Monsignor Gianfranco Nolli 00165 Rome 5 June 1987
Doctor of Theology Via del Colosseo, 18
Professor of Biblical Sciences Telephone 67 85 062
Emeritus Inspector of the Gregorian Egyptian Museum
Consultant to the Biblical Museum ( Vatican Museums )
Professor at the Pontifical Lateran University
Consultant to the Congregation for Saints' Causes

Mr. Ron Barr
Director of Development
San Francisco State University

Dear Mr. Barr:

I refer to the statuette that Mr. and Mrs. Mansoor have donated to San Francisco State University and assure you that it is authentic and belongs to that period of the history of Ancient Egypt which is commonly called the Amarna Period.

My certainty comes from the fact that for more than ten years I have had the pleasure of studying some pieces belonging to the same Mansoor Collection. They are all characterized by a unity of style and material, in consideration of which there can be no doubt. During my visit last October to the University of San Francisco, I was able to see and study the statuette in question, and I am convinced of its authenticity and of that of the other pieces of the collection.

You understand, of course, that if such is the case, the value of the statuette is truly exceptional and that its price cannot be established. This is so not only because it is an absolutely unique piece but also because, together with the other pieces, it forms a nucleus of unprecedented importance for the study and better understanding of a very interesting period such as the Amarna one. If a basis ( for " contracting", "bargaining"," dealing ") had to be established now, my advice is to begin with $.......................... dollars or a figure very slightly lower.

I do hope that these observations of mine will be useful to you and to those concerned with the Mansoor Collection.

Best Wishes,

Monsignor Gianfranco Nolli, ( Signed )