Reminder that Alan Dershowitz is an intense art collector. According to the @nytimes, he owns not one but two Egyptian sarcophagi! According to me, he owns two thingies that are either looted or fake. A short thread! https://twitter.com/kfile/status/1222670206805344257

Here’s the Times article, where Dershowitz complains that he can’t donate his antiquities to museums because they won’t accept them without paperwork to show they were legally exported from their country of origin: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/arts/design/antiquity-market-grapples-with-stricter-guidelines-for-gifts.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Here’s their photo of Dershowitz’s house. Apparently he favors a salon-style hang throughout.

Dershowitz has a sad. Good for museums who don’t want to reward people who buy looted/snuggled antiquities with tax deductions for their donations! Buuuuut saying “we can’t take this without paperwork” is also cover for saying “hahahaha nice try donating a ridiculous fake.”

As an ancient art historian, I’m going to have to say “nope,” “oh hell no,” or “well, maybe” for most of Dershowitz’s “antiquities.”

I mean, Zippy the Pre-Columbian Pinhead over here is not even trying.

So, yeah, don’t buy antiquities without paperwork! You’re either getting looted objects or fakes, and museums shouldn’t accept either of them. Here are screenshots of the Times article. (Also check out that “ancient” “Chinese” “horse”.)

And if you'd like to see me explaining more about how to spot fake ancient art, via discussing a forged Egyptian mummy penis, voila: https://twitter.com/artcrimeprof/status/1114553567094947845?s=20