GUIDELINES FOR THE CURATION OF GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS

2.2.2.2. Private collectors
This category includes a complete spectrum from the casual 'one-off' find donated
by a schoolboy, at one end, to the idiosyncratic and possibly scientifically
important'collection amassed over a lifetime of amateur but dedicated activity at
the other. Both forms of source can yield significant material. Where possible, the
curator should encourage the collector to adopt good standards of curation,
especially documentation.
Commercial dealers
It is tempting for the curator to take a lofty view of the activities of dealers who
can be seen as peddling that very material which curators are dedicated to caring
for. Such an intolerant view is, perhaps a little shortsighted. An enlightened local
dealer befriended by a curator can be a good friend indeed and may, when
interesting material comes in, give the curator first refusal on the objects. It is
better for the curator to know about what is coming in and out of the sale room
than to be ignorant, and miss the chance of a fine acquisition.
Several of the larger dealers - particularly in the USA and in London -
regularly publish catalogues of the material they have available. These are useful
as current price indexes, with the reservation that they represent the seller's view
of the market. However, the curator is strongly advised against buying 'blind'
material from abroad except, perhaps, for teaching purposes, since quality can be
unpredictable! One of the best ways to gain an up-to-date knowledge of the
current market is to attend dealers' shows. So, to restate the obvious, the curator
should have a healthy suspicion of any dealer, but temper such an attitude with
the awareness that a dealer can be a useful ally.
Finally, it must be said that the area in which curatorial objectives conflict
head-on with those of the dealer is that which concerns scientifically significant
material 'pillaged' from well-known but sensitive sites. Where the removal of this
material from the site, andlor its export to the dealer's showrooms contravenes
the national law of the country of origin, or the 'Convention on the means of
prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer or ownership of
cultural property' UNESCO 1970, then the curator must be aware that to
purchase such material boosts the market and hence encourages pillage. The
curator has a clear ethical duty to take reasonable steps to establish the
provenance of material offered him by the dealer, and if in doubt, to refrain from
purchase.