Intellectual Consequences of Collecting Antiquity

It is easy to be disturbed by the destruction of archaeological sites to supply antiquities. But what are the intellectual consequences as the pieces enter the corpus of knowledge?

Here are some of the topics covered so far:

• Cypriot antiquities
• Biblical archaeology
  
• Cycladic figures
  
• The Getty kouros
• Archaic Greek bronze
• Classical funerary stele
• Corinthian pottery
• The Sarpedon krater (Euphronios)
  
• The distribution of Attic pottery in Italy
• Commercial graffiti on Greek pottery
• Classical coins
• Greek cavalry armour
  
• The Risley Park lanx
• Coptic sculpture

Image
One of the pieces returned to Italy: an Attic red-figured column-krater showing Dionysos, attributed to the Geras painter.