Author Archives: Brent Nongbri

Dirk Obbink, Scott Carroll, and a Papyrus of Plato

Past posts on this blog have examined different aspects of Dirk Obbink’s involvement in the trade in ancient manuscripts–as buyer, seller, and consultant to Hobby Lobby. Another key part of the high-end antiquities market is the process of appraisal, assigning … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Lee Biondi, Mummy cartonnage, Scott Carroll | 15 Comments

The Radiocarbon Dating of the “New Sappho” Papyrus

In my last post on the various discrepancies in the origin story of the Sappho papyrus published in 2014, I mentioned an article by Dirk Obbink published in The Times Literary Supplement on 5 February 2014. In this article, Professor … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, P.Sapph. Obbink, Radiocarbon analysis | 12 Comments

Dirk Obbink, Scott Carroll, and Sappho

When I was pulling together material illustrating the long and close association of Dirk Obbink with the Green Collection / Museum of the Bible organizations, and especially the connection between Professor Obbink and Scott Carroll from 2010-2012, it occurred to … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Sappho, P.Sapph. Obbink, Scott Carroll | 16 Comments

One of the “Other” Oxyrhynchus Gospels for Sale and a Pattern in the Green Collection

Like many people, I have a number of lingering questions about the alleged sale of four fragmentary gospel papyri from the Oxyrhynchus collection. I’ve mentioned a few of them already in other posts. I’m going to go a little deeper … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, First Century Mark, Green Collection 1 Corinthians, Green Collection Romans, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Scott Carroll | 9 Comments

Dirk Obbink and the Museum of the Bible: A Brief History

Although it is widely known that Dirk Obbink had an association with the Green Collection (and later the Museum of the Bible) going back at least as far as 2010, the recent news that Professor Obbink was also (legally) selling … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Mummy cartonnage, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Scott Carroll | 29 Comments

Jerry Pattengale on Dirk Obbink and the Mark Fragment

Elijah Hixson draws attention to an article that appeared online today in Christianity Today by Jerry Pattengale, one of the core team who developed the Green Collection and the Museum of the Bible: “The ‘First-Century Mark’ Saga from Inside the … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, First Century Mark, Green Collection, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Scott Carroll | 19 Comments

The Egypt Exploration Society Statement on Alleged Sales of Papyri to Hobby Lobby

The Egypt Exploration Society has issued a statement on the alleged sale of Oxyrhynchus papyri: Professor Obbink and sales of papyri to Hobby Lobby. I recommend everyone read the full statement at the link above. I note that the statement … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, First Century Mark, Green Collection, Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 12 Comments

The EES and the Oxyrhynchus Papyri “Card” System

One of the issues emerging from the letter and documents released by Mike Holmes regarding the sale of Oxyrhynchus manuscripts has to do with the “card catalog” system for organizing the unpublished Oxyrhynchus papyri, which was mentioned in the statement … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 21 Comments

Dirk Obbink and the Oxyrhynchus “Distribution” Papyri

There is an interesting twist with the developing story of the alleged attempt by Dirk Obbink to sell Oxyrhynchus papyri owned by the Egypt Exploration Society. It appears that he had some prior experience selling Oxyrhynchus papyri that he did … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 29 Comments

Revisiting Some of Scott Carroll Comments in Light of the “First Century” Mark Purchase Agreement

My last post looked into a couple questions raised by the recently released purchase agreement between Hobby Lobby and Dirk Obbink regarding so-called “First Century” Mark. In this post, I want to explore how these new revelations might demystify some … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, First Century Mark, Green Collection, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Scott Carroll | 17 Comments