A cultural property battle is raging in Germany, and one archaeologist is attacking auctionfirms and the antiquities trade in general, saying their efforts help finance terrorists.

Auction houses and art dealers are fighting back, though. They say that the issue is grossly inflated, and that such businesses work to ensureproper title and origin of all items they sell.

The row began Oct. 20, when German broadcasting company Das Erste (ARD) aired a 43-minute video whose title translates to "The Squandered Legacy:Terrorist Financing by German Auction Houses." A related story in English was also posted.

The same day, broadcaster DW (Deutsche Welle) aired a video interview with Michael Mueller-Karpe of the Roemisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum(Roman-Germanic Central Museum) in Mainz. In the DW video, Mueller-Karpe is quoted as saying: "The trade in antiquities promotes the destruction ofarchaeological sites and the information they contain, and it finances terrorism. One needs to be very clear: this market is soaked in blood."

Qassam Atta, a spokesperson for the Iraqi military, is quoted in the DW video as saying, "One of the ways the Islamic State raises money isthrough the sale of Iraqi antiquities that are between 2[000] and 3,000 years old. For example, valuable ancient artifacts stolen from Mosul havebeen sold for large sums of money. These funds almost certainly go to financing the IS."

In a statement from Gorny & Mosch released Nov. 13, the auction firm rejects the accusations made against it in the video.

Gorny & Mosch singled out the "wrong and fallacious" statements of Mueller-Karpe, claiming that the video report was aimed at "cheapsensationalism."

To read the complete article, see:
Archaeologist in Germany claimsauction houses support terrorism (www.coinworld.com/insights/archaeologist-in-germany-claims-auction-houses-support-terrorism.html)