[MSN] Reaction Michel van Rijn to message David Norden

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Dear Ton,

The following article by David Norden came to my attention by receiving your always very informative museum security mail.

May I please point out to you and your readers that Mr. Norden, taking the moral high ground in this posting, has been exposed in the past in dealing on numerous occasions in protected Nok Terracotta's, smuggled out of Nigeria.

A ‘prime’ example of Mr. Norden’s more recent dealings: http://www.buyafricanantiques.com/nok_figures.htm

Mr. Norden should clean up his own act before ‘lecturing’ academia and the public about the rights and wrongs in the Tribal art trade.

I am also shocked to read at the end of his posting, that Mr. Norden uses your non profit platform to solicit funds for his own newsletter. Shame on him!

Michel van Rijn

------------

Collecting African Art: People need to buy in confidence, but still need to
stay alert for unscrupulous dealers, who even find ways to work hand in hand
with Museums as the Heidelberg story from this month shows once again.

Van: David Norden [mailto:david at african-antiques.com]
Verzonden: woensdag 28 februari 2007 23:33
Aan: museum-security at museum-security.org
Onderwerp: {Spam?} [african-antiques.com] Newsletter March 2007

? African Antiques newsletter March 2007
Dear museum-security at museum-security.org,

Spring is back and I have found some good news for you related to African
Art. More people are telling me everyday how much my research is invaluable
to them, and supports me, so I was able to do some traveling and discovered
some stunning new Museums and interesting news.?

Collecting African Art today is like a Samurai Sword cutting on both edges.
People need to buy in confidence, but still need to stay alert for
unscrupulous dealers, who even find ways to work hand in hand with Museums
as the Heidelberg story from this month shows once again.

The guarantee you buy a real African Antiquity from a seller in good
condition, with a correct description and provenance, has to be backed up
these days by the reputation of the seller. Since prices are getting up, you
as a customer expect to be sure about what is offered to you. But when a
Museum in Germany opens their exposition space to a dealer with a reputation
of selling only copies and fakes and this exposition is also published in a
beautifully bond book with very good photography, the collector is very
mislead. This happened for two consecutive years in Heidelberg, and it's a
shame, since this can strongly harm the confidence of the collectors, and is
a burden both for the honest dealers, but also for the Museums who lose
credit.

So I would say the director of this Museum should look for other work, such
as cultivating flower-bulbs, it is honest work and you also get dirty hands!
Bruneaf, Brussels: from June 6th to 17th 2007
The Bruneaf Fair in Brussels changed its rules and organization to attract
more customers.?

Major Parisian dealers like Bernard Dulon already confirmed participation.
Four experts have been named to check the quality of the pieces to be
published in the catalogue, but will also check the objects exhibited by the
participating galleries. Pieces will be vetted in a more independent way,
besides the two Bruneaf members Didier Claes and Marc Leo Felix two non
Bruneaf participating dealers/experts joined the team; Lucien van de Velde
from Antwerp-Belgium, and Henricus Simonis from D?sseldorf, Germany.?

But what will be done with the rejected pieces?? More news about the Bruneaf
and related events in the next edition.

There will be a not to be missed exhibition with one hundred eleven
masterpieces collected during their live time by Willy and Marthe Mestach,
during the Bruneaf events in Brussels.

Enjoy this month news,

David Norden
Want to support the newsletter??