Focusing on the information about the Apollo of Gaza itself (rather than the politics of its possession and planned sale), there are now three questions. Is the statue genuine? Is – or, now it’s been cancelled, was – the eBay auction advert genuine? And what the fuck is going on? [For updates on what the fuck is going on, look at the problems with the fishermen’s stories and the Palestinian authorities’ stories, or check the Apollo post stream.]
It appears that someone may have looted the Apollo of Gaza from an archaeological site (on land); that Hamas are still poised to raise funds by selling the statue (which they seized from its “finder”); and that there was a separate, opportunistic, advance deposit scam that exploited the intrigue to offer the statue.
conflict antiquities 