in the West, such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, or Japan), it is often legally traded: in other words, most market countries do not enforce the antiquities legislation of the source countries. Thus the loot starts out illegal and ends up legal.
d. The Money: The looters, who take most of the risks, earn the least amount of money. The dealers who arrange the trade (and often the looting too) make the most.
e. Social Considerations: Everyone (even dealers and collectors) agrees that looting is bad. Yet in many art-importing countries the collecting of looted material is a matter of pride and even honor. Collectors are praised for their enthusiasm and passion and museums treated as secular churches of culture.
2. Slide Lecture: The Case of Apulian Red-Figure Pottery
As an example of the workings of the antiquities market as an economic system, I presented an illustrated lecture based on my current research into the looting, selling, and collecting of Apulian red-figure pottery from South Italy. This case study involves a quantification of the scope of collecting of this type of ancient Greek-style pottery from the 4th century B.C. for more than 200 years. It also involves a quantification of sales of Apulian pottery by Sotheby's auction house from 1960-2000 as well as statistics on the looting of South Italian sites and the enforcement efforts of Italy's art police. The research is ongoing, but for a published summary, see the article listed in the reading for this class (Elia 2001). See list of slides at end of lecture notes for this class.
3. The Dealers' Perspective
In an earlier class we explored the attitudes of two components of the antiquities market, the looters and the collectors (both private and museum). Here we try to understand the values and attitudes of the dealers. See end of class notes for list of slides that accompanied this section.
a. Free Trade: Dealers favor an unrestricted international commerce in art. Source countries should not claim ownership or control of antiquities except in the case of national treasures. Most modern nations have little or no connection to the original ancient cultures. The blame for looting rests with the countries of origin—it is their restrictive, nationalistic policy that causes the smuggling. The United States should not enforce the restrictive laws of source countries but should continue to promote the trade.
b. Benefits of the Trade: Art is a good ambassador. Keeping art in source countries denies others in the world the right to appreciate art and culture. Art-importing countries conserve and safeguard the art they acquire and promote research and study of it. Museums make the art available to millions.
c. Dealer Ethics: Ethical responsibilities of dealers include the accurate identification of works of art as to period, style, condition, and quality. Objects must be properly cleaned and restored and should never be dismantled or broken into component parts. Novice collectors should be educated. Mistakes should be corrected (e.g., if the dealer unknowingly sells a fake). Objects stolen from public or private collections, churches, or protected archaeological sites must never be acquired by dealers.
d. IADAA Code of Ethics and Practice: The International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art (IADAA) was formed in 1993 to promote the interests of antiquities dealers. The association opposes national claims of ownership, except for public treasures. Concerning provenance, James Ede's (1998) view is typical: "Antiquities have been collected for thousands of years. . . unfortunately, their perceived importance has fluctuated through the ages. . . so provenances for the vast majority of these works have been lost. War, migration, economic development, and sheer indifference have all taken their toll as well. . . Therefore, it is unacceptable to suggest that lack of provenance means that a particular object has recently been stolen."
According to their Code of Ethics, members of IADAA:
• undertake not to purchase or sell objects until they have established to the best of their ability that such objects were not stolen from excavations, architectural monuments, public institutions, or private property
• refuse to dismember and sell separately parts of one complete object
• guarantee the authenticity of all objects they offer for sale
• undertake to cooperate with international and national agencies in the recovery of stolen goods
[Notes for Instructors: Questions for discussion.
• Dealers make a distinction between the terms "stolen" and "looted/smuggled." How do they define "stolen"? What categories of material will they allow themselves to acquire and sell against the wishes of source countries? In the art market, "stolen" is usually restricted to thefts of property that have been in the possession of an owner. It would cover thefts from museums, churches, etc., so long as the objects have been inventoried or recorded as being in the possession of an owner. The term "stolen" in this usage does not include artifacts looted from archaeological sites and smuggled across international borders.
• How do you think dealers can satisfy themselves that an unprovenanced antiquity did not come from a church, museum, or archaeological storeroom? Here one may consider the traditional importance of non-disclosure and secrecy in the art market. In fact dealers, like the collectors who buy from them, must rely on the word of those who sell the antiquities. In a system where looting, smuggling, and forgeries are rife, falsified provenances are common. Hence the hackneyed "from an old European collection" provenance. Is it enough to take the word of a dealer?
• If dealers accept the right of countries to declare which objects are to be retained as items of national treasure, then who decides if a country's declaration is appropriate? Obviously most antiquities-rich countries have already decided what their national patrimony is, but the dealers don't like the fact that they are so inclusive. Should it be up to individual dealers to decide if they agree with a country's decisions?
• Many antiquities on the market were collected long ago and have lost their provenances, as the dealers note. But falsified provenances, and no provenances, may be used to mask the trade in recently looted antiquities. Have the dealers any way of avoiding the commerce in recently looted antiquities if they want to?]
[Slides for Looting in Apulia lecture (in order):
Apulian red-figure pot, Foggia Museum
Apulian bell krater, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Map of South Italy
South Italy countryside
Messapian rock-cut tombs
Sir William Hamilton
Hamilton vase (Apulian)
Hamilton digging tomb at Nola
Title page of Hamilton’s book
Sala in Museo Jatta
Looters at Etruscan site
Euphronios Vase, Metropolitan Museum of New York
Title page of Red-Figure Vases of Apulia
Apulian pie chart: by country
Apulian pie chart: as of 1993
Apulian pie chart: in museums
Apulian pie chart: in private collections
Collectors Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman
Fleishman Apulian vase
Unauthorized South Italian collection
Sequestered private collection, Bari
Apulian pie chart: on market
Royal Athena (dealer) web page
Apulian pie chart: by date
Apulian pie chart: by location and date
Apulian proveniences
Looters’ hole, Puglia
Excavated tomb, San Severo
Entrance to L’Ipogeo della Medusa tomb
Sotheby’s catalog page
Sotheby’s South Italian data: histogram
Sotheby’s Apulian sales: histogram
Looted landscape, Puglia
Looters’ hole in vineyard
Looters running to car
Looters at car
Police with recovered pots
General Conforti (art police head) with pots
Storeroom, Foggia Museum
Rome display of recovered looted pots]
[Dealer slides (in order):
Royal Athena web site
Royal Athena South Italian vase on web site
Charles Ede.com web site
Charles Ede.com catalog
Sothebys.com web page
Sothebys.com Roman glass for sale
eBay.com
eBay.com Antiques page
eBay.com Arrowheads for sale
eBay.com "Bronze Diggings" for sale
Geneva warehouse of dealer
Geneva warehouse: antiquities]