[MSN] Illicit artefacts sold as eBay turns blind eye

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Illicit artefacts sold as eBay turns blind eye
Dalya Alberge, Arts Correspondent

3,500 items for sale in two months 
Sellers claim to have obeyed the law
  
'Medieval' silver button offered on eBay is likely to be more recent 
 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2510018,00.html 
 
 
Roman and Anglo-Saxon jewellery and other artefacts are still being sold
illegally on eBay, despite the website’s promise to clamp down on the trade.


The British Museum has told The Times that it is alarmed at the number of
sellers offering gold and silver that has apparently been found on British
soil but has not been reported. 

The Treasure Act 1996 requires the reporting of all gold and silver objects
more than 300 years old, and groups of coins that are more than 300 years
old and found on the same site. 

Two years ago The Times reported that the number of potential treasure finds
being offered for sale on eBay was so high that it was undermining the
credibility of the Act. 

This month the journal British Archaeology reports that between August and
September this year almost 3,500 antiquities were offered for sale on the
British eBay website, of which 600 were “British”. 

In October eBay addressed the problem, signing a memorandum of understanding
with the British Museum and The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, the
Government’s advisory body. The website promised to discourage the illegal
trade in antiquities and agreed to allow the British Museum to contact
sellers “to ascertain whether there is a reasonable cause for concern”. 

But Claire Costin, of the Portable Antiquities Scheme at the British Museum,
said yesterday: “The number of potential treasure finds for sale on eBay has
not noticeably decreased since we began the monitoring process.” 

Sellers have found a way round the problem. On being contacted by the
British Museum, they simply insist that the objects came from overseas. Miss
Costin said: “Frequently we are told that an item was bought abroad or was
from an old collection, in which case there is not much that we can do,
although in some cases we will inform the seller that they should provide
evidence to buyers that the object has been legally exported from its
country of origin.” 

Among the recent offerings on eBay was an early medieval gold pendant. When
contacted by the British Museum, the seller said that it had been bought at
an antiquities fair in Germany in the 1980s. 

The owner of a Roman silver bracelet said: “This bracelet originates from
Italy. All of my items are from private collections of Central Europeans.” 

The seller of a medieval silver ring became agitated after being contacted
by the British Museum, saying in an e-mail: “I have responded and answered
all your questions. I have been polite and courteous. I would now appreciate
you cease this harassment and deal with eBay.” 

A spokesman for eBay said: “If people are saying they don’t know where
something’s from, then that is the truth, as far as we know.” 

As many of the finds are sold by dealers or another third party rather than
the finder, there is little information about whether such finds have or
should have been reported. 

Miss Costin said: “Many sellers also feel that they have no obligation to
report the artefacts they are selling, feeling that this is the finder’s
responsibility. 

“We would love a change in the law to expand the obligation to report. We
want all those who are involved in the sale of potential treasure artefacts
to ensure that the finds have been reported, and also to be aware of the
fact that finds should not be bought or sold unless evidence can be provided
that the object has been disclaimed by the Crown.” The Treasure Act confers
a legal obligation on all finders of treasure to report them to a coroner
within 14 days of making the find, or realising the find was treasure. The
penalties include imprisonment for up to three months and a £5,000 fine. 

Michael Lewis, the deputy head of the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities
Scheme, said: “People are buying treasure objects from whoever and not
asking questions, then selling it on. We’d like illicit sales of antiquities
to be stopped... Most antiquities have no provenance. They can be
suspicious, but there’s no proof there’s anything dodgy.” 

It means that newly discovered treasure items are being sold off without
experts being given a chance to study them. Important information about our
heritage could be lost. 

The eBay spokesman said that if they did not sell the antiquities, people
would find a way to sell them “one way or another”. He added: “eBay is the
safest place to do so.” 

Miss Costin said she was hopeful that things would improve. “It is still
early days. Given that we have persuaded several eBay sellers to report
artefacts — the majority of whom were previously genuinely unaware of the
treasure Act and the legal obligation to report potential Treasure finds —
and that these sellers have been very co-operative, we are hopeful there
will be a long-term impact of our work.”

Auction site is a treasure trove for collectors - but have these items been
reported?

What eBay advertisement said: “Very rare silver Saxon ring of interwoven
silver strands which do not normally survive because of fragility” 
What the British Museum said: “This was found in Cambridgeshire. If the
finder thinks it is (Saxon) he had an obligation to report. He says it was
found ‘some years ago’, which may suggest it should have been reported
treasure trove rather than under the Treasure Act” 

“Rare Anglo-Saxon gold snake-ring, c6th century, found with a detector,
Suffolk” 
British Museum: “The seller says object has been reported, but we would be
interested to know that for sure” 

“Silver button, possibly medieval, found in Norfolk” 
British Museum: “Since the finder says this is medieval — though I think it
might be more recent — it should be reported. The finder says he is going to
take it to our finds officer in Suffolk (where he lives). If it is potential
treasure he will remove it from sale and report it”
 
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/