A 3000-year-old gypsum carving sold for almost $31 million (Dh114 billion) at Christie’s auction house in New York, shattering the existing record for Assyrian art, despite last-minute protests by the Iraqi government to halt the sale.
The carving of the “winged genius” was billed as the most exquisite piece of Assyrian art to reach the market in decades and formed the centrepiece of Christie’s antiquities sale with an estimate of $10-15m.
William Robinson, international head for world art, introduced the item by reassuring buyers of its provenance and its long history in the US.
“And so we come on to lot 101: The Assyrian relief of a ‘winged genius’ Akpallu excavated with permission of the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Sultan in the 1840s,” he said as he started the bidding at $7m.
Frantic bidding rapidly pushed it well beyond the previous record of $12m.
“Staying at the back of the room here in New York, at Christie’s...” said the auctioneer raising his gavel. “$27m 250,000… is sold.”
The final price brought gasps to the crowded auction room.
With commissions, that means the two-metre frieze sold to an anonymous bidder, standing at the back of the room, for almost $31m.
Iraq's Foreign Ministry had demanded the return of the rare sculpture just hours before the auction house sale, claiming it belonged to the country.
"The ministry conducted a report showing that the artefact belongs to Iraq and is under the protection of Iraqi Antiquities Law,” ministry spokesperson Ahmed Mahjoob said in a statement on Wednesday.
The seven-foot-high section of bas relief features a winged genie, a deity also known as an Apkallu, holding a bucket and a cone-shaped object. The mural once adorned the wall of of the Northwest Palace at Nimrud and was commissioned by King Ashurnasirpal II, who ruled ancient Assyria from 883 to 859 BC.
Baghdad's central government has objected to the sale, claiming that the object is a looted piece of the country's heritage.
"Iraq's embassy in Washington is following the case with the New York prosecutor and the US government," Mr Mahjoob said.
Christie's said that the relief was acquired in Mosul in 1859 by an American missionary named Henri Byron Haskell from the English archaeologist Sir Austen Henry Layard, who led digs near Mosul in the mid-1800s.
Shortly before the sale began, the auction house released a statement defending its position and explaining that documentation showed it had been in Virginia since 1860 onwards.
“In addition, Christie’s proactively contacted law enforcement to review the information prior to publication of the lot,” said a spokeswoman. “Given the full provenance, history and 1860 entry of this work into the United States, the authorities confirmed the object’s documentation well meets all applicable laws governing its sale.”
The piece has been housed at the seminary for more than 150 years but is now being sold to underwrite a scholarship fund, Christie’s said.
But Iraq's Culture Ministry claims it was only taken from Nimrud during the 1970s.
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Mr Mahjoob said the ministry “is in constant touch with all sides to stop the sale of a vital Iraqi heritage".
Christie’s estimate values the gypsum carving of a god-like figure at as much as $15 million. That would set a world record for the sale of an Assyrian art work, which currently stands under $12 million.
The auction prompted Iraq's Culture Ministry to contact Interpol and Unesco, the United Nations cultural organisation, to stop the sale and repatriate the ancient artefact.
"We call on all Iraqi and international officials, civil society and the media to take a serious stand in pressuring the Americans in stopping this process, it is a continuation of the destruction of Iraq's cultural heritage," Culture Ministry spokesman Omran Ali told The National, adding that steps had been taken to prove that the artefact came from the ancient city of Nimrud.
Jabbar Jaafar, executive director of charity Voices for Iraq, led calls in the US for the sculpture to be returned. He said excavators in the mid-Nineteenth century should not have been allowed to remove the piece.
“There are rules and laws about this sort of thing that only apply after the nineteenth century so we knew there would be problems,” he said. “But we still think it is right to return it.”
The remains of Nimrud was one of Iraq's archaeological treasures, being submitted in 2000 to Unesco's tentative list, which is an inventory of heritage sites that countries intend to consider for nomination to World Heritage status.
ISIS looted and bulldozed the site in 2014.
UPI facts
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The biog
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Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
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Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
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The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Second Test, Day 2:
South Africa 335 & 75/1 (22.0 ov)
England 205
South Africa lead by 205 runs with 9 wickets remaining
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Cracks in the Wall
Ben White, Pluto Press
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Brief scores:
Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)
England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)
Result: Scotland won by six runs
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The biog
Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb
Age: 57
From: Kalba
Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge
Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
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The biog
Most memorable achievement: Leading my first city-wide charity campaign in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. It was for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program and showed me the power of how communities can come together in the smallest ways to have such wide impact.
Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.
Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.
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Favourite food: Dim sum
Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.
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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
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Race card
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
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7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 1,200m
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Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
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