Due dilgence: time for a rethink?

I have been writing my regular column for the Journal of Art Crime. My focus is on the what auction-houses consider to be an appropriate level of "due diligence". Is there an over-reliance on searching the databases of bodies such as the Art Loss Register? Is this the time for a more rigorous due diligence process to be adopted? (I have made a suggestion in my column.)

I have also finished a separate major study of the acquisition of the Ka-Nefer-Nefer mask by the St Louis Art Museum. The underlying theme is on the quality of the due diligence process but also the professional responsibilities of museum professionals when concerns are raised about the origins of a piece. Readers of LM over the last few weeks will have realised that this has been a fairly regular topic.