11.13.2003
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And make not Allah's name an excuse
In your oaths against doing good, or acting rightly,
Or making peace between persons;
For Allah is One Who heareth and knoweth all things.
-- Surah 2, verse 224 - Quran
~~~~
"I think that people need to be held responsible for the actions they take in life.
I think that's part of the need for a cultural change.
We need to say that each of us needs to be responsible for what we do."
-- George W. Bush in the first Presidential debate, October 3, 2000
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Sacred Gifts are within form and function, it is the offering of life from the eternal one!
Objects of art from the ancient civilizations contain a precious and priceless living legacy that provides us with the opportunity of an enduring presence. Art college taught us that all early art was not art, rather objects created by cannons of those times. These creations were fashioned through a sacred formation and carry a standard of craftsmanship that most likely were guided by a master.
The timeless beauty of these magnificent objects of art of course is not replaceable.
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Ancient Iraqi Treasures Found In Cesspool
By Luke Baker
11.07.03
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Two priceless pieces of Iraq's ancient heritage, looted from Baghdad's main museum in the chaotic days after Saddam Hussein's fall, have been recovered from a Baghdad cesspool, U.S. officials said Thursday.
The Akkadian Bassetki, a copper statue of a seated man dating from 2300 BC, and an ancient Assyrian firebox that a king would have used to keep himself warm were recovered by police investigators, the authorities said.
The Bassetki statue is considered the most important of Iraq's ancient artworks after the so-called Warka Mask of a Sumerian goddess, recovered earlier this year.
"I would describe this as a spectacular find and we're extremely pleased," John Russell, an art expert who is helping to restore recovered artifacts, told Reuters.
"As far as I can tell their condition is OK, although they still need a bit of cleaning up," Russell said.
No further details were given as to how the pieces were found or who was involved in the investigation.
Investigators believe the Bassetki statue, a 330 pound cast depicting a man sitting with his legs crossed on the ground, was stolen to order, like other highly prized works.
When it was taken it was dragged across the display hall and down the Iraqi National Museum's main staircase, leaving deep gouges in the floor.
The Assyrian brazier, carved in wood and bronze dating from 850 BC, was also highly regarded in the art world and ranked 28 on the list of 30 most important items stolen in Iraq, U.S. authorities said.
While it was initially feared that thousands of ancient pieces of art were stolen during a days-long orgy of looting shortly after Saddam's regime was overthrown in April, experts believe the actual number was much lower.
Of the 42 pieces originally reported missing from the Baghdad museum's public galleries, most have now been recovered and only a very few were damaged.
Several of the most important works, including the fabled treasures of Nimrud, were removed from the museum and placed in the vault of the central bank ahead of the war.
Before they were discovered there, however, U.S. forces came under severe criticism for not doing enough to protect Babylon's ancient glories and other riches as they focused instead on guarding oil plants and other installations.
"The fact is, the looting of the museum was not nearly as bad as was feared immediately after the war," Charles Heatly, a spokesman for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, told a news conference Thursday.
"The number of artifacts left to be recovered are now few."
Cleaning of the Bassetki statue and Assyrian firebox is expected to be finished shortly and the works will be put back on display in a few days, Heatly said.
Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited.
from: www.reuters.com/
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Looted Iraqi artefacts 'found in London'
By Angus Crawford
BBC correspondent in London
Friday, 7 November, 2003, 10:44 GMT
Artefacts looted from the Baghdad museum following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime have been recovered in London, police have confirmed for the first time.
The discovery of the items follows enduring images from the museum of smashed display cases, empty vaults and crying staff, when reporters gained access for the first time.
Guards patrolled the museum after the looting
First estimates of the looting suggesting that more than 150,000 items were missing were wildly inaccurate.
The most recent figures indicate all but 10,000 have been recovered.
But investigators believe some objects were stolen to order and smuggled out of the country. Thousands of valuable bead-shaped seals were stolen from locked, concealed store rooms.
Other important archaeological sites were also ransacked across Iraq, historically known as Mesopotamia and seen as the birth place of modern civilisation.
'Stolen goods'
The Metropolitan Police's confirmation that some of the artefacts had made their way to Britain follows an operation by the specialist arts and antiques squad.
A number of men were arrested, including one at a central London gallery.
Thousands of the museum's works were thought lost forever
"The men were arrested in connection with allegations of handling stolen goods - one of them was said to be a 76-year-old man. He is believed to be a British passport holder of Iranian descent", Scotland Yard told the BBC.
A stone sculpture found there, but stolen before the war, is thought by detectives to be worth between three and five million pounds.
The frieze, showing sacred winged animals was taken from the ruins of a palace in the ancient city of Nimrud.
"It is a stone frieze about one metre square. It depicts two winged sacred guardian animals.
"They are holding sacred fruit from a tree. They are of classic Assyrian design", Scotland Yard said.
International market
Thousands of objects have been looted from museums and archaeological sites in Iraq since 1990 - the process is thought to have accelerated during the most recent fighting.
Some objects have turned up for sale on the international arts market.
A UN resolution in May called on all countries to crack down on the trade.
A new law due to come into force in the UK by Christmas will for the first time specifically target the trade in antiquities.
Police in London say their investigations are continuing.
US investigators have also been helping to recover stolen treasures from Iraq and more than 3,000 artefacts from Iraq's national museum have been returned to date.
Among the stolen items were a statue from 2300 BC and Roman heads of Poseidon, Apollo, Nike and Eros.
The US team say the thieves had expert knowledge and left copies and less valuable items in place of the valuable antiques.
from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3249893.stm
And make not Allah's name an excuse
In your oaths against doing good, or acting rightly,
Or making peace between persons;
For Allah is One Who heareth and knoweth all things.
-- Surah 2, verse 224 - Quran
~~~~
"I think that people need to be held responsible for the actions they take in life.
I think that's part of the need for a cultural change.
We need to say that each of us needs to be responsible for what we do."
-- George W. Bush in the first Presidential debate, October 3, 2000
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Sacred Gifts are within form and function, it is the offering of life from the eternal one!
Objects of art from the ancient civilizations contain a precious and priceless living legacy that provides us with the opportunity of an enduring presence. Art college taught us that all early art was not art, rather objects created by cannons of those times. These creations were fashioned through a sacred formation and carry a standard of craftsmanship that most likely were guided by a master.
The timeless beauty of these magnificent objects of art of course is not replaceable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ancient Iraqi Treasures Found In Cesspool
By Luke Baker
11.07.03
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Two priceless pieces of Iraq's ancient heritage, looted from Baghdad's main museum in the chaotic days after Saddam Hussein's fall, have been recovered from a Baghdad cesspool, U.S. officials said Thursday.
The Akkadian Bassetki, a copper statue of a seated man dating from 2300 BC, and an ancient Assyrian firebox that a king would have used to keep himself warm were recovered by police investigators, the authorities said.
The Bassetki statue is considered the most important of Iraq's ancient artworks after the so-called Warka Mask of a Sumerian goddess, recovered earlier this year.
"I would describe this as a spectacular find and we're extremely pleased," John Russell, an art expert who is helping to restore recovered artifacts, told Reuters.
"As far as I can tell their condition is OK, although they still need a bit of cleaning up," Russell said.
No further details were given as to how the pieces were found or who was involved in the investigation.
Investigators believe the Bassetki statue, a 330 pound cast depicting a man sitting with his legs crossed on the ground, was stolen to order, like other highly prized works.
When it was taken it was dragged across the display hall and down the Iraqi National Museum's main staircase, leaving deep gouges in the floor.
The Assyrian brazier, carved in wood and bronze dating from 850 BC, was also highly regarded in the art world and ranked 28 on the list of 30 most important items stolen in Iraq, U.S. authorities said.
While it was initially feared that thousands of ancient pieces of art were stolen during a days-long orgy of looting shortly after Saddam's regime was overthrown in April, experts believe the actual number was much lower.
Of the 42 pieces originally reported missing from the Baghdad museum's public galleries, most have now been recovered and only a very few were damaged.
Several of the most important works, including the fabled treasures of Nimrud, were removed from the museum and placed in the vault of the central bank ahead of the war.
Before they were discovered there, however, U.S. forces came under severe criticism for not doing enough to protect Babylon's ancient glories and other riches as they focused instead on guarding oil plants and other installations.
"The fact is, the looting of the museum was not nearly as bad as was feared immediately after the war," Charles Heatly, a spokesman for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, told a news conference Thursday.
"The number of artifacts left to be recovered are now few."
Cleaning of the Bassetki statue and Assyrian firebox is expected to be finished shortly and the works will be put back on display in a few days, Heatly said.
Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited.
from: www.reuters.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looted Iraqi artefacts 'found in London'
By Angus Crawford
BBC correspondent in London
Friday, 7 November, 2003, 10:44 GMT
Artefacts looted from the Baghdad museum following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime have been recovered in London, police have confirmed for the first time.
The discovery of the items follows enduring images from the museum of smashed display cases, empty vaults and crying staff, when reporters gained access for the first time.
Guards patrolled the museum after the looting
First estimates of the looting suggesting that more than 150,000 items were missing were wildly inaccurate.
The most recent figures indicate all but 10,000 have been recovered.
But investigators believe some objects were stolen to order and smuggled out of the country. Thousands of valuable bead-shaped seals were stolen from locked, concealed store rooms.
Other important archaeological sites were also ransacked across Iraq, historically known as Mesopotamia and seen as the birth place of modern civilisation.
'Stolen goods'
The Metropolitan Police's confirmation that some of the artefacts had made their way to Britain follows an operation by the specialist arts and antiques squad.
A number of men were arrested, including one at a central London gallery.
Thousands of the museum's works were thought lost forever
"The men were arrested in connection with allegations of handling stolen goods - one of them was said to be a 76-year-old man. He is believed to be a British passport holder of Iranian descent", Scotland Yard told the BBC.
A stone sculpture found there, but stolen before the war, is thought by detectives to be worth between three and five million pounds.
The frieze, showing sacred winged animals was taken from the ruins of a palace in the ancient city of Nimrud.
"It is a stone frieze about one metre square. It depicts two winged sacred guardian animals.
"They are holding sacred fruit from a tree. They are of classic Assyrian design", Scotland Yard said.
International market
Thousands of objects have been looted from museums and archaeological sites in Iraq since 1990 - the process is thought to have accelerated during the most recent fighting.
Some objects have turned up for sale on the international arts market.
A UN resolution in May called on all countries to crack down on the trade.
A new law due to come into force in the UK by Christmas will for the first time specifically target the trade in antiquities.
Police in London say their investigations are continuing.
US investigators have also been helping to recover stolen treasures from Iraq and more than 3,000 artefacts from Iraq's national museum have been returned to date.
Among the stolen items were a statue from 2300 BC and Roman heads of Poseidon, Apollo, Nike and Eros.
The US team say the thieves had expert knowledge and left copies and less valuable items in place of the valuable antiques.
from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3249893.stm
