ABSTRACT
Whereas in Chapter 1 we discussed the basic antiquities trafficking stages of source, transit, and destination market; considering the key features and stakeholders in each, in Chapter 2 we note that in practice there is a blurring of distinctions between these stages. It is at these blurred margins and these important interfaces where we find both the unique and defining features of the illicit trade in antiquities and the external structures that the trade depends upon. In this chapter we take a closer look at the interface of the source and transit phases and the interface of the transit and destination market phases of the antiquities smuggling chain. Using case studies from our fieldwork in Latin America and South/Southeast Asia, we unpack these interfaces as key components of antiquities trafficking networks. We conclude with a discussion of the concept of ‘greyness’ as it applies to the antiquities market, particularly in relation to various types of legal and moral greyness at interface points.
