Despite these crimes, the past few
weeks have seen commendable cooperation between Lebanon and Syria leading to
hundreds of Syrian antiquities being returned to Syria. On Syrian and Lebanese
roads these days, soldiers at the frequent checkpoints not only look for
explosives, wanted persons, and weapons, but they have orders at Syrian-Lebanon
borders to search for more than 4000 stolen Syrian antiquities. A few hundred
objects were returned to Syria this past year, and some are back on display in
the garden of the National Museum in Damascus, where this observer photographed
them.
Unfortunately there has been little, if any, help in stopping the flow of
stolen Syrian antiquities into Jordan or Turkey, whose governments reportedly
continue to turn a blind eye, ignoring their international obligations for
reasons of politics and profit. In the case of Jordan, it has been widely
alleged that King Abdullah's government is condoning shipments of stolen Syrian
artifacts, via Israeli drug and antiquities mafia operations. These
international criminal enterprises then forward the global cultural treasures
from Israeli ports and Tel Aviv airport to lucrative international
markets--museums, auction houses, or private collectors in New York, London,
Switzerland, Germany, Spain and elsewhere. With respect to Turkey, much of the
500 mile border is open to excavation teams sent in to strip Syria of her
archeological treasures, again with widespread charges of Turkish government
involvement.
Two DGAM staff members and scholars, Khaled and Iyam, explaining to a Damascus National Museum visitor details of a dozen recently returned (3/2014) Syrian antiquities with the sisterly cooperation of the government of Lebanon
The lower part of the stele of
Adad-Nerari III is now at Bonhams auction house, where it was scheduled to be
sold on 4/3/14, though initially the artifact came to public notice in 2000 at
Christie's auction house. The two houses are often competitors, but
increasingly have become collaborators, as they witness a flood of stolen
Syrian antiquities available to them and their clients. They and other auction
houses, museums and dealers sometimes employ means to deceive prospective
private purchasers, other museums, governments, and police agencies. One tactic
is to obfuscate provenance and source of the particular Syrian antiquity.
The evidence for the date of removal from Syria of the stele of Adad-Nerari III
is not flimsy. The report of 19th century archaeologist Hormuzd
Rassam admits that he was not able to find it during his investigations in
1879. He reported that the upper part, which he sent to the British Museum, had
been removed by local villagers from the area of a "venerated grave on top of
the mound," so that its pagan presence would not defile the grave. Rassam,
quite correctly as it turned out, believed that the lower part of the King's
statue was still buried on top of the mound near the grave but the gentleman
died before he could return to excavate it.
Both Bonhams and Christies sale notices state that the lower part of the stele
was in the possession of the seller's father by the 1960's. This was a patently
false representation by both houses.
For the 2014 Bonham's sale, provenance is listed as "Private collection,
Geneva, Switzerland, given as a gift from father to son in the 1960s."
This is also false, and neither auction house provided any documentation for
the ownership history . In point of fact, the stele is not mentioned in
any publication prior to its listing by Christies in 2000. The complete
publication, by A. K. Grayson, of the royal inscriptions of King Adad-Nerari
III appeared in 1996, and all Grayson does is list the upper (British Museum)
part of the stele. He makes no mention of the lower part. Publications in this
series include every known inscription of each Syrian king.
This observer submits that if any scholar had seen the stele prior to 1996, it
would have been listed in the 1996 publication. Furthermore, it is extremely
unlikely that an inscription of this importance would not have become known to
scholars, since it is well known even among the general public that owners of
inscribed monuments, especially ones of this value and size, quite naturally
seek scholarly opinions about their property.
Moreover, probative and material evidence in found in a report from the current
director of excavations at Tell Sheikh Hamad, Prof. Dr. Hartmut Kühne, of the
Freie Universität, Berlin. Dr. Huhne has directed survey and excavations
at the site of Tell Sheikh Hamad in cooperation with DGAM since 1978. According
to the professor, his is the only excavation at this site that has been
authorized by the Syrian government. On 25 September 1999, Prof. Kühne sent a
report to DGAM stating that some unknown person excavated illegally on top of
the mound, near the venerated grave, during the night of 14 September 1999.
Prof. Kühne provided photos of the looter excavations and he opined that the
looter pit is just large enough to have contained the lower part of the stele.
Prof. Kühne notes that the German mission was not excavating on the mound in
1999, and in fact had not worked there since 1988.
Last but not least, the location of the 1999 looter pits on top of the mound is
precisely where Rassam, back in the 19th century, wrote that the
lower part was buried. The first announcement of the existence of the stele, as
noted above, was at the 2000 Christie's sale--less than a year after the
reported looting incident at Tell Sheikh Hamad!
This observer submits that there is adequate Syrian law and international law
and British law on the books, if applied, to makes things a bit tough legally
for the auction houses of Bonham and Christie and many others. Their lawyers
apparently agree. It's as though the Assyrian King might yet exact some sort of
revenge on them from his grave. Or wherever the gentleman might be these days
given local lore from the Tell Sheikh Hamad area.
Public awareness was raised with respect to this archeological criminal case by
the people and government of Syria and others, and an international campaign
mobilizing public opinion has ensued. The Directorate General of Antiquities
and Museums (DGAM) of the Syrian Ministry of Culture urged their
colleagues at the Syrian Ministry of Interior, the Syrian Department of
Criminal Security, and Interpol to "work to stop the sale of the piece and
return it to Syria." As reported by Nadine Kaanan, the Saade Institute created
a video entitled "Stop the theft and sale of Syrian antiquities," in
which it urges that "all necessary legal measures be taken to return this
important monument to Syria when security conditions permit." The institute
said it had decided to raise its voice to "preserve our countries' artifacts
and the story of human history, and also out of respect for the laws of the
United Nations and for the sake of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq."
Long story made short, King Adad-Nerari III's rare stele, prominently displayed
in Bonhams auction house-with more than a few museums and investors interested
in buying it, suddenly was stamped in Bonhoms to be sold catalog: "Withdrawn."
Some in attendance were not happy, and Bonhams administrative office is
'holding consultations' this week in light of expected public and trade journal
reactions. Bonhams had planned to net around 1.3 million USD had the sale taken
place.
Protecting the memory of King Adad-Nerari and preserving his place in the
world's cultural heritage may appear a modest victory given the nearly
unimaginable suffering imposed daily on the people of the proud Syrian Arab
Republic. But what happened to stop one auction house--from selling one stolen
Syrian antiquity--was made possible by the people of Syria and others of good
will who greatly value our Global Cultural Heritage. Hopefully, as
international public awareness continues to increase about this aspect of the
conflict in Syria, this case will enter the law books; maybe also it will
result in legal statues and, consequently, a major advance toward preserving
our Global Cultural Heritage.
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