More on Baghdad museum loot returns

From tomorrow's Sunday Times, some further details on recent recoveries:

Three feet high and weighing 600lb intact, this was the Sacred Vase of Warka, regarded by experts as one of the most precious of all the treasures taken during looting that shocked the world in the chaos following the fall of Baghdad. Broken in antiquity and stuck together, it was once again in pieces.

Not surprising it fell apart -- museum restoration is different from restoration for use: reversibility is of prime importance when sticking things back together, not strength. This may also help explain why the Vase was not moved to a safer location, for fear that it would come apart when shifted.

A campaign for looters to return the museum’s treasures and promising an amnesty has resulted in the return of 1,500 items in the past two months.

Last week alone, 10 of the top exhibits were returned. One group of men brought back nine items from the Assyrian galleries. Among them was a statue of King Shalmaneser III — who ruled in the 9th century BC — on a pedestal inscribed with deeds and conquests from the ancient city of Nimrud. The items also included a large inscribed tablet from the sumptuous palace of King Ashurnasirpal II.

A locked room in the museum, guarded by a sullen-faced woman in a black veil, acts as a repository for the returned items. Ivory pieces and figures that decorated thrones at Nimrud from the 8th century BC lie scattered on a table, along with beads, ancient silver bangles, swords and pieces of broken pots.

“Everyone said the Iraqis are thieves, but they are bringing all this back and asking for nothing,” said Dr Ahmad Kamil, deputy director of the museum.

On one table is a list of the names of people requesting rewards for returning ancient bangles and vessels.

A neat juxtaposition by the writer.

An emergency summit of international archeologists held at the British Museum at the end of April denounced the coalition troops. Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, described the looting as “the greatest catastrophe to afflict any major institution since the second world war”. . .

MacGregor stuck to his comments last week. “I can’t think of another great museum that has had 30 to 40 of its top pieces removed,” he said.

In all fairness, there were many art historians and archeologists who denounced the looting in far more politicized terms that did MacGregor. Nonetheless, he does seem to be climbing down a bit more slowly than he ought. I'm sure others can fill out the list of major museum losses since WW2, but one might start with the devastation wrought by the Korean War, and jump to Kabul under the Taliban, mentioning for good measure the looting of Kuwait City.

As the museum staff all returned to work yesterday and began sweeping away the debris, many unanswered questions remained.

Thieves seemed to know what to take and were able to break into three of the museum’s five locked store rooms. “The keys were in the director’s safe, which is an old-fashioned one — easy to break into,” said George.

So why weren't the keys taken off-site? Forgive the doubts, but George has not exactly distinguished himself for openness and honesty to date.

There was suspicion, too, at the initial reluctance of museum officials to let experts from Unesco into certain rooms. Their explanation was that they had taken an oath on the Koran not to allow infidels into the vaults.

Which sounds all too much like a story confected to play well abroad. Archeological museums are not exactly known as a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism and xenophobia (though given the Ba'athist connections, secularist nationalism is quite plausible). And it's not as if there are no Muslims working with UNESCO (see this, for example).

Last week’s return of the Warka vase might help to resolve some of these questions, said MacGregor. “Who had it and how did they come to give it back?” he asked. “Was it just an opportunist looter? Was it a professional thief?”

Precisely the questions we have been asking, over and over.

George admitted yesterday that American art investigators had been in negotiations over the vase, although he insisted that no money had been paid.

And no credit for their efforts conceded, either.

Posted by David on June 14, 2003 9:52 PM