Iraq repossesses gold earrings from the treasure of Nimrud after they were on the verge of being sold in New York
Questions are raised about how the earrings found access to the United States after being kept in the Central Bank of Iraq vaults
Baghdad - 24-08-2010
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Iraq announced the repossession of gold earrings dating back to Assyrian times (934-608 BC) after they were on the verge of being sold at auction at Christie's in New York.
Abdul-Zahra al-Talqani , media advisor to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, said: :The earrings were repossessed lately because they are a part of Iraq's heritage, and the auction was stopped when the discovery was made that set of earrings was in the United States".
However, the Iraqi official denied any knowledge regarding how the earrings ended up in the United States, but added that they are part of the Nimrud treasure which is kept in the Iraqi Central Bank about how to access these earrings which is one of the treasures of Nimrud, but he stressed that Iraq still retains a lot of treasures including the treasure of Nimrud « somewhere very safe ». The British newspaper «Daily Telegraph» pointed out that the artifact, dating back to more than 3000 years , is one of the many antiquities that were stolen after the overthrow of the former Iraqi regime.
The newspaper mentioned that the earrings are part of the treasures of Nimrud , amounting to about 613 pieces of gold and jewelry found in 1988 in two graves, one of an Assyrian Queen and the other of an Assyrian princess in the ancient city of Nimrud, the Assyrian capital in northern Iraq , where the city of Mosul and its surroundings is today. The former regime had kept this treasure in the safes of the Iraqi Central Bank during the Iraq-Kuwait war of 1991 which erupted after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and since then the treasure has not been seen anywhere, except for some reports in Iraq which had mentioned that Sajida Khairallah wife of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had been seen once wearing a golden piece from the treasure .
The British newspaper also quoted Dr. Donny George, an archaeologist and former Chairman of the Iraqi antiquities, who settled in the United States since 2005, the he had recognized the earrings when he saw them and that he himself had taken photographs of these artifacts when they were discovered more than two decades ago. On another note, Christie's auction house did not reveal the seller's identity nor did they comment on the matter.
It is also known that the United States «Department of Immigration and Customs» is responsible for monitoring and recovering stolen antiquities. According to an official at the department, she said that the gold earrings were returned to Iraq as part of a 06 piece collection which were retrieved by the United States authorities during the last few months of last year and were handed over to the Iraqi Embassy in Washington last February. John Morton, Assistant Director of the « Department of Immigration and Customs » said during the ceremony at that time: "It is a great honor to return to the Iraqi people on behalf of the American people this collection of cultural treasures that reflect the rich history and civilization of Iraq".
The set of earrings dating back to eight decades B.C. were returned to the Iraqi authorities along with a collection of artifacts which were stolen from Iraq and were seized in the United States, including Roman coins dating back to 250 years B.C. The «Department of Immigration and Customs» stressed that it will continue its work to recover Iraqi stolen artifacts, but that there are problems in identifying the stolen objects since a large number of them have not been previously monitored.
It is noteworthy that the service is part of a larger operation of the Ministry of United States "Homeland Security" to monitor the stolen items which the thieves usually try to sell in international auctions held in New York, one of the most important auction centers in the world. Treasures of Nimrud were displayed for a short time at the Iraqi Museum in 2003 after the overthrow of the former Iraqi regime.
