Looted Iraqi Artifacts (FBI’s Top 10 Art Thefts: A Two-Week Blog Series)

The Statue of Entemena, pictured here, was recovered in 2006, but there are still thousands of artifacts missing from Iraq’s National Museum, looted in early 2003.

From the FBI’s art crime department:

RECOVERED

On July 25, 2006, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the recovery of the statue of King Entemena of Lagash, one of the most significant pieces looted from the Iraq Museum in 2003. It was returned to the Government of Iraq at a ceremony in Washington, DC.

DESCRIPTION

In March-April 2003, Iraqi cultural institutions and archaeological sites suffered major losses of priceless historical artifacts. Looting from archaeological sites continues on a massive scale.  A number of artifacts stolen from the Iraq National Museum have been returned, but between 7,000-10,000 remain missing.  Among the missing are the diorite statue of Entemena and almost 5,000 cylinder seals.  In February 2005, the FBI recovered and repatriated 8 cylinder seals taken from archaeological sites in Iraq.

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THESE WORKS OF ART OR CIRCUMSTANCES OF THESE CRIMES, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FIELD OFFICE OR THE NEAREST U.S. EMBASSY OR CONSULATE OR SUBMIT A TIP ONLINE.