Dear Friends,

I am happy to report that, as a result of AIA's swift response to the
proposed sale of ancient jewelry at the St. Louis Art Museum, the
Museum has decided to cancel the sale. The letters and messages from
numerous colleagues, members of the Professional Responsibilities
Committee, and the leadership of the St. Louis Society of the AIA were
successful in communicating our conviction that collecting of
undocumented antiquities and the commodification of archaeological
artifacts has a direct link to rampant site looting and the illicit trade, and
must not be promoted.   We appreciate Associate Director Sidney
Goldstein's thoughtful reconsideration of the circumstances and his
willingness to work with archaeologists on responsible educational
programs for ancient art and archaeology.

Dr. Goldstein has requested that I circulate the following statement:  *The
Saint Louis Art Museum has canceled the jewelry sale scheduled for this
weekend. The sale was to have been part of the events surrounding the
opening of the exhibit, *Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Thracians,*
which opens to the public Saturday and continues through April 5.

Some members of the archaeological community have expressed
concerns about the sale of antiquities within museums. Despite the fact
that all items for sale here would have had appropriate provenance and
would have been presented by well-established, reputable dealers, we
have decided to cancel the jewelry sale to keep the focus on our world
premiere of this important exhibition.*

Many thanks!

Claire Lyons
AIA Vice President, Professional Responsibilities
[note: this posting is sent on behalf of the Archaeological Institute of
America and is not intended to represent the views of any other
organization or institution.]