Bob came on a public forum to advertise his auction, free of charge via a new thread. I feel that questioning the authenticity of a highly publicized lot is justified given the circumstances. If he had not taken this course, I would have questioned him privately after I received the catalog or viewed his website.
Furthermore, John and I have information regarding past forgeries/reproductions of the item in question. Do you feel it best for us to remain quiet and try to get the item pulled from behind the scenes or to inform and educate the collecting community who, perhaps, weren't privy to its history?
Whether done publicly or privately, the end result should be a withdrawn lot. If they want to succeed as an auction house, admitting and rectifying an oversight is the ethical course of action. No one will fault them for this. Ignoring the issue, however, and letting the lot run to fruition would be more telling.
Jerry
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