Monday, 10 December 2007

The Robert E. Hecht Collection: any buyers?

Nathan Elkins ("A Legitimate Trade in Ancient Coins?", Safecorner, December 10, 2007) has drawn attention to the sale of the Robert E. Hecht collection of Byzantine Seals. These are on offer by the Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. (Triton Sale XI, lots 1116-1215).

Hecht has been been catching the full glare of the media spotlight for his links with some of the antiquities returned from North American collections to Italy. And his name features prominently in The Medici Conspiracy.

Elkins draws attention to a recent posting on Moneta-L where this question was posed:
With such a reputation I am wondering how people feel about a collection of his [sc. Hecht's] coming to market. Does it make you want to stay away from his material, are people more interested in it because of his colorful past?

It will be interesting to see how the sale of Part 1 of the Hecht collection goes.

1 comment:

David Gill said...

Peter Tompa has now commented elsewhere:
"CNG was not obliged to identify the consigner, but it did."
I would have thought that, given the personality involved, it was a wise move to make his name public.

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