Support Head-Fi.org by
starting all of your
Amazon.com shopping by
clicking here.
____________________________________________________________________
Today's Featured Head-Fi Blog: Jude's Blog
____________________________________________________________________
Please help
support Head-Fi by becoming a Contributing Member
CLICK
HERE -- Contributing Members, thank you
for your generous support! --
i never bought anything ancient, when i was at primary school i did swap a hacky sack for some kids, 'family heirloom', it turned out to be a genuine roman coin, of a very old and ancient age.
I've purchased some old, oxidized, bronze Roman rings, a Roman spear head, some ancient arrowheads from the middle east, and a prehistoric flint hand axe through ebay from a gallery in the Netherlands. The prices have seemed so reasonable, that it's hard not to suspect they're phonies, but from the photos of the retailer's brick and mortar location, and the displays of the antiquities they sell, the place seems legit. I would think that fraudulent sellers of this stuff would keep a much lower profile than this place.
I'm not sure of the legalities of it all, but I imagine there's more of this sort of product in circulation than people realize. I was recently reading about how in Siberia, with the ice/snow receeding like it has been, more and more fossils are being found. Scavengers are getting rich selling Mastadon tusks for $25,000 each and entire skeletons for up to half a million dollars.
__________________
I wondered why the golf ball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
A few years back, I spent a day touring Hearst Castle located in San Simeon California. Built by William Randolph Hearst (and never completely finished), the castle is a monument to the type of cultural looting that took place after World War II. Hearst took it to a new level. For instance, he shipped entire ceilings and had them cut to fit his pre-existing structures. After a few years of this, many foreign governments enacted laws to present such pillaging (at least the blatant, in-your-face, kind).
That said, the castle is a true wonder on many levels. Words or pictures do *not* do it justice. (I shot well over 1000 frames that day.)
I'm thinking about buying this Egyptian necklace from 400 BC being sold on ebay for approx. $100.
Right now, I'm the current bidder at $75. If I do win the bid, it would be great! It would be cool wearing a 2,000 year old Egyptian necklace.
BTW, sligtly off topic, here's a fossil skull of a T Rex dinosaur approx. 75 million years old. The price is $295,000 on ebay. That would look awesome in the living room.
BTW, sligtly off topic, here's a fossil skull of a T Rex dinosaur approx. 75 million years old. The price is $295,000 on ebay. That would look awesome in the living room.
Been looking at that auction actually. I asked last week when I was at the Field Museum about sales and stuff. turns out museum's will do consulting or selling of replica Fossil's for a easy "donation". Museum's themselves use most castings or replica molds from the original fossil themselves for displays. it makes sense going this route just in the weight of the real deal compared to the weight of a cast. as far as spotting artifacts and smaller items..there is a little secret in knowing when a place is showing a fake from a real deal. look at how it's lit up, if you see fiber optic lighting or led's then chances are it's real. if you see halogen type then most likely it's a cast/fake.
I think it's great to have local museum's offer a consulting service after all if you can not trust them who can you? if you have the money to pay then giving a million or two for a donation is nothing compared to the price your looking to pay for most of this stuff. if anyone wants advice i think these people would point you in the right direction at least for free..
After a few years of this, many foreign governments enacted laws to present such pillaging (at least the blatant, in-your-face, kind).
I'd lay odds that there are more Egyptian (and similar) antiquities in European museums and private collections than are in their original countries. If they hadn't been so huge, the pyramids would likely be sitting in Piccadilly Circus right now.
__________________
I wondered why the golf ball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
Linear Mode
