Two 4,000 year-old artefacts stolen from a museum in Iraq have been returned to the country after 35 years thanks to the work of art detectives in London.
The Akkadian seals were stolen from Duhok Museum in the chaos following the first Gulf War in 1991, and spirited out of the country and on to the black market.
But after decades with no trace of their whereabouts, they were put up for sale by two separate sellers at an unnamed auctioneer in London, which called on the Art Loss Register to carry out due diligence.
The company maintains a database of stolen artwork and antiques, as well as other valuable items such as luxury watches. It appeared to be the first record of the items appearing on the market.
Olivia Whitting, leader of the cultural heritage team at the Art Loss Register, explained that the large number of artefacts looted from Iraq, after the first Gulf War, then following the US-led invasion of 2003, tends to raise red flags with auction houses when dealers want to put items from the country on sale.
She said Iraqi authorities had registered the two items as stolen. They provided pictures of them from meticulously compiled catalogues of all items that have been held in their museums.
Ms Whitting, who has a master's degree in Islamic art, Turkish and architecture, said she was delighted the ancient items have been reunited and are on their way back home.
She described the moment she set eyes on the first of the two artefacts she was assigned to examine.
“I immediately saw it and thought 'this is exactly the same item',” she told The National. “Which was bonkers. It was quite a strange feeling, actually. Then you have to slightly talk yourself down from that before you get too excited.
“You have to remember to just take a second and have a look properly. As we were going through the images, it just became clearer and clearer.”
Making models
The second artefact turned out to be more difficult to identify, so the team used photographs of imprints of the seals made in Plasticine by the museum, which gave them the fine detail needed to make a match.
The sellers accepted that the items were stolen and it is understood there has been no further police involvement.
The Akkadian seals have vast historical and cultural significance. They are exceptional examples of the intricate and creative style of the Akkadian Empire and the enduring legacy of Mesopotamian civilisations on world heritage.
Both cylinder seals are carved from stone and demonstrate remarkable craftsmanship.
Carved in black stone with a length of 4cm and diameter of 2.5cm, one depicts a scene with figures in battle with a rampant bull, buffalo and lion.
The other, carved in green stone with a length of 2.5cm and diameter of 1.5cm, portrays another scene of combat with long-tailed animals fighting alongside figures wearing distinctive horned headgear.
They were returned to Iraq at a handover ceremony at the country's embassy in London this month.
Four millennia
While the value of each item is about only £600 ($800), compared to other ancient Iraqi items on sale for £1 million or more, they are of cultural significance and date from an era when Iraq was the “cradle of civilisation”, said Ms Whitting.
“I think it was possibly my most satisfying case in terms of the fact that it was a museum theft, so the pieces are now going to be returned to that museum.
“These two seals are over 4,000 years old, so 35 years is nothing when you think of their life as objects.
“These pieces were stolen in quite a high number, so it made us all very hopeful that, while not everything that has been stolen can be found, it's certainly chipping away at the collection of stolen items that are still out there.”
She said finding items looted in times of conflict gave her hope that pieces stolen from Ukrainian museums could one day be recovered.
Dr Saleh Hussein Ali Tamimi, UK ambassador of Iraq said: “The Republic of Iraq expresses its appreciation for the professionalism and efforts of the Art Loss Register in recovering these important artefacts. Their return represents not just the restitution of the items but restoration of part of Iraq’s cultural heritage.”
