FBI Warns Dealers and Collectors

A recent warning on the FBI web site alerts art collectors and dealers to be especially careful in the trading of antiquities from the Near East.  The Bureau is asking U.S. art and antiquities market leaders to spread the word that "preventing illegally obtained artifacts from reaching the market helps stem the transfer of funds to terrorists." The anti-collecting league have argued that the sale of looted antiquities is a primary funding vehicle for terrorist activity.  While that point is debatable, and certainly not true in the case of coins and other portable antiquities, the general point is well taken.  No responsible dealer nor collector would intentionally or knowingly sell nor purchase objects that are likely to have emerged from the strife in Syria and Iraq.