> If this person is buying art from the unlisted web, if they're not going to be able to prove provenance. I think you may have lost track of the thread here.

> If this person is buying art from the unlisted web, if they're not going to be able to prove provenance. I think you may have lost track of the thread here. I was addressing this question posed by gtsteve. > And perhaps in a few generations, the heirs of that wealthy person could sell it on. I don't really know how it works if you discover you've inherited property that was stolen a hundred years ago for example. At what point does it become yours? It is obviously unlawful to traffick knowingly in stolen goods. It is as serious a crime as the theft itself (sans aggravating factors like use of force or intimidation, especially with a deadly weapon).