HI K
I did not mean to stand in judgment of you, I am sure you are a wonderful person and have the best motives. The following is my opinion in general and not meant to apply to you, specifically, any more than to me. I was making a statement about stolen antiquities in general, and that nothing will be forgotten in this life or the next. There is a growing worldwide movement to demand the return of many antiquities and the response to the demand is growing, too.
Here in America, people steal pots and jewelry from ancient gravesites. It is illegal and the loot must be sold under the counter, thus their value to science is lost, not to mention the loss to science of the actual site which is ripped apart willy-nilly to grab the valuables. The Nazis stole art from France and when a piece turns up now, it is often reclaimed by its original owners or heirs. I do not think there is a statute of limitations on stolen antiquities; no matter how old they are they are still stolen until they are returned.
I am totally in favor of returning the many jewels stolen by the English crown. I believe the Indian government is timidly pleading for the return of some things and England is reluctantly returning small token pieces. Egypt is demanding returns from France too. I think the jewel grab the English crown made when they conquered India is a prime example of greed. I have long viewed the English crown jewels and their public display with disgust and would be delighted when India is able to demand them back. I am horrified that people still rob ancient sites and I regard the objects stolen as tainted and the people who take them as knowing they are stealing, but thinking they can steal and get away with it.
When a wrong is committed, it is a logical fallacy to justify that wrong by citing other similar wrongs, even if they are widely practiced.
Antiquities dealers know that much of their trade, if not all, is stolen. Maybe their logic says if they don’t do it, someone else will, so they may as well prevent another from getting the profit. That, too, is a logical fallacy.
Thank you for your lesson in Hinduism. I first studied it when I was fifteen and visited India year before last. Still my knowledge of Hinduism is far from nuanced; I am still a westerner and filter things through that lens.
On the real subject at hand, I am interested in learning more about elephant pearls and look forward to the establishment of their reality as a proven fact as well as a religious icon. So far, the elephant pearls that have been studied by scientists show marks of human workmanship. I look forward to seeing one authenticated as being of natural origin. So far, I have seen a number of photos. Some of them look entirely different than others, so I am taking a skeptical viewpoint of them as natural objects until a world class ethnobiologist or other such person will study one in detail. I hope that when the elephant with the sounds in its tusk dies, the people who are caring for it allow photos of the pearl, in situ. To me that would be the best proof for people who have only seen specimens of phony elephant pearls.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Williams,
Admin
Pearl-Guide.com
