Against a backdrop of iconoclastic destruction and mass looting in Syria and Iraq, panelists considered the current situation and potential ways forward, including concepts of safe haven, transparency, orphaned objects, and responsible collecting.
Judith H. Dobrzynski moderated a panel of four:
•Randall Hixenbaugh, New York dealer/owner of Hixenbaugh Ancient Art and a member of the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art.
•James McAndrew, Forensic Consultant to Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP, formerly head of the Department of Homeland Security's International Art and Antiquity Theft Investigations Program.
•William Pearlstein, of Pearlstein & McCullough LLP, a New York-based art law firm, author of "White Paper: A Proposal to Reform U.S. Law and Policy Relating to the International Exchange of Cultural Property."
•Gary Vikan, former Director of The Walters Art Museum, former member of the U.S. Cultural Property Advisory Committee and an expert in Byzantine Art.