The SGAA issue...

 

 

 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/arts/design/fake-antiquities-investigation.html

He Sold Antiquities for Decades, Many of Them Fake, Investigators Say

The owner of a Manhattan gallery was charged with grand larceny and other crimes by prosecutors who say he mass-produced objects that he passed off as ancient artifacts.

 By Colin Moynihan
Aug. 25, 2021

For years, looted antiquities have been a law enforcement priority, not only because the smuggling of ancient artifacts damages the cultural heritage of their countries of origin, but because illicit sales have sometimes financed the operation of drug gangs or terror organizations.

But prosecutors say Mehrdad Sadigh, a New York antiquities dealer whose Sadigh Gallery has operated for decades in the shadow of the Empire State Building, decided not to go to the trouble of acquiring ancient items.

He made bogus copies instead, they say, creating thousands of phony antiquities in a warren of offices just off his display area and then marketing them to unsophisticated and overeager collectors.

“For many years, this fake antiquities mill based in midtown Manhattan promised customers rare treasures from the ancient world and instead sold them pieces manufactured on-site in cookie-cutter fashion,” the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., said in a statement after Mr. Sadigh was arrested earlier this month.

Mr. Sadigh has pleaded not guilty to charges of scheming to defraud, grand larceny, criminal possession of a forged instrument, forgery and criminal simulation.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/the-dealer-behind-one-of-the-biggest-antiquities-forging-operations-in-the-us-pleads-guilty

October 21, 2021

For nearly 40 years, Mehrdad Sadigh sold prized artifacts from ancient civilizations spanning from Mesopotamia to the Byzantine Empire and beyond. Or so his unsuspecting clients thought. Now, Sadigh has pled guilty to seven felony counts—including forgery and grand larceny—in New York’s State Supreme Court.

During court proceedings last week, prosecutors drew on evidence gathered by the Manhattan district attorney’s antiquities trafficking unit and Federal Homeland Security agents to paint a picture of what they estimated to be one of the biggest antiquities-forging operations in the country based on sales figures and longevity.

Now, that guy is likely out of the business for good. The Manhattan district attorney’s office filed a sentencing memorandum asking for five years’ probation for Sadigh, and a permanent ban from dealing antiquities “both genuine and fake.” As for those who’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that the sarcophagus purchased a few blocks from the Empire State Building might not be the real deal, it might be time for a closer look:

Do any of these Look Familiar?

(SGAA).

MC 2022.

Professor John E. Morby (CSUEB, 1939-2010) purchased a few items once and wondered if "are these legal?" after I gave him something from SGAA for his retirement gifts.  5% of anything SGAA sold are possibly authentic.  The same odds are in any Casino "wins" radius.  The other "95%" are FAKES, artificially created and sold, mostly tourist trash from Egypt or other nations.  I was only interested for historical research.  Faience is green-blue not brown (possibly from baked Nile clay).  Be aware of "low end artifacts."  

MC 2022.