Wednesday, July 22, 2009

JEERS

Sotheby's had to remove two Ohr pottery vases from a June auction. Both vases were judged to be fakes. The vases were too heavy and had other problems, including a suspicious provenance. The listing said the pieces were from a collection "c.1967." The major group of Ohr pottery was not discovered until 1968 and pieces from the find weren't sold until the 1970s.

Oops--a knowledgeable reader of last week's ezine news, S.B., gently reminded us that the Chinese did not carry inros; the Japanese did. Of course, she is correct.



2 comments:

Cristina Potters said...

If in fact the artifacts you mention in today's column are indeed "ancient Mexican..." (for example, pre-Columbian statues, pottery, coins, etc.), they actually belong to the Mexican government. It is illegal to sell them in the United States. They need to be returned to Mexico, just as ancient Greek items have been returned to Greece.

Anonymous said...

I have collected several vintage American flags that have brownish stains on them. Should I try to clean them in any way?
Jan Ammons