Report: US Museums Are Minor Players In Antiquities Trade

A report by the Association of Art Museum Directors seeks to put American museums’ antiquities collecting in perspective. “The report states that 53 member institutions actively collect antiquities and altogether spent an average of $7 million per year purchasing antiquities over the last five years. This total is less than 10% of the global annual trade in antiquities, the report states, basing that figure on published reports that estimate the global trade anywhere from $100 million to $4 billion.” The point is that the collecting activities of American museums are not driving the international antiquities trade.