Advice for Collectors of Antiquities

Five years ago, there were fewer than 50 "professional" dealers of ancient art in North America. These dealers had long-earned reputations, established bases of operation, traveled internationally to all the key antiquities events, and had a deep knowledge of the field. Today, it seems anyone who has every purchased a pottery sherd or an ancient Roman coin has created a web site and claims to be a dealer. The web is a maze of pseudo-dealers, legitimate up-and-coming dealers, and established expert dealers. How do you distinguish? One way to judge is whether the dealer publishes a catalogue. A catalogue is more than tool to help the buyer peruse the selection of objects, it is an important document that establishes provenace, adds value to an object at resale time, and is an important reference source. More.