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“Sleeper” Antiquities: Misattributions in Sales of Ancient Art

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2020

James Marrone  and
Silvia Beltrametti
James Marrone
Affiliation:
RAND Corporation, Arlington, VA, United States; Email: [email protected]
Silvia Beltrametti
Affiliation:
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States: Email: [email protected]
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Abstract:

“Sleepers” are artworks or collectibles that are undervalued because one or more characteristics go unrecognized. This article discusses 12 sleepers that have been sold at auction on the antiquity market since 2007 whose attribution as antiquities were originally overlooked, either accidentally or deliberately. The objects are presented in the context of a theoretical framework describing both the legal and economic incentives to perform due diligence and to reveal, or “awaken,” a sleeper antiquity. The theory implies that sleepers may arise for several reasons, and the case studies are grouped accordingly. Most pressingly, the analysis identifies two ways in which sellers are disincentivized to be transparent about an object’s identity: when they can exploit legal loopholes to deliberately misattribute an antiquity and mediate export and when they can hide disagreement about an object’s authenticity to mediate its sale. Placing the case studies in the broader market context, we highlight particular areas that should be addressed by policy or regulatory reform. The analysis also has wider applications to other forms of art.

Type
Article
Information
International Journal of Cultural Property , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 3 - 51
Copyright
The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International Cultural Property Society

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Footnotes

Acknowledgments: The authors thank the following for valuable insight and advice: seminar participants of the Art History and Arts Administration Departments at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Molly Morse Limmer, staff at Christie’s New York, Harry Apter, Tomasso Brothers, Kay Denton, and Morag Kersel. We are also grateful to the staff of the Ryerson and Burnham Library at the Art Institute of Chicago for their constant and invaluable assistance.

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