From museum to mantelpiece

The ‘museum’ and ‘mantelpiece’ of the title are not intended to be precise and self-explanatory terms but rather to be alliterative and catchy, alluding to the destinies of collectable antiquities, available for purchase and which, rightly or wrongly, have already undergone the process of commodification. In November 1996, in the Homes and Gardens section of the Guardian Weekend, Chris Martin is again featured under the headline ‘Sale of the centuries’. Seasonal excavation of this site has been proceeding under licence for the past fifteen years, either annually or every other year, by the British Museum under the direction of Jonathan Tubb. Perhaps the situation is different in the large national museums – perhaps the material available in the storerooms of American and British museums is more marketable. It is difficult to say. Reputable antiquities dealers do have a professional body with its own code of ethics.