Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Is A Collector Registry A Good Idea?

There was recently an article in the news regarding the Israeli government's efforts to register private collectors who have not yet done so according to the law passed in 2002.

This article brought about a discussion on the yahoo forum Ancientartifacts. How would collectors feel about such a registry in their country? Several members contributed to the discussion, some in favor of a registry, some against.

Those against such a plan brought up what I would consider to be valid concerns ranging from privacy, security, "big brother", to the possibility of those collections being confiscated should collecting eventually be outlawed.

I personally would be in favor of a registry. I think it would make it very difficult for recently looted items to enter the market under the guise of "from an old collection" or no mention of provenance at all. It would also make provenance easier to track because the history of a piece would be easily accessible, even if the original paperwork were to be lost or destroyed.

I do agree though, that the concerns raised by those against a registry would have to be addressed before such a plan could be put into place. I would be interested in knowing how/if those concerns were addressed by countries such as Israel and others who already have this kind of registry.

The CPRI is supposed to begin development on different models of registry for privately owned objects. It should be interesting to see how they approach the issues of privacy and security.

While I don't claim to have all the answers about how a plan like this would work, I do think that this would be a way for collectors to make sure they are not buying recently looted items. The don't ask- don't tell market in antiquities can't continue at it's current pace. Ancient sites are being destroyed and knowledge is being lost every single day at the hands of looters looking for bits and pieces to sell for a quick buck. It's up to us as collectors to close the market for
such items by refusing to buy them.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Help to Save Colonia Ulpia Traiana Ratiara

The biggest archaeological site in northern Bulgaria is currently being left to the mercy of looters. Please take a minute to read this information:

http://www.archaeology.archbg.net/fs_excavations_ratiaria.html (you can also donate from this page)

And sign the petition here:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ratiaria/index.html


I think this is an important cause. Please, donate as little as one Euro or as much as you like to help save this important site from ongoing destruction.