Video link helps Customs identify antiques

Very clever, this:

Customs officials at the Pudong International Airport will soon be able to judge more accurately the date and authenticity of antiques travelers want to take outside the country.

The airport will soon install five special cameras that can transfer the image of a suspicious object to the Shanghai Commission of Relics Management, where experts can date and authenticate the item.

"We are short of professional experts, which causes us to either delay travelers' belongings to a later time or let antique smugglers through," said Chen Mingzhi, deputy director of the Customs' supervision and control department, yesterday.

Currently, any antique made prior to 1795 and some artifacts made between 1795-1949 are considered valuable artifacts and thus cannot be taken overseas, according to the relics commission.

Travelers are usually advised to obtain exit certificates for antiques before going to the airport. But if they don't have the certificate and Customs officials have questions about an object's value, experts have to be called in to evaluate the item, a process that can take hours.

One wonders, however, what will happen once the Shanghai experts get tired of the constant interruptions. . . .

Posted by David on January 15, 2003 9:34 PM