Ex-Museum Director to Surrender in Theft of Artifacts

Originally published September 15, 2009 | Newsday | by Michael Amon

I think the provost said it best: the alleged actions violate expected standards of academic honesty and the preservation of historical and cultural objects held in the public trust. This thieving curator may be perhaps the dumbest "smart" person ever. I don't know if they already do it, but anyone working in the realm of archaeology should take an oath like medical professionals take the Hypocratic Oath. Even then, humanness still gets in the way, for something as simple as morality is not innate.

Here is an excerpt from this article:

The former director of Long Island University's Hillwood Museum is expected to surrender Wednesday morning on charges he stole nine ancient Egyptian artifacts from the collection and offered them for sale through Christie's auction house, his attorney said Tuesday.

Barry Stern, 61, of Oyster Bay, was charged with theft and lying to an FBI agent in a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Central Islip. Stern had worked at the museum for 22 years before his contract was not renewed in August.

Egyptian Funerary Art Upstages Americana At The Cobbs Sale

Originally published July 28, 2009 | Antiques and the Arts Online | by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

This article features a blurb about the auction of a Roman Era wooden portrait. As Indiana Jones would say, "It belongs in a museum."

The highlight was not early American, however, but early Egyptian — a Fayum sarcophagus portrait of a woman provoked a competition among nine phone bidders and only ended when it went to one for $143,750. The Egyptian painting dates to the Roman First Century AD and depicts a woman with earrings and two necklaces. It came from a Peterborough collector whose husband purchased it in New York City in the 1960s. It was accompanied by a letter verifying the purchase because the original receipt had not been located at the time of the auction. The portrait went to a London dealer buying for a client.

Early Pyramid Photo Revealed

Originally published June 15, 2009 | Amateur Photographer | by Chris Cheesman

Images of Egypt will be part of a Vintage Photography sale at Dominic Winter Book Auctions in Gloucestershire, UK Wednesday, June 17.

Visit the Dominic Winter Book Auctions web site to view what's for sale.

The following are direct links to images of Egypt:

• Egypt and Syria


• Egypt


• Frith's Series. The Great Pyramid and the Great Sphinx


• Frith - Egypt A


• Frith - Egypt B


• Sebah - Statue of Ramses II at Luxor