ABSTRACT
This past year was-like many of the years immediately preceding it-a cautionary one for participants in the market for art and cultural property. Dealers and auction houses, collectors and museums have some basis for concern about objects passing through their hands and are developing an increasing recognition of the need for greater diligence in art market transactions. Generations of ask-me-no-questions-and-I’lltell-you-no-lies dealer practices in the art market, abided by museum buyers and private collectors alike, are gradually transforming into an approach to due diligence that appropriately recognizes the magnitude of the transactions and the risks of error. As Time magazine noted in its October 9, 2005, issue: “For decades, ancient artifacts have been illicitly dug up and sold to see-no-evil museums.”2 The New York Times reported on December 8, 2005, “For years, museums have permitted art brokered through cities like Geneva and London to come into their collections. Dealers have been given a nod and a wink, so that they would know better than to share dirt on the origins of what they were selling.”3 Nor are museums alone in these historical practices, as questions continue to arise about objects proposed for sale or donation from older private collections that were built with historical bad habits.4
