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AIA Efforts Praised
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September 3, 1998
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by Mark Rose
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Yannis Tzedakis, director of antiquities for Greece, has praised the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) and the efforts of its vice president Claire Lyons in halting the sale of ancient jewelry at the Saint Louis Art Museum earlier this year. "We are indebted to you for your prompt reaction and the e-mail announcement which resulted in the canceling of the sale," wrote Tzedkais. "We are aware of your sensitivity and serious concerns on matters of illicit trafficking of Greek artifacts, and we thank [the] AIA for its assistance to the Greek Archaeological Service."
The museum backed away from its plans to sponsor a sale of ancient jewelry in conjunction with the exhibition Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Thracians in response to AIA-led protests sparked by an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch highlighting the sale. Written by a fashion editor, it described the artifacts and their price range (up to $50,000 and beyond) to be offered at the museum by four New York area dealers and noted that buyers could wear many of the pieces as jewelry.
Lyons protested the sale and initiated an e-mail campaign to stop it. According to Lyons, aside from the questionable practice of museums hosting sales of ancient artifacts on behalf of the trade (some of the sale proceeds would have been shared by the museum), there was no indication that documentation of the objects' provenience had been taken into account in accordance with the UNESCO convention and the prevailing ethical standards of professional organizations. "The sale," says Lyons, "would have set a poor example and encouraged the collecting of undocumented antiquities, an activity that in so many cases directly contributes to site looting and illicit trafficking."
The museum responded to the protest by canceling the sale a day before it was scheduled to begin. AIA St. Louis Society president Neathery Fuller complimented the museum, with which AIA has long collaborated, on its swift and considerate response.
© 1998 by the Archaeological Institute of America
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