What is a "European business executive"? Is it a euphemism for the person who runs an antiquities gallery in Europe? Who knows?
Is this sort of anonymous information supposed to be reassuring to the potential purchaser?
And an object that can be traced back no further than the late 1990s is immediately suspicious.
The fact that I can read this sort of language in October 2014 demonstrates that there are sectors of the antiquities market that seem to be totally unaware of the issues that have emerged from the so-called "Medici Conspiracy".
The same gallery has some other wonderful quotes: "Old American collection, New York, acquired 1988". This makes objects from the 1970s seem positively ancient history.
There is also the repeated phrase: "Good and legal provenance". So where and when were those Roman mosaics from the eastern Mediterranean found?
4 comments:
Did you ever read,"acquired by a Catholic priest in 19th century" ?
Kwame Opoku.
hi david,one hopes ,as a collector that more information is available on request but sadly your right,most times the collecting history/provenance is a joke.
kyri.
ps,there are some well documented collectors who were 19th cen priests or reverands,the reverend william mac,gregor being one of the most famous.so pieces do pop up now and again that are perfectly ligetimate although i do realize the good dr was taking the p when he made that coment.
Beverley Rogers has been researching Macgregor's collection - and, yes, objects still appear.
I am just looking a catalogue of 2014 by a well-known auction haus and what do I read concerning provenance/collecting history of the object?
"Private Sammlung Brussel",
"Private Sammlung Polen",
"Wiener Privatsammlung",
"Belgische Privatsammlung"
"Amerikanische Samlung
and a few more along the same line.
Kwame Opoku.
Post a Comment