"Greece has clearly achieved a huge victory -- a legal precedent, a judicial precedent has already been created, and through Greece, it favours all countries from which cultural goods are illegally exported."
"In the same decision, it is recognized that the claiming of cultural rights by a country, by Greece in this case, concerns a sovereign issue, an issue of sovereign rights."
"This is very, very important."
Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture and Sports, Greece
"There is, and remains, no evidence to support Greece's claim to ownership of the bronze sculpture."
"We, together with our client, are reviewing next steps."
Sotheby's Auction House
An undated photo provided by the Greek Culture Ministry on June
10, 2020, shows an 8th century B.C. horse figurine of the Ancient Greek
Geometric period. Greek Culture Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
Next up: return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum, London. According to the Museum the Elgin Marbles were legally acquired, and as such the property of the United Kingdom. Their proof lies in the fact that there has never been any documentation proffered to prove that legal acquisition of the heirlooms of antiquity from another country spirited into the possession of the United Kingdom in the early 17th century by agents of the seventh Earl of Elgin.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Greece's favour, that the 8th Century B.C. horse figure held in private hands and placed for auction by the venerable auction house which distinctly lacks a sense of honour, overriden by its sense of proprietary profit, finds the ruling quite distasteful.
The court ruled that Greece's interest in recovering part of its cultural heritage was not motivated by financial greed, but justifiable reclamation of its cultural tradition.
It made no ruling, however, on the rightful ownership of the ancient sculpture, only Greece's legal and moral right to pursue its return. Back in 2018 the government of Greece formally wrote to Sotheby's to ask it to hold back on a sale of the statue on the basis that it represented Greek national property. Later the same year, Sotheby's and descendants of art collectors Howard and Saretta Barnet sued the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports in U.S. courts in search of a declaration that the family was the rightful owner of the sculpture, and that Sotheby's was authorized to pursue its sale.
A U.S. judge a year on, rejected Greece's move to dismiss that lawsuit. However, the appeal court ruled now that Greece's motivation in pursuing its sovereign rights were not based on commercial interests. Therefore, under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Greece could not lawfully face such a lawsuit. This is no one-time appeal by Greece for the return of its cultural artifacts of ancient origins; the country has waged a steady decades-old campaign for return of its antiquities.
Its greatest repatriation focus is to succeed in persuading Great Britain to return the Parthenon Marbles which were sacked from the Parthenon where they had stood for thousands of years. Greece maintains the ancient, priceless sculptures had been stolen from their rightful place within the country's most famous marble temple dedicated to the Greek Goddess, Athena. On display as the Elgin Marbles, renamed to reflect their purchase from the Earl of Elgin in the early 1800s, the British Museum claims legal ownership.
The
Parthenon Marbles were taken—or “rescued,” depending on your point of
view—from the Acropolis by Lord Elgin in the early nineteenth century
and now reside in the British Museum. Photograph by Tony French / Alamy
"Al-Asaad was a treasure for Syria and the world. Why did they kill him?" "Their [Islamic State jihadists] systematic campaign seeks to take us back into pre-history. But they will not succeed." Khalil Hariri, son-in-law of antiquities scholar Khaled al-Asaad
"I begged him two months ago to leave the town and come to Damascus with his family, but he refused." "He believed in destiny. He told me, 'I was born in Palmyra and will stay in Palmyra and will not leave even if costs me my blood'." "We have lost not just a scholar of archeology, but one of the pillars of archaeology in the 20th century." Ahmad Ferzat Taraqji, antiquities expert
"We knew they would not leave him alone. We used to stand together and
watch the trenches and the barricades go up … he couldn’t stop his
tears. He’d say they were punishing everything – even the stone." Khaled al-Homsi, a nephew of Khaled al-Asaad
Khaled al Asaad, the Director of Antiquities and Museum in PalmyraPhoto: Marc Deville/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Well "Mr. Palmyra" has paid with his blood. And in Palmyra he remains, his headless body hung in a public square, a notice hanging from it that he was a traitor to Islam. At 81 years of age the distinguished scholar has retired from life, years after retiring from his proud profession. His death might have been predictable, given the penchant of Islamic State fanatics to destroy anything that doesn't agree with their view on anything beginning and ending with Islam.
Abducted and held in the custody of the enemies of antiquity and humanity, he underwent pitiless interrogation no doubt enhanced by threats and torture. The ultimate torture to this man, however, would be to witness the despoliation of all he held dear; the priceless treasures of antiquity. It is all forbidden in Islam, despicable idolatry, according to Islamic State which delights to distribute videos of its members destroying the irreplaceable treasures.
ISIL released photos of their black flag flying over the 13th century Palmyra Castle in Syria
But of course, that kind of carnage should be limited since those treasures are capable of funding Islamic State activities, so artifacts appear on the black market where their value is expressed in rendering to ISIL what it feels is due it; a new take on jizya. Looted treasures returning millions to the administration of the caliphate, topping up the black market in Islamic State oil refinery production for the greater good of pure Islam.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant hierarchy evidently decided that no more could be dredged from Khaled al-Asaad, in ISIL's demands that he inform them where artifacts had been taken for safeguarding from their depredations. The hidden treasures that were taken for safekeeping elsewhere will remain elsewhere for the time being to ensure that the UNESCO treasures are neither destroyed nor sold to private investors.
The elderly Mr. Asaad simply could not envision himself abandoning his beloved Palmyra, and so he did not. Age took from him the capacity to continue visiting the two-thousand-year-old ruins he had dedicated his life to preserving, but from where he lived he had the comfort of proximity "and he could see the archaeological site from his house", explained his nephew Khaled al-Homsi.
Who witnessed his uncle brought to a crowded main square close to a vegetable market. Mr. al-Asaad, dressed in a suit, waited as a jihadist read aloud accusations that ISIL brought against him as the "director of idols" who represented Syria "at infidel conferences", visiting Shiite Iran, proving his heretical status as a quasi Muslim.
"Islamic State operates like a diversified criminal business. They think like business people." Louise Shelley, author Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism, Turkey
"They bring in their own trucks, their own bulldozers, hire their own work crews and pay them salaries." "The trafficking industry in Iraq and Syria is like what Hollywood is for Los Angeles. Just like everyone is an aspiring actor in L.A., everyone in Syria and Iraq is a dealer in some trafficked goods." "The people won't stop hustling until the war ends." Amr Al Azm, anthropology professor, Shawnee State University, Ohio
"Shady dealers sit on smuggled items for years to launder the provenance before trying to sell them for lump sums. There's enough awareness among major auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's to avoid handling any antiquity believed to be from Iraq or Syria." "But the challenge is monitoring private sales, which are driving the global antiquities market. I'm pretty confident those pieces from Iraq and Syria are being sold to locals in the region -- wealthy Saudis, Emiratis, Iranians." James McAndrew, formerly with U.S. Customs and Department of Homeland Security
"The best way to stop this is by intercepting the items before they end up in the freeports." Daniel Brazier, U.S. Homeland Security "If we can hold the material inside Syria and Iraq, ISIL can't get the money for it and it will make it easier for the world to repatriate the antiquities when the conflict ends." Michael Danti, adviser, U.S. State Department
"Any terrorist organization or rogue state, even going back to the Nazis, who are looting and trafficking art, are looking for quick cash." "The ultimate destination for valuable antiquities is the West, and people here are more aware now than they were in the 20th Century." Christopher Marinello, chief executive, Art Recovery
The Tetrapylon, Palmyra, Syria
Well, it's a problem of global dimensions; how to safeguard priceless heritage objects of antiquity. For some of those antiquities it is too late; Islamic State jihadis took immense pleasure in loosing their savagely barbaric destructive impulses on many irreplaceable objects of human history, and recording themselves in the process of destroying world heritage items, as though the very act of doing so validated their credentials as world-class psychopaths for whom nothing is sacred.
But then, second thoughts kicked in with the realization that the vast sums earned through the black market trade in petroleum resources with the capture and possession of oil fields in Iraq began to dry up as a result of the U.S.-led coalition bombings. So that it made sense to an otherwise-senseless campaign of ruination to preserve the objects and transport them for illegal sale in an underground economy trading in antiquities. In both of these enterprises, Turkey proved itself invaluable to Islamic State as a passage-intermediary.
The sophisticated public relations arm of Islamic State knows all about the use of social media, using WhatsApp and iPhones to transmit photos of ancient Mesopotamian objects of high value to prospective buyers prepared to smuggle them transiting Turkey or Lebanon in the process. Iraq and Syria have proved to be excellent sources of these peerless goods, so the sledgehammers and drills have been put aside for the greater goal of funding Islamic State pursuits. EBay and Facebook are also helpful in this regard for ISIL.
To the caliphate, the billion-dollar global antiquities market is a godsend, with eager buyers lining up for ownership of sought-after antiquities; some aware of the black market and ISIL connection, others perhaps not. Originally, a 20 percent tax was exacted and collected from diggers and dealers, and then ISIL realized they were sitting on a gold mine and began their own operations, cutting out the middlemen.
According to Michael Danti who advises the U.S. State Department on matters related to plundered antiquities emanating from Iraq and Syria, a complex chain involving a handful of brokers and dealers is complicit with ISIL, supplying them with these rare heritage objects. And, he points out the jihadis are themselves linked closely to Turkish crime networks. Smuggled into Turkey, artifacts are taken by a broker to cash them for resale to dealers.
Archaeologists Rene Teigjeler and Isber Sabrine look for looted antiquities at a market in Gaziantep, Turkey The Wall Street Journal
Archaeologists have estimated that some $300-million worth of antiquities are in the process of flooding the market through Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan to benefit Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Cuneiform tablets, stamp seals, Greco-Roman coins are turning up in photos on the Internet. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, between 2012 and 2013, declared antiquities from Iraq imported into the U.S. increased by 672 percent, and from Syria by 133 percent.
The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution to ban the sale of antiquities from Syria and Iraq in response to the situation, while the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation effectively ensuring it has become illegal to sell looted artifacts from Syria. UN diplomats were informed by chairwoman Deborah Lehr of the Antiquities Coalition that Archaeologists Without Borders will be in operation by September to centralize efforts to handle the situation.
Damage caused by looting and vandalism at a museum in Aleppo. (UNESCO and Professor Abdulkarim)
This represents a general opinion site for its author. It also offers a space for the author to record her experiences and perceptions,both personal and public. This is rendered obvious by the content contained in the blog, but the space is here inviting me to write. And so I do.
