Zahi Hawass. Love him or hate him, he has had an impact on us! Item Number: 100055 $0.00

DescriptionWe heard yesterday that Zahi Hawass, Minister of State for Antiquities for Egypt was being fired for his ties to the Mubarak regime. As a dealer, I could not be more pleased by this turn of events. Mr. Hawass is clearly a guy with a rather large ego who cares as much about his image as he does the precious antiquities under his control. For years he tormented dealers and collectors alike through his usually unreasonable assertion that if it was ancient, and Egyptian, then it belonged in Egypt. That held true for items exported 20 years ago, or items exported 100 years ago. We lost a sale of three Egyptian sarcophagi to a European museum because Hawass told the museum he would personally come after these pieces – despite the fact each was provenanced as coming from American museums for upwards of 100 years each.

But, despite his serious shortfalls and grating personality, he did bring to the attention of the world the need for each country to take charge of their cultural patrimony. His very forceful persona made it clear that Egypt certainly was not going to stand by as its cultural treasures were smuggled out in the middle of the night. He also brought the fear of God to many dealers and many collectors that trading in elicit antiquities can (and often will) lead one to serious legal consequences. Sadly, we know 2 of the players in the recently announced case of antiquity trafficking that was Mr. Hawass’ last “hurrah.” While we certainly do not know much of the details of this case, we do hope that people withhold their opinions of innocence or guilt until all the facts are made public. If the accusations of Mr. Hawass and the US Attorney are found to be true in a court of law, then these individuals will certainly get what they deserve. But there are always 2 sides to each story, and we hope the publicized side of this story is either incomplete, or partially inaccurate…

As collectors the lesson that Mr. Hawass has emphasized and re-emphasized is you must do your due diligence and know the laws before you buy. I have expressed in past how difficult understanding all the laws relating to cultural patrimony can be, but sadly, ignorance of these laws will not protect you should the feds come knocking on your door. Countries like Egypt, like Peru, like China, etc, etc, protecting their cultural patrimony is here to stay, and will only get worse.

As a buyer – do the following:

• Buy from sources you can trust!
• Get signed documentation that the items you buy have been imported legally.
• Learn the basics of the UNESCO Treaty, as well as the basic laws that govern this industry.
• If there is the slightest hint an object was imported illegally, run away (and run very quickly)! There is no example of any piece of ancient art that is worth a felony record, a large fine, the unwanted notoriety or even a single day in jail. There are plenty of pieces of legally available ancient art to go around. Find it!