Tag: auctions

Sensationalist Reporting and the Antiquities Trade: If it’s in Print it Must be True!

antiquities, ancient art, Clio, heritage, culture, artifacts

A BBC online feature entitled “The men who smuggle the loot that funds IS”, 16 February, 2015, opens with the following remarkable claim: “The trade in antiquities is one of Islamic State’s main sources of funding, along with oil and kidnapping.” At no point in the dozen or so paragraphs that follow does author Simon… Read More Sensationalist Reporting and the Antiquities Trade: If it’s in Print it Must be True!

Christof Maupin / Past Present Arts1 Comment

Not an Antiquity but an Extraordinary Object, Just the Same

An extraordinary manuscript is to be auctioned in London, October 8 — An unusual Qur’an manuscript, written from memory by Ayub bin Suleyman (Job, son of Solomon), a former slave, originally from the kingdom of Foota (modern Senegal), who had been taken into slavery, transported to America, escaped from his owners in Maryland, made his… Read More Not an Antiquity but an Extraordinary Object, Just the Same

Christof Maupin / Past Present Arts1 Comment

Iranian Antiquities in the Current Political Context

International political affairs often interfere with normal processes of cultural exchange. There can hardly be a better example than the current situation in relation to Iran. Severe trade restrictions or total embargoes on trade with that country have had the unfortunate impact of also restricting trade between other nations on goods of Iranian origin, including… Read More Iranian Antiquities in the Current Political Context

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