Context Matters: The Derveni Krater

I noticed this initiative from the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA). They have launched a new series, "Ancient Art and Architecture in Context", with the publication of The Derveni Krater: Masterpiece of Classical Greek Metalwork (2008) by Beryl Barr-Sharrar.

The report of the lecture on April 3, 2008, noted:

The aim of the Ancient Art and Architecture in Context series, published with the support of the Getty Foundation, a groundbreaking concept, is to emphasize that ancient art found in Greece can only be properly understood by scholars if the provenance of the antiquities is known.

It then adds this comment from Charles Watkinson, Director of ASCSA Publications at Princeton:

In other words, we are making a very strong statement against the trade in illicit antiquities.

Context matters because looting has intellectual as well as material consequences.