It seems that Mr Symes was dealing in all sorts of collectables...

See:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23743705-details/Antiquities+dealer+and+a+missing+18m+collection/article.do

The value of Antiquities in Society...

An interesting article from the Gulf News reminds us of the obvious, at a time when progress and development comes into conflict with antiquity....
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=258573

Toxic Indian Antiquities - Another Medici....

A very interesting article from Reuters identifies important illicit Asian antiquities which have been fed to American collectors:

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS175536+04-Sep-2009+PRN20090904

Pre 1970 provenance is rapidly becoming the order of the day...

It seems that Turkey is planning to flood yet another huge dam which will result in the destruction of irreplacable world archaeological heritage...first it was invaluable mosaics that were lost under water, now it is primitive history which is at stake......

This is a country which wants to join the European Union, yet seems oblivious to human rights and cultural heritage...
See:
http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/world/10344241.html

Today the Independent newspaper rerports on a highly important Viking Hoard found by a father and son metal detectorist team, in Yorkshire. This 10th century hoard re-asserts the importance and strong influence of the Vikings all over the UK. See:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/buried-in-a-hurry-ndash-but-it-took-a-millennium-to-find-1778394.html

I suspect there is a lot more Viking material to be unearthed in the UK...

This is an interesting article in The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/aug/28/archaeology-amateur-rewriting-british-history

As I suspected, the Portable Antiquities Recording Scheme is having a positive effect on the relationship between archaeologists and responsible metal detectorists. It may even lead to overt official collaboration on a routine scale!

I can but hope for the sake of all ancient art lovers irrespective of which side of the fence they are on....

The old question of who owns the Elgin marbles in the British Museum has been resurected once more. See:

http://www.canada.com/travel/British+Museum+lost+marbles/1900835/story.html

The pressure once more is on the British Government to return these to Greece, to be housed in the museum especially built for them, in "non polluted" Athens, near the Parthenon, at the foot of the Acropolis..

In my opinion, the Italians, Germans, and the Swedish, have paved this inevitable route that we British have to follow, by returning to Greece similar Parthenon friezes which have hitherto being held in their countries...

Elgin looted Greece and there is no point pretending differently...just because it happened over 100 years ago does not make it right or legal!

What is the percentage of fake antiquities and coins on e-bay do you think?

How does e-bay police this - is it possible? Who can do this? How would you do it if you were in charge? Share your experiences with me.

A Professional Body of Repute For Antiquities Dealers.

Those of us who deal responsibly in antiquities need a reputable body to represent us. Such a body must include not just a code of conduct for its members, but also some demonstration of competence and knowledge. I believe the best way of achieving this is through exams!

I do not consider that the ADA fulfils such a role. Hitherto, it has been no more than an "old boys" club. The majority of its members are quite obviously unwilling to admit new members in case they prove a financial threat to them! Several new hard working dealers have been refused membership for no good reason - no adequate explanations given. The existing members seem to wallow in their own perceived importance!

This is the kind of behaviour that stigmatizes the profession and will ultimately lead to its weakness and destruction. Fake sellers will benefit from such corrupt behaviour in the long run...

The ADA now has a new president in the UK who is more enlightened. We can only hope that things will change.

The American ADA has suffered comparable embarrassment in recent years, seeing a past president serving a prison sentence for an alleged involvement in the smuggling of an antiquity from Egypt.

As sellers, buyers, and collectors of antiquities we neen urgent professional organisation and representation before it is too late.

Already newspapers and the mass media are taking "pot shots" at us - there is a perceived "open season"!

Antiquities In Private Collections.

I have been a collector of ancient art for many years and a dealer in antiquities since 1999.

I fear for the future of ancient art collecting and wish to discuss all aspects of the subject with others who are interested.

eBay has grown into a huge international market place for antiquities and a number of allegedly knowledgeable individuals have expressed opimions which range from the sublime to the rediculous: On one extreme some say that all antiquities on eBay are fake! At the other extreme some accuse eBay of facilitating the loss of important UK heritage to North America and elsewhere...

Whilst all this is going on museum staff seem to think that all those who collect and deal in ancient art must be doing something illegal!

Not helping matters is the fact that the professional dealer associations both in the UK and US have not done much credit to themselves - some prominent members have even served jail sentences! This has left dealers and collectors alike vulnerable to what is often unfair criticism.....

What a Mess!!!

What do you think is the way forward for those of us who care??!

Please feel free to express your opinion.
All sensible contributions will be published following approval - no bad language or potentially libelous comments please!

Look forward to hearing from you,

Best wishes,

Eftis Paraskevaides.