Category Archives: Dirk Obbink

Hobby Lobby and Penance: Some Observations and Suggestions

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

As I noted on Friday, Steve Green, in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of the Museum of the Bible, announced that the museum would be repatriating some 11,500 artifacts that were acquired with “insufficient provenance.” I’ve taken some … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Scott Carroll | 4 Comments

A Missing “Robinson Papyrus” Found?

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

[Update 22 November 2023: The data here is now superseded by the information gathered in Daniel B. Sharp, “The Provenance of the Robinson and Mississippi Papyri,” Archiv für Papyrusforschung 69 (2023) 162-192.] A few years ago, I started looking into … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, P.Sapph. Obbink, Robinson Papyri | 1 Comment

Dirk Obbink and the Hobby Lobby Sappho Fragments

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

In yet another fascinating video unearthed by David Bradnick, “Seeking Sappho,” we see Oxford Professor Dirk Obbink at work on the Hobby Lobby (Green Collection) Sappho fragments: There are several strange features of this video. First, some of the footage … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Sappho, P.Sapph. Obbink | 14 Comments

More Mummy and Cartonnage Material in the Green Collection

Posted on February 19, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Courtesy of David Bradnick, here are a few more examples of mummy masks and other cartonnage associated with the Green Collection (I have been keeping a record of mummy masks in the Green Collection here). I note that the two … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Mummies, Mummy cartonnage | 6 Comments

Contextualizing the New Sappho Information

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Mike Holmes of the Museum of the Bible has released some intriguing new information about the Sappho papyrus fragments owned by Hobby Lobby. I posted Mike’s statement here. There really is a lot to unpack with this situation. I want … Continue reading →

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

Important Developments with the New Sappho Papyrus

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Mike Holmes of the Museum of the Bible has just released some new discoveries from the Museum’s ongoing provenance research to me and several other people via e-mail. There are several important revelations. Especially important are 1) a stunningly sharp … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Find Stories, Green Collection, Green Collection Sappho, Mummy cartonnage, Scott Carroll | 35 Comments

More on Dirk Obbink and the Marketing of Cultural Heritage Items

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

In The Guardian today, Charlotte Higgins has a follow-up to her longer story on Professor Dirk Obbink. Apparently Professor Obbink bought an important 15th century manuscript at auction in 2014 and then sold it to “an overseas buyer” (at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink | 2 Comments

A New Edition of Sappho by Dirk Obbink

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Following up on the fascinating article on Professor Dirk Obbink by Charlotte Higgins in The Guardian, Roberta Mazza recently revisited her conversations with a representative from Christie’s in 2014 and 2015, which now raise “further questions and doubts on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Sappho, P.Sapph. Obbink | 8 Comments

More News on Dirk Obbink and Sappho

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Charlotte Higgins has just published a long story in The Guardian on Dirk Obbink. It is a very nice compilation of what we know and how the stories of the Sappho papyrus and the stolen Oxyrhynchus papyrus intersect. It also … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection Sappho, P.Sapph. Obbink | 17 Comments

A New Origin Story for the New Sappho

Posted on December 8, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

[[Update 9 December 2019: Transcribed more of the video clip below for greater context.]] The Sappho papyrus published by Professor Dirk Obbink has obscure origins, as many have noted and as I’ve discussed here before. Professor Obbink has provided two … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, Mummy cartonnage, P.Sapph. Obbink | 7 Comments