5 stolen artifacts recovered from the United States

[yota691]

Iraq succeeds in recovering the largest smuggled archaeological group

 

07-28-2021 07:00 PM

 

 

 

AMMAN — The Iraqi Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Hassan Nazim, said today, Wednesday, that Iraq succeeded in retrieving the largest archaeological group smuggled from the United States of America.

He added in a statement published by his ministry on its Facebook account: “The number of recovered clay objects has reached 17,000 artifacts, and great efforts have been made in this regard between the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in addition to the efforts of our embassy in Washington that continued for many months.”

And the minister continued, saying, "We have finished recovering these pieces from many outlets that were present here, most notably from Cornell University in particular, and that the return of these pieces will be on the same plane for Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to Baghdad after the end of his important visit to Washington."

Nazim added, “This is a big event, and I hope in the near future to also work seriously with our embassies in the world, and in Europe in particular, to recover the rest of our monuments.

It is worth noting that these recovered pieces date back to 4500 AD and bear cuneiform inscriptions documenting trade exchanges that took place during the Sumerian civilization.

Iraqi antiquities have been subject to smuggling for decades, according to Qahtan Al-Obaid, the director of Basra's antiquities and heritage, told AFP.

The expert explains that “it is not possible to count the number of artifacts stolen from archaeological sites directly, because they are not numbered,” and are also unknown or not yet discovered, especially in areas that have witnessed armed conflicts.

He explains that “some of these thefts are intentional and come within the framework of organized crime,” while others “are unintended, especially in remote areas where local people resort to searching for precious stones and selling antiques in order to secure daily living and do not know the extent of their value and importance.” .

Return to the embrace of the homeland

A court ruling was issued in the United States, on Tuesday, to return a thousands-year-old painting that narrates some of the "Epic of Gilgamesh" to Iraq.

That painting was stolen in 2003, and ended up being smuggled out of Iraq to become one of the holdings of the Museum of the Bible in Washington.

The rare piece narrates part of the historical "Epic of Gilgamesh", written in Akkadian cuneiform script, and is one of many ancient artifacts from Iraq and the Middle East collected by billionaire David Green, owner of the "Hobby Lobby" series, as a report by CBS News indicated. ", today is Wednesday.

The painting was seized by the US Department of Justice in 2019, two years after Green opened and placed the Museum of Ancient Christian History in downtown Washington.

Gilgamesh dream painting

According to the Department of Justice, Hobby Lobby purchased the 6-inch by 5-inch (15.2 cm by 12.7 cm) tablet, known as the "Painting of Gilgamesh Dreams," from a prominent auction house in 2014 for $1.67 million

and originally brought the painting illegally. Legal to the United States in 2003 by a dealer who bought it in London from a well-known Jordanian dealer in the antiquities market of the Middle East.

The painting was then circulated several times with fake certificates of origin to assure buyers that it was obtained legally, rather than being part of the illegal antiquities trade.

In 2014, Hobby Lobby arranged to purchase the painting in New York, but executed the deal in Oklahoma to avoid sales taxes, according to the Department of Justice. The company then donated it to the Museum of the Bible's collection.

Since the painting was seized in 2019, the Ministry of Justice has sought to acquire it through confiscation laws, to be able to return it to its rightful owners.

"This expropriation, which was ordered by court order on Tuesday, represents an important procedural step on the path to returning this rare and ancient masterpiece of world literature to its original homeland" after 18 years of looting and smuggling, said acting attorney for the State Department, Jacqueline Casoulis, in New York.

She added in a statement that her office is committed to combating the black market sale of cultural property and the smuggling of looted artifacts.

The tablet was one of thousands of artifacts of Iraqi origin, mostly cuneiform tablets and seals between 3,000 and 4,000 years old, that were seized from the Hobby Lobby and the Bible Museum for return to Iraq.

The Ministry of Justice said that these pieces were looted in Iraq and trafficked illegally.

[yota691]

Iraq carries out the largest recovery operation of smuggled antiquities

Part of a press conference at Baghdad International Airport

 July 29, 2021 10:10 PM

Mubasher: Hassan Nazim, the Iraqi Minister of Culture, announced today, Thursday, the arrival of 17,000 antiquities from the United States, in the largest recovery operation.

 

Nazim said in a press conference at Baghdad International Airport, that the antiquities that arrived in Iraq are from the clay figure, which Iraq recovered and returned to its original land, according to the Iraq News Agency, "conscious."

He added that the recovered antiquities came with the unremitting efforts of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture represented by the Antiquities and Heritage Authority and a great effort from the Iraqi Embassy in Washington.

Nazim added that Iraq will continue to work to recover the antiquities that were stolen and looted from the homeland, and the recovered antiquities will be displayed in the Iraqi Museum.

In turn, the head of the Antiquities and Heritage Authority, Laith Hussein, confirmed that most of the recovered artifacts date back to the period of Ur III dynasty (2121-2004 BC), from the modern Sumerian era.

[yota691]

Mr. Ammar al-Hakim: Reclaiming antiquities from Washington is a happy step and a victory for the civilization of Mesopotamia

•  Time: 07/30/2021 11:34:38
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•  Reading: 299 times

  

{Political: Al Furat News} The head of the National State Forces Alliance, Mr. Ammar al-Hakim, praised the move to recover antiquities from the United States.

 

Ammar al-Hakim said in a tweet on Twitter: "Iraq's restoration of the largest archaeological group with 17,000 precious cuneiform clay tablets from Washington is a joyful step that represents a victory for the civilization of Mesopotamia and the identity of Mesopotamia."

He added, "We need more effort, delegations and dialogues to restore all of our antiquities that were smuggled after the change."

The United States had handed over the Iraqi delegation accompanying Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, who recently visited Washington, the largest smuggled archaeological group.

The Minister of Culture, Hassan Nazim, said in a speech at Baghdad International Airport in front of the shipment of recovered antiquities via the delegation's plane that "the number of the recovered clay figure reached 17,000 antiquities, after great efforts that lasted for many months and will be displayed at a later time in the Iraqi Historical Museum."

[shixjr]

I thought about becoming an archeologist, but I didn't want my life to be in ruins!

 

Thank you Yota!!

[presence]

 

The United States had handed over the Iraqi delegation accompanying Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, who recently visited Washington, the largest smuggled archaeological group.

 

 

I'm not keeping score, but it appears that Iraq is following legal (in addition to GAAP-Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) as well as accounting standards established by and used in the US.

 

It's great to see the return of stolen items returned to their rightful owners, and awesome to see the comerodity between Iraq and Athens US in the fields of accounting and law (it makes dotting the I's and crossing the T's that much easier when Iraq returns to the global economic stage. Just a few days ago, a press release by the CBI came out stating that Iraq's reserves were protected (I'm parsphrasing) by the United States from other creditors. In my opinion, there's  much more going on behind the scene- and each passing day brings us closer to learning what those unknowns are...

 

Go RV!!!

[gregp]

22 hours ago, yota691 said:

Mr. Ammar al-Hakim: Reclaiming antiquities from Washington is a happy step and a victory for the civilization of Mesopotamia

•  Time: 07/30/2021 11:34:38
•  
•  Reading: 299 times

  

{Political: Al Furat News} The head of the National State Forces Alliance, Mr. Ammar al-Hakim, praised the move to recover antiquities from the United States.

 

Ammar al-Hakim said in a tweet on Twitter: "Iraq's restoration of the largest archaeological group with 17,000 precious cuneiform clay tablets from Washington is a joyful step that represents a victory for the civilization of Mesopotamia and the identity of Mesopotamia."

He added, "We need more effort, delegations and dialogues to restore all of our antiquities that were smuggled after the change."

The United States had handed over the Iraqi delegation accompanying Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, who recently visited Washington, the largest smuggled archaeological group.

The Minister of Culture, Hassan Nazim, said in a speech at Baghdad International Airport in front of the shipment of recovered antiquities via the delegation's plane that "the number of the recovered clay figure reached 17,000 antiquities, after great efforts that lasted for many months and will be displayed at a later time in the Iraqi Historical Museum."

I’m ready to dig up my artifacts. 

[yota691]

The President of the Republic praises the recovery of 17,000 antiquities

Saturday 31 , July 2021 | Politics Read Counter 25

Baghdad / NINA / - The President of the Republic, Barham Salih, stressed the need to pay attention to cultural monuments, praising the recovery of 17,000 antiquities.

During his meeting with the Minister of Culture, Hassan Nazim, President Saleh praised the efforts of the ministry along with the rest of the ministries and government institutions that contributed to the recovery of 17,000 antiquities, pointing to the importance of this, and the need to pay great attention to archaeological and heritage monuments, as these pieces and others are considered the true historical record of the country's prestigious position. Among the ancient civilizations.

He stressed the importance of promoting cultural edifices and literary forums, and providing support for literary and artistic productions to contribute to Iraq's return to exercising its usual role in enriching the cultural movement at the Arab and international levels, in addition to the need to support talented youth./End of 7

[yota691]

The Prime Minister directs the reopening of the Iraqi Museum

Saturday 31 July 2021 209

 

 Baghdad: morning

 

Yesterday, Friday, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi directed the reopening of the Iraqi Museum to the public and researchers.

Al-Kazemi said, in a tweet to him on the “Twitter” platform: “In conjunction with the return of 17,000 Iraqi artifacts with our delegation, which ended a successful visit to Washington yesterday, we directed the reopening of the Iraqi Museum to the public and researchers, to be a new beginning to inspire our ancient civilizational values, and our national identity. and educating our generations with the sciences, cultures, and achievements this land has provided.

In this context, the head of the National State Forces Alliance, Ammar al-Hakim, praised the step of recovering antiquities from the United States of America.

Al-Hakim said, in a tweet on Twitter: "Iraq's restoration of the largest archaeological group with 17,000 precious cuneiform clay tablets from Washington, a joyful step that represents a victory for the civilization of Mesopotamia and the identity of the country." 

Between the two rivers".

"We need more effort, negotiations and dialogues to restore all of our antiquities that were smuggled after the change," he added.

It is noteworthy that Iraq succeeded, during the Prime Minister's recent visit to the United States of America, in recovering 17,000 archaeological cuneiform tablets, including "Gilgamesh's Dream", which is the largest "archaeological group" to be recovered, according to the Ministry of Culture. during the Sumerian civilization.

[yota691]

Foreign Minister: We have worked to activate the file for the recovery of looted antiquities

political| 10:26 - 03/08/2021

 

 

 

 

Baghdad - Mawazine News
, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fouad Hussein, confirmed today, Tuesday, that the government has worked hard to activate the file of recovering looted Iraqi antiquities.
Hussein said in a joint press conference with the Minister of Culture, Hassan Nazim, during the ceremony of handing over the smuggled antiquities recovered by Iraq, and Mawazine News followed it, that "the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was able to hand over 5 batches of documents and antiquities to the Ministry of Culture," explaining that "the Iraqi embassy in Washington took over the smuggled antiquities.
He pointed out that "vigorous efforts have worked to retrieve the antiquities from Washington," noting that "the government received the Gilgamesh Tablet from Washington during the prime minister's recent visit to the United States."
For his part, Minister of Culture Hassan Nazim said during the conference that "the recovery of 17,000 antiquities is the largest recovery operation in the history of Iraq." Ended 29/A 4

[umbertino]

US to return 17,000 looted ancient artefacts to Iraq

 

Items smuggled out after 2003 invasion include 3,500-year-old Gilgamesh clay tablet

 

Reuters in Baghdad

Tue 3 Aug 2021 12.55 BST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/03/us-to-return-17000-looted-ancient-artefacts-to-iraq

[yota691]

Iraq: UNESCO to return stone tablet

 

September 23, 2021 at 12:06 pm | 

Staff members at Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs work around crates of looted Iraqi antiquities returned by the United States, ahead of a handover ceremony at the ministry in the capital Baghdad, on 3 August 2021. [SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Images]

 

September 23, 2021 at 12:06 pm

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has announced that it is to return a 3,600-year-old stone tablet to Iraq. The artefact shows part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia.

According to the UN, the tablet will be returned at a ceremony in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC today.

UNESCO said that another 17,000 artefacts that were also taken to America following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 will be returned formally to the Baghdad government at the ceremony.

"By returning these illegally acquired objects," explained UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, "the authorities here in the United States and Iraq are allowing the Iraqi people to reconnect with a page in their history."

[shixjr]

Apparently someone thinks Iraq is pretty safe or they wouldn't be giving these things back.  When isis or the taliban invades, they try their best to destroy the history of a country.  Apparently UNESCO thinks that is not going to happen in Iraq anytime soon.  This is a good thing.

[yota691]

Today.. {Gilgamesh's dream} begins the journey back to Iraq

•  Time: 09/23/2021 08:17:40
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•  Reading: 1,079 times

  

{Local: Al Furat News} The Ministry of Culture announced, yesterday, Wednesday, that it will receive the tablet "Dream Gilgamesh" today, Thursday, during an official ceremony in Washington.

A statement by the ministry stated that, "Today, Thursday, the process of receiving the Gilgamesh Tablet will take place officially and legally in Washington, in the presence of the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Hassan Nazim, and the head of the Antiquities and Heritage Authority, Laith Hussein Majid, in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Iraqi embassy in the United States."

He added that "UNESCO will hold an official ceremony on the occasion of the return of the United States of America (the Gilgamesh dream tablet), the oldest literary works in history to Iraq." The organization described the move as "a great victory in the fight against illegal trafficking in cultural property."

He pointed out that "the Gilgamesh dream tablet (a clay tablet) that is over 3500 years old and contains inscriptions in the Sumerian language for parts of the epic of Gilgamesh, was stolen from Iraq in 1991 and traded in international auctions."

The statement continued, "In 2007, it was entered into the American art market. In 2019, it was confiscated by the US Department of Justice."

He indicated that "UNESCO described the process of recovering this valuable artifact as the culmination of decades of cooperation between countries such as the United States and Iraq, which are signatories to the UNESCO Convention of 1970, which provides countries with a legal and practical framework to prevent the illicit trafficking of antiquities."

He pointed out that "the return of Gilgamesh's dream tablet to the broader international mobilization by countries and organizations such as UNESCO represents preventing and addressing the illegal trade in ancient artifacts."

[yota691]

Gilgamesh returns to Iraq

•  Time: 09/24/2021 09:33:26
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•  Reading: 884 times

  

{Local: Al Furat News} The United States of America returned to Iraq on Thursday an old clay tablet that reflects part of one of the oldest religious texts in the world.

The tablet, known as Gilgamesh's Dream Code, is 3,600 years old and bears part of a Sumerian poem from the Epic of Gilgamesh "In Mesopotamia" in what is now Iraq.
On Monday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced that the United States would return the number to Iraq this week.

The organization described the return of the tablet, along with 17,000 other artifacts returned to Iraq in July, as an "important victory in the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property".

The archaeological tablet is believed to have been looted from an Iraqi museum during the 1991 Gulf War, and transferred to the United States "illegally".

The tablet was officially handed over at a ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

"The theft and illicit trafficking of ancient artifacts remains a major source of funding for terrorist groups and other organized crime organisations," UNESCO said in a statement.
She added that when ISIS took control of large parts of Iraq and Syria from 2014 to 2019, Iraqi archaeological sites and museums were systematically looted.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of 17,000 looted artifacts that the United States has agreed to return to Iraq.

The epic is the oldest recognized epic poem, as archaeologists indicate that it was written before Homer's Odyssey, which was written 1,500 years ago and dates back to the Roman era.

The rare piece, written in Akkadian cuneiform, was purchased for display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC.
It is one of the ancient artifacts from Iraq and the Middle East collected by billionaire David Green, owner of the Hobby Lobby Handicrafts chain, who heads and funds the Museum of the Bible.
But the US Department of Justice seized the museum in 2019, two years after it opened, when a US federal court ruled that the rare artifact should be handed over to the authorities.
The judiciary orders the handing over of the archaeological "Gilgamesh's Dream" number to the US authorities
. Officials said that the piece was bought by an American antiquities dealer in 2003 in London, then transported in a shipment to the United States without declaring its contents, and then sold it with forged documents.
The piece sold several times before the Hobby Lobby Group bought it at auction in 2014 for $1.67 million.

[Pitcher]

Ok, we returned your damn artifact now return our 4 trillion we spent liberating your sorry country.  While you’re at it you can pay the families of our soldiers who lost their lives and the wounded who have to live the rest of their lives in angst, and pain.  

[WheresmyRV?]

2 minutes ago, Pitcher said:

Ok, we returned your damn artifact now return our 4 trillion we spent liberating your sorry country.  While you’re at it you can pay the families of our soldiers who lost their lives and the wounded who have to live the rest of their lives in angst, and pain.  

Amen to all you said Pitcher! 

[CSM (R) Thack]

27 minutes ago, Pitcher said:

Ok, we returned your damn artifact now return our 4 trillion we spent liberating your sorry country.  While you’re at it you can pay the families of our soldiers who lost their lives and the wounded who have to live the rest of their lives in angst, and pain.  

💥💥💥💥Boom💥💥💥💥…👍🇺🇸

[yota691]

POSTED ON 2021-12-05 BY SOTALIRAQ
Iraq receives from America the tablet "Gilgamesh's Dream"
On Sunday, the Iraqi Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities announced that it would receive, on Tuesday, the “Dream Gilgamesh” tablet from the United States of America.

The ministry stated in a statement that "the tablet of Gilgamesh's dream is one of the oldest literary works in history to Iraq, and the Ministry of Culture will receive it at the eleventh hour of the morning after tomorrow, Tuesday, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Baghdad."

She explained that "Iraq's efforts represented by the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, in cooperation with UNESCO and the US government, have resulted in the receipt of this tablet and its return to the homeland."

It is noteworthy that the Gilgamesh dream tablet “a clay tablet” that exceeds 3500 years old contains inscriptions in the Sumerian language for parts of the poetic “Epic of Gilgamesh.” It was stolen from Iraq in 1991 and traded in international auctions.

In 2007, it was introduced to the American art market.

In 2019, the US Department of Justice seized it. UNESCO described the process of recovering this valuable artifact as the culmination of decades of cooperation between countries such as the United States and Iraq, both signatories to the 1970 UNESCO Convention, which provides countries with a legal and practical framework to prevent the illicit trade in antiquities.

The return of the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet symbolizes the broader international mobilization by states and organizations such as UNESCO to prevent and address the illicit trade in ancient artifacts.

[horsesoldier]

On 7/30/2021 at 5:41 AM, shixjr said:

I thought about becoming an archeologist, but I didn't want my life to be in ruins!

 

Thank you Yota!!

Thats funny right there I don’t care who ya are.

Received my degree in Anthropology in ‘75. Archeological interests have always been there as well.  

[yota691]

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: Loud Gilgamesh arrives in Baghdad tomorrow

•  Time: 06/12/2021 11:51:30
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•  Reading: 702 times

  

{Local: Al Furat News} The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, on Monday, the date of the arrival of the Gilgamesh Tablet to the capital, Baghdad.

And the ministry's spokesman, Ahmed Al-Sahaf, said in a statement received by {Euphrates News} that "Lawh Gilgamesh arrives in the capital, Baghdad, tomorrow, Tuesday."

 He added, "The diplomacy of recovery returns more than 17,500 antiquities during this year."

The archaeological tablet is believed to have been looted from an Iraqi museum during the 1991 Gulf War and transferred to the United States "illegally".

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of 17,000 looted artifacts that the United States has agreed to return to Iraq.

The epic is the oldest recognized epic poem, as archaeologists indicate that it was written before Homer's Odyssey, which was written 1,500 years ago and dates back to the Roman era.

The rare piece, written in Akkadian cuneiform, was purchased for display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC.

It is one of the ancient artifacts from Iraq and the Middle East collected by billionaire David Green, owner of the Hobby Lobby Handicrafts chain, who heads and funds the Museum of the Bible.

But the US Department of Justice seized the museum in 2019, two years after it opened, when a US federal court ruled that the rare artifact should be handed over to the authorities.

The judiciary orders the handing over of the archaeological "Gilgamesh's Dream" number to the American authorities

Officials said the piece was bought by an American antiquities dealer in 2003 in London, then shipped to the United States without declaring its contents, and then sold it with false documents.

The piece sold several times before the Hobby Lobby Group bought it at auction in 2014 for $1.67 million.

[yota691]

Gilgamesh's dream in his homeland

Wednesday 08 December 2021 159

 

 Baghdad: Ahmad Al-Moussawi

 

Iraq recovered the clay tablet on which the cuneiform letters “Dream of Gilgamesh” were inscribed. The relic is one of the twelve tablets discovered, the text of which deals with the legendary epic of the King of Uruk, which was looted from Iraq during the Gulf War in 1990.

According to both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Culture, the tablet was “discovered during unauthorized excavations, and does not have a museum number,” contrary to US investigations information that “the tablet was looted from an Iraqi museum.”

Thirty years during which this masterpiece of humanity moved between three continents, according to reports seen by Al-Sabah, the first appearance of this tablet after its looting was in the British capital in 2001, during that period this masterpiece (which is the oldest literary text known to humanity) was in the possession of a Jordanian family. She lives in London, where she sold it to an antiques dealer in 2003. 

The person smuggled the tablet with other antiquities looted from Iraq to the United States, to be able to sell it in 2007 to antiques dealers for fifty thousand dollars.

[yota691]

The US Embassy is blessed: the cultural heritage of Iraq is a treasure for the world

•  Time: 12/30/2021 19:07:07
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•  Reading: 936 times

  

{Iraq: Al Furat News} The US Embassy in Baghdad, on Thursday, blessed the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities by inaugurating the excavated antiquities exhibition.

 

A statement from the embassy, which {Euphrates News} received a copy of, said: "Blessings of the Iraqi Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the opening of the excavated antiquities exhibition today," referring to Iraq's cultural heritage as a "treasure for the world." 

She added, "The United States is proud to facilitate the return of 17,000 antiquities to Iraq in July, including the recovery of the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, which contains the oldest written story in the world."

[yota691]

5 stolen artifacts recovered from the United States

Sunday 23 January 2022 118

 

 Baghdad: morning 

 

Iraq's ambassador to the United States, Farid Yassin, received five artifacts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that had been stolen during the past thirty years.

A State Department statement said the extradition ceremony was attended by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Eric Rosenblatt, the United States Department of Homeland Security's Deputy Special Agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New York City. He added that the ambassador received two artifacts recovered from Michael Steinhardt, and three other pieces in their possession are being investigated, noting that the recovered artifacts are collectively estimated at hundreds of thousands of US dollars. It dates back to between "701-800 BC", and it depicts a winged sphinx with a human head, and was used to decorate royal furniture during the period of King Sargon I "721-725 BC" in Nimrud. The value of the ivory plaque is about 450 thousand dollars.

[yota691]

5 stolen artifacts recovered from the United States

Sunday 23 January 2022 103

 

 Baghdad: morning

 

Iraq's ambassador to the United States, Farid Yassin, received five artifacts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that had been stolen during the past thirty years.

A State Department statement said the extradition ceremony was attended by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Eric Rosenblatt, the United States Department of Homeland Security's Deputy Special Agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New York City. 

He added that the ambassador had received two artifacts recovered from Michael Steinhardt, and three other artifacts in their possession, which are being investigated, noting that the recovered artifacts are estimated collectively in hundreds of thousands of US dollars.

The statement indicated that among the artifacts recovered from Steinhardt's collection, an ivory plaque dating back to between "800 - 701 BC", which depicts a winged Sphinx with a human head, was used to decorate royal furniture during the period of King Sargon I. "725-721 BC" in Nimrud, the value of the ivory plaque is about 450 thousand dollars.

The statement pointed out that this piece was looted during the 1990s in the wake of Operation Desert Storm. The piece first appeared on the international art market on November 2, 1994, and was purchased by Steinhardt on September 10, 2010.

He added that the second piece that was recovered from Steinhardt's collection is a bowl containing a scalloped flower, valued at $200,000, and it was looted from "Nimrud", a city located in northern Iraq dating back to the Neo-Assyrian period "911-612 BC", before it was Trafficked by ISIS terrorist gangs, noting that the golden bowl appeared on the international art market for the first time on October 22, 2019, and Steinhardt bought it on July 10, 2020. 

According to the statement, the other three artifacts included a group of Mandaean manuscripts, and two cylindrical boxes with separate covers.