tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3638837144278661276.post1127983148296340314..comments2009-11-09T08:53:24.098-05:00SAFECORNERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115233402243608004noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3638837144278661276.post-29371485357743994382009-11-07T13:44:16.137-05:002009-11-07T13:44:16.137-05:00Three things of note here:<br />1. Auction houses and dealers cannot be relied upon to self-police the provenance of the objects they sell, whether or not they fail to do so in good faith or bad. An independent organization accredited by archaeologists and run under government auspices is needed to do this job.<br /><br />2. Since, according to the auction houses, provenancing accounts for the high prices antiquities continue to bring, the costs of doing provenancing research should be borne by those who profit from it. Auction houses and dealers should be paying for this service.<br /><br />3. Seizing and returning illicitly exported antiquities does nothing to help countries of origin to stem the looting of archaeological sites. They need money to pay for guards, fences, equipment, etc. That money could come from either a surcharge on the provenancing service, or from a tax on the sale of authenticated artifacts.Larry Rothfieldhttp://larryrothfield.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com