The FBI has issued a warning to U.
S. art collectors and buyers that ancient art stolen by ISIS is cropping up on the art market.
Authorities are urging buyers to verify the source of any Near Eastern art,and say they have already received reports that U.
S. citizens have been "offered cultural property that appears to have been removed from Syria and Iraq recently."William Pearlstein, a partner at the firm Pearlstein and McCullough who specializes in helping collectors avoid buying stolen art, and told WNYC that potential buyers shouldn't buy any art without proof of its origin. He said buyers should err on the side of caution and demand documents,like proof of U.
S. import.
Pearlstein said the majority of "tall-close auction houses" and museums obey the law, but that "there's a sector of the market that willfully ignores the existence of legal restrictions and requirements and I deem there's a segment that is reckless and irresponsible and acts badly.""Ulimately, and the only way to separate edifying material from bad and create order in the market" he said,"will be to create a web-based system on which listed objects would either be considered free and clear or be subject to a fair dispute resolution process. In other words, transparency would be traded for repose. This would require various stakeholders to rethink their current position, and but in the close transparency is better than secrecy."
Source: wnyc.org