tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post8689305202474014294..comments2023-10-29T06:50:22.166-04:00Comments on Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs: Mo' Money Mo' Problems: Tarbosaurus sale temporarily haltedUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-3832401043748103712012-05-22T09:25:43.052-04:002012-05-22T09:25:43.052-04:00Craig,
I hope you are correct. A few years ago, s...Craig,<br /><br />I hope you are correct. A few years ago, similar cases in the art world resulted in the present situation, where it is impossible to auction off a piece of art if any questions are raised about its provenance and whether it was looted or stolen. It would be fantastic if fossils achieve the same protections now afforded to artworks.Jerroldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18051720908030062194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-29648457814136963532012-05-21T20:11:14.252-04:002012-05-21T20:11:14.252-04:00I'm really curious to see what the auction hou...I'm really curious to see what the auction house's case is going to be. My guess is they're going to claim Mongolian law only applies in Mongolia, and that since the fossils have left that country clearly Mongolia doesn't care about fossil protection that much (boiled down of course... it'll sound more fancy when they say it). The question is will an American judge agree with this logic, or do the right thing and uphold that this was clearly an illegal export.<br /><br />Of particular interest, and something I haven't seen yet, does the "owner" of the Tarbosaurus have documentation from Mongolia claiming it is "legitimate". Like I said in the comments on the last post, these sorts of certificates are common with illegal fossils from China and Mongolia. If a set of these documents are presented in this case it'll be the first time, at least to me knowledge, that such papers will essentially go on trial!<br /><br />This case, especially if it goes to court, will have huge implications on the illegal fossil trade one way or the other with the legal precedent it sets in US law...traumadorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00387315561167115253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-28306290269463396782012-05-21T18:25:02.520-04:002012-05-21T18:25:02.520-04:00If the thought goes like that in USA, then everyon...If the thought goes like that in USA, then everyone could just show up at American museums of natural history and take whatever fossils they want. Logically, museums can't own something which is older then the American Independence.<br />#AmericanFossilsAreYoursToTake<br /><br />(I just made the hashtag up, and used it on twitter already. Other ideas are quite welcome.)Chromatic Faunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03107262455707627599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-78231653944805207342012-05-21T18:22:37.531-04:002012-05-21T18:22:37.531-04:00Well, the sale is “conditional” and “will be conti...Well, the sale is “conditional” and “will be contingent upon resolution of a court proceeding” so there’s still hope the dinosaur may return to Mongolia.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-28463811082770076642012-05-21T14:57:02.395-04:002012-05-21T14:57:02.395-04:00Also from the Daily Mail story, if we're going...Also from the Daily Mail story, if we're going to get pedantic: "These dinosaurs, distant cousins of the T-Rex, were recently reclassified as Tyrannosaurid." Uhhhh.davorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04970830405883835452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-15214729406900270602012-05-21T13:35:07.366-04:002012-05-21T13:35:07.366-04:00...And it's not T. rex, it's T. bataar. An......And it's not T. rex, it's T. bataar. And in that case, 'T' is for 'Tarbosaurus'. Outside of dodgy auction houses, people generally aren't synonymysing it anymore...<br /><br />(Because of course, that's definitely the most important issue here. Taxonomy. Yes.)Marc Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01894846069567096349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-18942047554768426032012-05-21T11:39:06.876-04:002012-05-21T11:39:06.876-04:00If this fossil was stolen, the auction house must ...If this fossil was stolen, the auction house must share in the culpability of the theft. Send a message--indict them all!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-12712773857948823522012-05-21T11:19:27.554-04:002012-05-21T11:19:27.554-04:00Yeah, it's possible to be evil and creative. I...Yeah, it's possible to be evil and creative. It's one thing to spit on the Mongolian peoples' rights, but to just pull the rug out of the idea of the nation takes tyrannosaur-sized balls.<br /><br />I'm happy that we're putting up such a fight and making this as hard as it is. And good for the Mongolian government for fighting for their rights, too.davorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04970830405883835452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107291904794625632.post-69983548310040454792012-05-21T11:14:06.896-04:002012-05-21T11:14:06.896-04:00Huh, if I knew that it was going to go for only a ...Huh, if I knew that it was going to go for only a mill I would've stuck my hand up. I mean, I'm all for protecting people's heritage and natural resources and stuff but... it's nearly a freakin' T-Rex (sorry) man! I'd be prepared to bend a few principles to have that in my lounge room.<br /><br />Ok, turning off the sarcasm, I almost have to give them some grudging respect for coming up with the line about the remains being older than the nation. Imagine if a court gave that the tick of approval - anyone would be able to take any fossils, archaeological artefacts, oil, ore, water (or even some trees) that they wanted, because whatever entity was claiming ownership or mining/collecting rights over them didn't exist when they were formed.<br /><br />Hope it turns out well for the side of goodness and light. Heritage Auctions need to be given a stiff penalty to hopefully deter others from continuing to encourage this.Mark Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05197384873600545231noreply@blogger.com