ADCAEA: Collector of Egyptian Antiquities

I have been reflecting on the Association of Dealers & Collectors of Ancient & Ethnographic Art (ADCAEA). One of the three board members is Joop Bollen. Bollen is a collector of Egyptian antiquities (see "Joop Bollen, directeur South Dakota International Business Institute", volkskrant.nl 2 February 2002 [translation here]).

In 2011 Bollen donated an Egyptian mummy mask to the Michael C. Carlos Museum (inv. 2011.017.001). No further information about the prior collecting history is provided on the museum's website. There is a short piece about the gift on the Emory University website ("Art Collector Donates Rare Works to Carlos Museum", Emory Magazine Winter 2013).

These are not the only gifts to the museum:

Collector and friend Joop Bollen has donated several important Egyptian works of art to the Michael C. Carlos Museum, including a Middle Kingdom wooden sarcophagus and a large Nineteenth Dynasty limestone relief slab called a stela.

What are the full documented and authenticated collecting histories of these three pieces?

There seems to be an association with the Egyptology curator at the Museum:

Bollen, a business leader based in South Dakota, is a longtime collector whose interest in antiquities led him to a close association with Peter Lacovara, senior curator of Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art at the Carlos Museum.

If ADCAEA is promoting more transparency ('open communication') in the antiquities market, we would expect to see disclosure when collectors donate to museums.

And whatever happened to Culturegrrl's request to the Museum? (Or, for that matter, mine?)

ADCAEA: Code of Conduct Updated

At the end of last week I commented on the ADCAEA Code of Conduct.

And it has clearly been changed to include 'archaeological sites':

• All members undertake not to purchase, sell or exhibit an object until they have exercised, to the best of their ability, due diligence to ensure such object was not knowingly stolen from archaeological sites, excavations, architectural or religious monuments, public institutions or private property.

ADCAEA must be praised for their swift revision.

But it does leave a question over the advice they received over the wording of their Code of Conduct.

ADCAEA: who is one of the officers?

I have discussed the Association of Dealers & Collectors of Ancient & Ethnographic Art (ADCAEA) elsewhere. This association has as one of its aims:

• To educate and inform members on policies and laws that affects the international movement of cultural property

I note that the Treasurer for this association is Joseph Lewis II.

Is this Joseph Lewis II the same one who loaned Egyptian material to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts? And the same one who loaned Egyptian material to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (as spotted by Lee Rosenbaum)? And the same Joseph Lewis II who donated material to the Michael C. Carlos Museum (an institution which has been less than forthcoming about the acquisitions)?

Is this the same individual who was linked to the Egyptian coffin that was intercepted in Miami where it was described as 'agricultural products' after being shipped by a Barcelona galerista? (For corrected name.)

And is this the same collector who was named in the Khouli case? (See also Rick St Hilaire with update.)

If the Treasurer of ADCAEA is indeed the collector of Egyptian antiquities, please could ADCAEA release full details (including authenticated collecting histories) of all the donations and loans made by this individual?

After all, ADCAEA has as another of its aims:

• To promote awareness and understanding of ancient and ethnographic art collecting through open communication with members and the public.

ADCAEA: an association for dealers and collectors

Paul Barford's post on the Association of Dealers & Collectors of Ancient & Ethnographic Art (ADCAEA) has attracted my attention (adcaea.wildapricot.org). It is not clear why a new body is needed. One of the two dealers, Hixenbaugh Ancient Art, is already a member of the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art (IADAA).

I would like to focus on one point in the Code of Conduct.

All members undertake not to purchase, sell or exhibit an object until they have exercised, to the best of their ability, due diligence to ensure such object was not knowingly stolen from excavations, architectural monuments, public institutions or private property.

It is remarkably similar to the one from the IADAA:

The members of IADAA undertake not to purchase or sell objects until they have established to the best of their ability that such objects were not stolen from excavations, architectural monuments, public institutions or private property.

Both the ADCAEA and the IADAA seem to condemn removal of archaeological or ethnographic material from "excavations". But what about from known or even scheduled archaeological sites that have not been excavated?

So, for example, imagine a known Roman urban site that is covered by arable fields. Would it be acceptable for members of ADCAEA (or for that matter IADAA) to handle material that had been removed from that site on the grounds that the structures had not been "excavated"? I am sure that they would say no.

So why use the word "excavations" rather than "archaeological sites" in the formulation?

I am sure that both bodies have taken legal advice to avoid careless wording. So we can only presume that in the case of ADCAEA that this is intentional.

And those who observe these things will note the presence of a paid lobbyist on the list of officers for ADCAEA. What signal does that send out about this new association?