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.
\u201cThese are not so much "cuneiform tablets" as "pre-gnawed dog biscuits." Also, you'd better hope they're fakes - genuine tablets like this have frequently been looted from Iraq, including to support insurgent groups like ISIS.\u201d— Erin L. Thompson (@Erin L. Thompson) 1646686511
\u201cThis is... stop, just stop.\u201d— Erin L. Thompson (@Erin L. Thompson) 1646686511
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.”
\u201cWhich brings me to the paperwork accompanying Demi's purchases- I have never seen provenance like this. None of the critical information is included. Were these exported in 1869 or last year? Where are the copies of the export permits? Who owned them previously?\u201d— Peter Campbell (@Peter Campbell) 1646686544
\u201cThis generally requires any artifacts being sold to have a pre-1970 provenance... 1869(!) for Egypt. Anyone buying antiquities should therefore conduct due diligence before they purchase an object- you don't want to buy something that has been looted recently, or a fake.\u201d— Peter Campbell (@Peter Campbell) 1646686544
\u201cA lot of forensic research goes into proving fakes and forgeries that are laundered onto the market. You would be shocked at how detailed forgers can get with a good fake, and how often experts are fooled. Most top forgers also include cleverly faked provenance papers.\u201d— Peter Campbell (@Peter Campbell) 1646686544
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.
None— \u1d04\u029c\u0280\u026as\u1d1b\u1d0f\u1d18\u029c\u1d07\u0280 \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf7 (@\u1d04\u029c\u0280\u026as\u1d1b\u1d0f\u1d18\u029c\u1d07\u0280 \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf7) 1646867677
\u201cI watched ISIS destroy our precious ancient Assyrian artifacts and ruins only for them to end up in Demi Lovato's living room...\u201d— Naho | \u0722\u0732\u0717\u072a\u0308\u0739\u071d\u0722 (@Naho | \u0722\u0732\u0717\u072a\u0308\u0739\u071d\u0722) 1646686495
\u201cgive that shit back\u201d— \u0710\u0739\u0722\u071f\u071d\u073c (@\u0710\u0739\u0722\u071f\u071d\u073c) 1646679393
\u201chahahahahaah so either demi bought fake artifacts or they bought them from isis \ud83d\ude2d can't get better than this\u201d— Ben Kesslen (@Ben Kesslen) 1646769363
Next time, just try going to a museum!
