Avodah Zara 52: Vessels, Idols, Ritual Purity, Changing Status

Brief points from today's daf:

• the rabbis compare vessels and their status of ritual purity when they belong to Gentiles with idols
• they discuss when the vessel/idol becomes forbidden, where the vessels/idols are located compared to the mountains (up high) and closeness to "the gods", whether one is cursed from the time that s/he fashioned the vessel/idol, etc.
• the rabbis discuss the importance of a learned judge hearing these cases
• they wonder what should happen if one finds pieces of a broken idol
• they discuss who owned the idol before it was broken, its status when reassembled
• does the state of ritual purity of an idol ever change?
• the rabbis wonder if a vessel that might have been used for idolatry can be later used in the Temple
• these vessels are compared with other things that might be forbidden in the Temple including stones, rocks and coins
• can idols that were nullified be used in the Temple?  Could they be reannoited with oil?
• the rabbis assert that Gentiles can nullify their own or another Gentile's idolatry
• no one human being can nullify a Jew's idolatry