Toledo native Joan Connelly, a renowned art expert, nationally known archaeologist, professor, and winner of the MacArthur Foundation Genius Award, is vocally opposing the Toledo Museum of Art’s deacquisition of nearly 70 antiquities from its collection at a current auction.

A professor of classics and art history at New York University, Connelly told the Blade Sunday that she is "astounded" the museum would get rid of pieces with such good provenance, noting that it would be difficult to ever assemble such a collection again given modern international cultural heritage laws.

The Toledo museum's collection inspired Connelly to become an archaeologist, she said.

An online sale of the museum's pieces, largely works originating from Egypt, ends Oct. 26 at Christie's in New York. The catalog notes that the sale benefits the museum's acquistion fund.