[MSN] "Re: Contents of MSN-list digest, 20 January: 'McNall on Hecht & Collapse of Antiquities Market'

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

"Re: Contents of MSN-list digest, 20 January:
Rebuttal on 'McNall on Hecht & Collapse of Antiquities Market'

      What collapse?  It is certainly surprising that Bruce McNall has 
stated in his just-published interview with Suzan Mazur that “buyers 
have virtually been eliminated” for works of ancient art and that the 
bottom has fallen out of the antiquities market.  Since apparently none 
of his antiquity business was conducted after 1991 (and certainly not 
while he was in jail for those several years!), he obviously has been 
out of touch with the trade.  If he had been following my bi-annual 
reports on the antiquities sales published in Minerva, the 
International Review of Ancient Art & Archaeology, from 1990 to date 
(32 reports!), he would realize that far from his comment that “buyers 
have virtually been eliminated”, the volume of sales has been 
increasing steadily over the past number of years and record prices are 
constantly being reached.

      He states that “except for a handful of pieces out there which are 
legally exported or properly documented, probably 1% or less of things 
found (have proper documentation)”.  This extremely exaggerated comment 
hardly merits a lengthy reply.  One only needs to view the prolific 
amount of properly provenanced objects that continue to flow through 
the auction houses in New York, London, Paris, Basel, and elsewhere – 
thousands of antiquities annually. The surprisingly buoyant market is 
due, in fact, most probably, to all of the publicity about provenance 
attracting new collectors who had not realized that ancient art could 
be obtained so reasonably compared to other areas of the art market.

      Since McNall obtained almost all of his stock through Robert Hecht 
and primarily suppliers of illegally excavated and exported pieces from 
Italy, Greece, and Turkey (he actually names some of the suppliers in 
his interview!), I would venture to say that very little that he 
handled came from old collections, museum deaccessions, etc.  In fact 
he brazenly admits to knowingly being involved in breaking antiquities 
laws of source countries.

      As for Ms Mazur’s passing on Peter Watson’s comment that an 
antiquity dealer did not renew his lease on his (Madison Avenue) 
gallery “because the market’s collapsed”, he’s way off the mark. That 
dealer has been receiving his more important clients and conducting 
most of his sales at his nearby townhouse - just down the street - for 
the past seven years and certainly does a significant business at the 
Paris Biennale and Palm Beach Fair. In addition the rents had been 
skyrocketing on Madison Avenue and he simply did not renew his 
long-term lease when it came up for renewal.

      The antiquities market will continue to thrive in spite of these 
naysayers as long as there are people who relish the excitement of 
owning genuine, legally acquired works of art that have survived for 
perhaps some 2000 years and want the creative satisfaction, enjoyment, 
and pride in forming a truly fine and significant collection.

Jerome M. Eisenberg, Ph.D.
Director
Royal-Athena Galleries
New York, New York
Est. 1942
www.royalathena.com




________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL.  Most comprehensive set of free safety and 
security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from 
across the web, free AOL Mail and more.