[MSN] Amsterdam antiquities dealer Mieke Zilverberg offers dubious cuneiform tablet for sale at the prestigeous European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in The netherlands. Chairperson of IADAA should be more cautious.

[Museum Security Network Mailing list]

Amsterdam antiquities dealer Mieke Zilverberg offers dubious cuneiform
tablet for sale at prestigious European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in The
Netherlands.

Chairperson of IADAA, International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art,
should be more cautious. 

Amsterdam/Rotterdam March 18, 2007 


The Amsterdam dealer Mieke Zilverberg (information about her background and
gallery at the end of this message) has become the focus of critical
questions about her dealing ethics. Since 1984 Zilverberg has been the
antiquities expert on the Dutch "Antiques Road Show" (Tussen Kunst &
Kitsch).
Both in 2005 and 2006 Zilverberg was criticized for estimating objects on
that popular television program that were most likely looted from Iraq and
Syria. Zilverberg claims that the final programs had been edited such that
her comments on the provenance of the objects went missing in the final
program. A rather poor excuse. She should not have allowed that these
objects were shown on TV at all, or only as the focus of information about
the illicit trade. Now it appears that she just estimated the origin and
value of these objects like she is used to with numerous other objects, and
made comments on the provenance as a matter of lesser importance. Ms
Zilverberg claims on her website to be the one and only specialized dealer
in antiquities as well as ancient coins. If she is she cannot hind behind
antiquities laymen like the editors of a TV program.

Now Ms Zilverberg offered a cuneiform tablet at the latest European Fine Art
Fair in Maastricht (TEFAF, see http://www.tefaf.com/). According to Donny
George this tablet is not from the looted Iraq Museum, but it is one of
thousands stolen from archaeological sites in Iraq.
Rumor has it that Ms Zilverberg was warned by Jerome Eisenberg of Athena Art
Gallery that she should not offer this clay tablet for sale at TEFAF. 
March 10 the Dutch journalist Henk Schutten published about the tablet
offered by Zilverberg at TEFAF, and asked questions about the provenance of
the tablet. Several experts commented on this tablet, all of whom raised
questions about the origin of it.
A few days later TEFAF published a press release stating that the cuneiform
tablet used to be part of a Belgium private collection and had been in that
collection for over 35 years. No information about the name of the
collector. The TEFAF vetting committee judged the tablet on quality,
authenticity and condition (so nothing about provenance). Besides the tablet
had been checked by the Art Loss Register and by the Universite Libre in
Brussels by Pierre Talon.

Interesting is that the Art Loss register checked the tablet on March 11,
one day after the publication by Henk Schutten in the Dutch newspaper 'Het
Parool'. Julian Radcliffe, director of the Art Loss register, stated on
several occasions that if an object is not in the ALR database that does NOT
mean it is not stolen. Certificates by the ALR have a standard text stating
the very same. Several experts explained that recently excavated objects
never are in databases of stolen objects. So, referral to those databases is
just meant to build a smoke screen and evade questions. That Pierre Talon
(whoever that might be) translated the tablet does not say anything about
its provenance as well. TEFAF and Zilverberg are just mobilizing
'authorities' to impress.

The only information about the provenance of the tablet is found on the ALR
papers. Mieke Zilverberg received the tablet in consignment from Nelly Drees
of Archeo in Brussels (http://www.dreesarcheo.com/en/presentation.html).
According Michel van Rijn (info at michelvanrijn.nl) Nelly Drees is the long
time partner of antiquities dealer Nabile Asfar. Asfar is not only in Pater
Watson's Medici Conspiracy, but was also part of a very interesting Boston
Globe report that was published 1998. In that report Robert Hecht says that
he was merely a courier for Nabile Asfar, ferrying silver shipments to New
York.

Oops, so there is a link from Zilverberg to Nelly Drees, Asfar and De
medici. Really a most trustworthy combination!

TEFAF's press release in answer to Henk Schutten's thorough report raises a
lot more questions than it answers.

For the third time in three years Mieke Zilverberg seems to have made a faux
pas. Something one might not expect of the chair of IADAA, the International
Association of Dealers in Ancient Art, or of someone claiming herself to be
the one and only Dutch expert in the field of classical archaeology.

Ms Zilverberg has a lot of explaining to do. The latest information is that
Ms Zilverberg instructed her lawyer to request a retraction from the
newspaper Het Parool. If that is true I hope to get the very same request.
If Mieke Zilverberg is able to step forward with trustworthy provenance
information about this clay tablet I will most gladly publish that
information. The link via Nelly Drees to Nabile Asfar will make it VERY
difficult for Ms Zilverberg to convince me. It seems that Ms Zilverberg, if
not of bad faith, has been very superficial in her decision to try and sell
this cuneiform tablet. In this day and age while a very unpleasant armed
conflict is being fought in Iraq all dealers should refrain from selling
anything that is not 100% licit. One must not forget that most money made
with the illicit trade in antiquities ends up in the hands of terrorists
eager to buy weapons.

Ms Zilverberg has been asked for her comments twice, both Friday and
yesterday. Most unfortunately she has refrained from answering.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
About Mieke Zilverberg: