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A day after the US government moved to forfeit Hobby Lobby's looted Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, the company sued @ChristiesInc and its consignor, "John Doe," for fraud and breach of warranty.
Hobby Lobby (HL) alleges Christies made false representations about good title when it brokered a private treaty sale of the tablet with an undisclosed seller in July 2014 for the purchase price of $1,694,000.
Specifically, HL alleges Christie's "knowingly made misrepresentations to Hobby Lobby...concerning the Tablet's provenance...adopting and affirming a fictitious history created...to disguise the illegal importation of the object into the US after 1990."
Now, HL alleges, the US forfeiture of the table renders it "unsalable and worthless to Hobby Lobby, which stands to lose both the Tablet and the entire value of the purchase price..."
HL describes "John Doe", the undisclosed consignor in the sale, as "a private art collector who resides in London."
HL's lawyer on the case is Michael McCullough of Pearlstein and McCullough, a firm known to represent art market interests that have long battled against import restrictions on antiquities. In this case they cite those very restrictions:
What about caveat emptor? HL only investigated the provenance of the tablet a few years after they bought it.
HL's attorney's dodge this by saying collectors rely on "sophisticated art sellers...to verify an object's legal ownership."
Tough sledding here for HL's case.
HL's attorney's dodge this by saying collectors rely on "sophisticated art sellers...to verify an object's legal ownership."
Tough sledding here for HL's case.
HL then twists the knife a bit, saying @ChristiesInc "has publicly claimed to conduct careful provenance research and scholarship on all antiquities it offers for sale" and represents a "gold standard...on the international market."
Ha!
Ha!
Here are just a few examples where Christie's has shown its antiquities due diligence to be lacking:
Nancy Weiner case: https://chasingaphrodite.com/2016/12/21/breaking-manhattan-dealer-nancy-wiener-arrested-criminal-complaint-alleges-sweeping-conspiracy-to-sell-stolen-asian-art-through-major-auction-houses/
Subhash Kapoor case: https://chasingaphrodite.com/2016/03/18/asia-week-raids-new-details-on-the-christies-seizures/
Koh Ker looting: https://chasingaphrodite.com/2014/04/10/rebuilding-koh-ker-a-3d-reconstruction-restores-context-to-a-looted-khmer-temple/
HL should have know this was PR.
Nancy Weiner case: https://chasingaphrodite.com/2016/12/21/breaking-manhattan-dealer-nancy-wiener-arrested-criminal-complaint-alleges-sweeping-conspiracy-to-sell-stolen-asian-art-through-major-auction-houses/
Subhash Kapoor case: https://chasingaphrodite.com/2016/03/18/asia-week-raids-new-details-on-the-christies-seizures/
Koh Ker looting: https://chasingaphrodite.com/2014/04/10/rebuilding-koh-ker-a-3d-reconstruction-restores-context-to-a-looted-khmer-temple/
HL should have know this was PR.
HL then spells out the false provenance story detailed in yesterday's government forfeiture complaint, painting HL as the victim of the fraud.
Find that rollicking tale here if you missed it: https://twitter.com/ChasingAphrodit/status/1262471665633554432
Find that rollicking tale here if you missed it: https://twitter.com/ChasingAphrodit/status/1262471665633554432
A few new clues I spotted:
Christie's mystery consignor John Doe bought the tablet before 2013 from "an intermediate owner" who may have bought it from Michael Sharpe, who got it from an unknown dealer.
So there are still a few players yet to appear on the stage...
Christie's mystery consignor John Doe bought the tablet before 2013 from "an intermediate owner" who may have bought it from Michael Sharpe, who got it from an unknown dealer.
So there are still a few players yet to appear on the stage...
We now have names for the Christie's employee:
Christie's Head of Antiquities in London, Georgiana Aitken, negotiated with the American dealer in December 2013.
International Head of Books Margaret Ford prepared the sale catalog with the false (and incomplete) provenance.
Christie's Head of Antiquities in London, Georgiana Aitken, negotiated with the American dealer in December 2013.
International Head of Books Margaret Ford prepared the sale catalog with the false (and incomplete) provenance.
Auction houses have long been "selective" when disclosing antiquities provenances, leaving out key steps that would raise questions.
To wit: HL claims Christie's "deliberately withheld" name of the "American Dealer" who imported the tablet from London in 2003.
To wit: HL claims Christie's "deliberately withheld" name of the "American Dealer" who imported the tablet from London in 2003.
When Hobby Lobby transferred the tablet to Museum of the Bible for display in 2017, museum staff belatedly conducted due diligence, asking Christie's for records of prior owners. HL claims Christie's "doubled down" on false provenance.
HL says it only learned true origin of tablet in Jan and Feb 2020 in meetings with ICE agents and EDNY.
In Jan 2020, government asked HL to voluntarily forfeit the tablet. HL reached out to Christie's in-house counsel (Sandy Cobden most likely) for refund. Christie's refused HL's terms in May. HL refused to give up tablet voluntarily. Thus yesterday's government filing.
Amazingly, this behind the scenes drama was playing out while Hobby Lobby/MOB were the subject of a number of public scandals:
11,500 looted objects returned: https://www.wsj.com/articles/hobby-lobby-president-to-return-11-500-antiquities-to-iraq-and-egypt-11585324494
Dirk Obbink arrest: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/16/oxford-professor-arrested-ancient-papyrus-bible-theft-dirk-obbink
Fake Dead Sea Scrolls: https://www.npr.org/2020/03/17/817018416/museums-collection-of-purported-dead-sea-scroll-fragments-are-fakes-experts-say
11,500 looted objects returned: https://www.wsj.com/articles/hobby-lobby-president-to-return-11-500-antiquities-to-iraq-and-egypt-11585324494
Dirk Obbink arrest: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/16/oxford-professor-arrested-ancient-papyrus-bible-theft-dirk-obbink
Fake Dead Sea Scrolls: https://www.npr.org/2020/03/17/817018416/museums-collection-of-purported-dead-sea-scroll-fragments-are-fakes-experts-say
Christie's has provided comment to @candidamoss in the Daily Beast. The auction house claims to have just learned that the original "dealer" admitted to fake provenance.
How then to explain the exchange in the government complaint about the need for a private sale?
How then to explain the exchange in the government complaint about the need for a private sale?
On the Greens' bid for redemption:
"The language they use is...oddly evocative of Christian narratives of repentance and rebaptism.
They do finally seem to be trying to set things right, but it’s also a carefully managed media campaign that ignores their own culpability."
"The language they use is...oddly evocative of Christian narratives of repentance and rebaptism.
They do finally seem to be trying to set things right, but it’s also a carefully managed media campaign that ignores their own culpability."
Moss goes soft on academics:
"The academy also unwittingly participates in the illicit antiquities market. Prior to Andrew George’s article, the tablet traded for roughly $50k, after his publication its value rose first to $450k and then to over $1.6 million."
Unwittingly?!
"The academy also unwittingly participates in the illicit antiquities market. Prior to Andrew George’s article, the tablet traded for roughly $50k, after his publication its value rose first to $450k and then to over $1.6 million."
Unwittingly?!
