Art Or Weapon? Federal Judge Will Decide On "War Throne"
By David Madden
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia attorney has filed suit in federal court, hoping to retrieve a piece of South African art that customs agents seized back in April.
At issue is whether the so called "War Throne" is a harmless creation made of decommissioned weapons or, as the ATF apparently considers it, a weapon in and of itself. They did not return our calls about the item now sitting in a Camden warehouse.
Attorney Adam Solow jumped through all the legal hoops and even got a permit for importing firearms, only to be told it had to be destroyed.
"I've been collecting modern African art for the last 10 years, and the art that I collect tends to be political in message," Solow told KYW Newsradio. "I look for unique pieces and I thought that was a pretty unique piece."
His hope is that a judge and the US Attorney might see the throne as the artist had intended. Solow isn't adverse to the idea of donating the piece to a museum, but wants to add it to is collection rather than see it melted down.