Want to Buy an Egyptian Sarcophagus? Alan Dershowitz Is Eager to Sell
Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz is apparently stuck with an Egyptian sarcophagus that he no longer wants.
Like many antiquities collectors, Dershowitz is having trouble selling as a result of measures being taken to curb the trade in looted artifacts, the New York Times results. Dershowitz bought the Egyptian sarcophagus from Sotheby’s in the early 1990s, but he’s having trouble selling now because auction houses are more exacting about items they accept for consignment.
“I can’t get proof of when it came out of Egypt,” Dershowitz told the Times.
Most museums abide by rules drafted in 2008 that require artifacts to have a documented history stretching back before 1970, the story says. Said Manhattan Chinese art dealer James Lally, “Objects are guilty until proven innocent.”
