Demi Lovato got more than a little side-eye after claiming to have bought a gaggle of “Egyptian artifacts” from a random website.
The singer shared video of their finds to Instagram this week, touting certificates of authenticity from MuseumSurplus.com for things like an Egyptian Eye of Horus supposedly dating between 1400 and 713 BC and a cuneiform tablet from the “Babylonian-Assyrian Period,” which spans a whopping 1400 years.
Art crime profession Erin L. Thompson was among those to question the legitimacy of these items, pointing out that the aforementioned cuneiform tablets more closely resemble “pre-gnawed dog biscuits” than any genuine artifact from an ancient civilization.
Both Thompson and archeologist Peter Campbell pointed out that there are moral dilemmas to be had when considering purchasing genuine antiquities, as there’s a large market for stolen artifacts — and the money often goes to support terrorist groups.
“International markets have seen an influx of looted artifacts from Iraq and Syria following the US invasion and Daesh — artifacts like cuneiform tables,” he wrote on Twitter. “Following the Arab Spring, widespread looting in Egypt led to an influx of Egyptian artifacts onto the market.”
Another archeologist, Paul Barford, also did a short dive into MuseumSurplus.com on his blog following Demi’s post, creating further doubt about authenticity in more detail.
And while the experts clearly had it covered when it comes to breaking down the likelihood that these purchases are legit and the problems that arise if, in fact, they are, regular Twitter users were down to clown on Demi as well.
Next time, just try going to a museum!
