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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DonnaML, post: 5412880, member: 110350&quot;]What a grossly offensive question.</p><p><br /></p><p>I suggest that anyone inclined to swallow this wholesale should remember that the UNESCO convention itself has no legal force whatsoever in the USA.&nbsp; (See&nbsp; <a href="https://culturalpropertynews.org/get-the-facts/#what-is-the-1970-rule" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://culturalpropertynews.org/get-the-facts/#what-is-the-1970-rule" rel="nofollow">https://culturalpropertynews.org/get-the-facts/#what-is-the-1970-rule</a>.) It&#039;s an essentially arbitrary date adopted by museums to govern future acquisitions. See the detailed article at <a href="http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/spencer/spencers-art-law-journal-7-17-12.asp" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/spencer/spencers-art-law-journal-7-17-12.asp" rel="nofollow">http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/spencer/spencers-art-law-journal-7-17-12.asp</a> for the actually applicable legal principles, particularly the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act of 1983, implementing the UNESCO Convention. By the way, the provisions apply primarily to imports, not good faith purchases within the USA.&nbsp; And, as to civil forfeiture, see in particular the following:</p><p><br /></p><p>10. “Stolen Property.” Objects may be forfeited by Customs if stolen from “the inventory of a museum or religious or secular public monument or similar institution in any State Party” after the <b>later</b> of 1983 (the effective date of the CPIA) or the date of the State Party joined UNESCO. (This is a very traditional, essentially “site-specific,” definition of theft. It is the opposite of a “blank check” definition of theft under McClain triggered by a general declaration of national ownership. See below.)</p><p><br /></p><p>11. “Safe Harbors” for Museums and Old Collections. Any “cultural property” (including Designated Materials) is exempt from the CPIA if held in the United States for a period of not less than three consecutive years by a recognized museum or religious or secular monument or similar institution, and was purchased by that institution for value, in good faith, and without notice that such material or article was imported in violation of the CPIA, if the material is published and exhibited for specified periods. <b>Cultural property is also exempt if it has been within the United States for a period of not less than 20 consecutive years and the claimant establishes that it purchased the material or article for value, in good faith, and without notice that such material or article was imported in violation of law</b>. </p><p><br /></p><p>I bought every Royal Athena object I&#039;ve shown in this thread, with one exception, between 1985 and 1993. So between 27 and 35 years ago. Hardly anybody was asking about specific provenance back then (for coins or antiquities), but I did get the distinct impression at the time that all of them had been on the US market for quite some time. But the fact that I bought the objects from Royal Athena that long ago, and that close to 1983, together with the fact that I have documentation of every one of my purchases (from other dealers as well), should be more than enough, I believe, to prove the necessary good faith to avoid any claim seeking civil forfeiture.</p><p><br /></p><p>More importantly, I have no intention to sell any of my antiquities, ever. They&#039;re for my son someday. Which is why I sold none of them at my lowest economic point some years ago, and sold most of my collection of British coins and medals instead.</p><p><br /></p><p>But if I ever did sell any of them, or my son does after I&#039;m gone, I think the documentation I have would increase marketability, not burden it.</p><p><br /></p><p>So why don&#039;t you go ahead and urge the governments of Italy, Greece, and Egypt to sue me? </p><p><br /></p><p>Do you want to insult me further by suggesting that I&#039;m potentially subject to criminal penalties? See the &quot;Cultural Property News&quot; article posted above, explaining that &quot;Courts may find that an object is stolen when <b>a defendant knows</b> that the foreign nation has claimed ownership of the cultural property, when the foreign law clearly establishes and enforces state ownership, and when the object was removed from the specific foreign nation after passage of the national patrimony law.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Good luck![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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