Roughly half of the looted items are still missing – including an
Roughly half of the looted items are still missing – including an important collection of “cylinder seals with images of ancient life and myths.” The question is where are those missing items since only a few have surfaced on the market. “Relatively few appear to have come onto the market, so are they being hoarded by the looters? Others may have been sold quietly to collectors who turned a blind eye to their origin—most likely in the Gulf states, according to a European museum source.”
The worst damage occurred as a result of anarchic conditions in Baghdad immediately after the invasion. The national Iraq Museum, one of the most important museums in the Middle East, was looted between 10 and 12 April 2003, and initially there were chilling reports that its entire collection of 200,000 antiquities had been seized. Fortunately, the finest pieces had already been moved to a secret store, although the main storeroom was broken into.
An estimated 16,000 antiquities were stolen, around half of which have been recovered. Among the 8,000 or so items still missing are an important ivory plaque of a lioness and a collection of cylinder seals, with images of ancient life and myths.
All that for what?