Category Archives: Antiquities Dealers and Collectors

Further Revelations from Sampson’s Article: The Sappho Papyrus and the German Officer

Posted on November 9, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

In a previous post on C. Michael Sampson’s article in the most recent issue of the Bulletin of the American Association of Papyrologists, I mentioned that Sampson’s essay contained a number of interesting but somewhat complicated revelations about questions surrounding … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Find Stories, Mummy cartonnage, P.Sapph. Obbink | 3 Comments

More on Dirk Obbink and the Provenance of the Sappho Papyrus

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

The latest issue of the Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists was just published. It contains an article by C. Michael Sampson, “Deconstructing the Provenances of P.Sapph.Obbink.” The article brings a load of new evidence to bear on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Sappho, P.Sapph. Obbink, Passages Speakers Series, Scott Carroll | 5 Comments

Ariel Sabar’s Veritas: Some First Reactions

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Thanks to Doubleday for sending along an advanced copy of Ariel Sabar’s new book, Veritas. I really didn’t know what to expect with this book. Sabar’s detailed article on the so-called “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” in The Atlantic in 2016 … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Fakes and Forgeries | 11 Comments

Qumran Cave 1 Questions, Part 6: 1QSa and 1QSb

Posted on July 9, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

As I continue to work through the Cave 1 scrolls to try to sort out the purchases from the excavated materials, I spent some time today with the lists of photographs in Tov and Pfann, Companion Volume to the Dead … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Dead Sea Scrolls, Khalil Eskander Shahin (Kando) | 8 Comments

Qumran Cave 1 Questions, Part 5: The Strange Case of 1Q5 Fragment 13

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

1Q5 is a collection of dozens of fragments reassembled into 20 or so more substantial fragments representing one of two copies of the book of Deuteronomy associated with Cave 1 (1QDeutb). The fragments of 1Q5 were edited in DJD 1 … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Archaeological context, Dead Sea Scrolls, Khalil Eskander Shahin (Kando) | 2 Comments

The Antiquities Trade in Michigan

Posted on May 17, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

In an earlier post working through some of the details in Ariel Sabar’s piece in The Atlantic, I noted that it was news to me that Professor Dirk Obbink had incorporated his antiquities trading company (“Oxford Ancient”) in Michigan in … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink | 6 Comments

The Atlantic Article and Green Collection Cartonnage

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

I continue to unpack various parts of Ariel Sabar’s informative article in The Atlantic. One of the things that originally piqued the curiosity of many of us about the Green Collection was their seemingly endless supply of “cartonnage,” a term … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection 1 Samuel, Green Collection Sappho, Mummy cartonnage, P.Sapph. Obbink, Scott Carroll | 3 Comments

Some Additional Thoughts on Sabar’s Atlantic Article

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

There really is quite a bit to digest in Ariel Sabar’s long piece on Professor Dirk Obbink in The Atlantic. Here are a couple additional interesting selections: “Though it wasn’t publicly known, Obbink served as more than just an academic … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Aristotle, Green Collection Mysteries Papyrus, Michigan Papyri | 7 Comments

New Article on Dirk Obbink in The Atlantic

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

Ariel Sabar has published a fascinating account of the saga of Professor Dirk Obbink and the Green Collection in The Atlantic. I encourage everyone to check out the whole story here. For me, the most interesting new details have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Dirk Obbink, Green Collection, Green Collection Romans, Green Collection Sappho, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Scott Carroll | 15 Comments

An Update on the Case of the Stolen Oxyrhynchus Papyri

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

H/T Roberta Mazza: According to this article in The Oxford Blue, “Christ Church professor Dirk Obbink was arrested on 2nd March 2020 for alleged theft of ancient papyrus from the Sackler Classics Library in Oxford.” Further on, the article quotes … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Dirk Obbink, Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 10 Comments