Auction suspended amid criticism of LA explorer's treasure find

By NADA EL SAWY
Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) An auction featuring thousands of antiquities recovered off the coast of the Philippines has been suspended during an investigation into whether deep sea explorer Phil Greco had the right to excavate there, auction officials said Tuesday.

The collection, which includes pieces of Chinese porcelain and pottery 2,000 years old, was to be auctioned off next month at Guernsey's in New York.

Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey's, said the auction house decided to suspend the event after receiving letters questioning whether Greco had the necessary permits from the Philippine National Museum in Manila.

``It only seems reasonable that we look into some of these claims and some of these comments that people have been making,'' Ettinger said. He declined to give further details.

Greco said he followed proper procedures in recovering the relics. His lawyer, David Concannon, said Greco had the necessary permits.

The auction was suspended because of a contract dispute rather than criticism of Greco's excavation, the lawyer said.

The allegations ``remain a big issue, but they were not the basis for the termination,'' Concannon said, adding that he remains hopeful the auction will take place.

One of the letters to Guernsey's came from the Philippine Consulate in New York, according to Concannon. Consulate officials did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

National Museum deputy director Cecillo Salcedo previously told the Philippine Daily Inquirer the museum planned to join representatives of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Customs in the Philippines to conduct their own investigation. Museum officials also could not be reached for comment.

Greco and his company, Stallion Recoveries, have retrieved 23,000 artifacts from at least 16 shipwreck sites in the South China Sea since 1997. Some of the items, including seven massive statues, date back to the Ming Dynasty.

Greco, who now lives in Los Angeles, had served in Vietnam during the war and returned to southeast Asia in the 1980s. He said he developed personal bonds with Filipinos and worked with them to excavate the sites.

``We painstakingly had taken the effort and years of time in the countries to try and honor all of their laws which we did,'' Greco said. ``I didn't think I would have these types of legal problems.''

Greco said he understands some of the criticism directed at him but believes observers are jealous of his huge haul.

``They're still not happy with the aspect that someone who's not a Filipino went into their country and did this and is going to receive a lot of money out of it,'' he said.

Professional archaeologists follow a code of ethics that prohibits commercial recovery, said Donny L. Hamilton, president of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University.

``When you get a collection like that, it gets scattered to the four corners of the globe,'' Hamilton said. ``Therefore, you can never thoroughly study the material.''

Greco hopes to patch things up with Guernsey's and prove that what he did was legitimate.

``Archaeologists can say one thing, but I've done my homework,'' Greco said. ``This is really, truly, an amazing find.''

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On the Net:

Guernsey's: http://www.guernseys.com/chinese ceramics.html

Institute of Nautical Archaeology: http://ina.tamu.edu/

The Philippine National Museum: http://nmuseum.tripod.com/

Stallion Recoveries: http://www.stallionrecoveriesltd.com

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)