Ghost of a flea

Looted antiquities

A New York Times article considers the ethics of purchasing, displaying or even studying artifacts of uncertain provenance for fear of encouraging looters. An ancient limestone fragment which is part of the Metropolitan Museum's current "Art of the First Cities" exhibition is a good example of the ethical ambiguities the article illustrates.

Until about four years ago, when a scholar spotted it in the Upper East Side home of a prominent collector, the Naram-Sin limestone was essentially unknown. No record of its excavation or history of ownership has emerged. In antiquities circles, that empty space amounts to a warning label: this piece may be the fruit of plunder.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at August 4, 2003 08:58 AM