As dust settles over Baghdad and reconstruction efforts
commence, the search for looted artifacts from Iraqi museums
continue amid constant revisions to the official number of pieces
actually stolen.
Officials from Interpol, an international policing organization,
have reported much looting may have been carried out by
professional thieves organized from outside Iraq.
Looters apparently stole certain valuable artifacts but left
others that were replicas, suggesting the thieves were well
informed. Additionally, glass cutters left at the scene indicate
the burglars prepared in advance.
Linda Komaroff, curator of Islamic Art at the L.A. County Museum
of Art and part-time art history lecturer, said some of the objects
stolen from the museums are among the most precious examples of
early art.
Official counts confirm 30 to 40 pieces of art are missing while
the status of more than 100,000 pieces in storage is still
unknown.
“Some of these artworks would be familiar to UCLA art
history students,” Komaroff said. “Many are depicted in
textbooks they use.”
Among the pieces stolen is a famous vase from an archaeological
site in Warka; it depicts a narrative scene of a religious ritual
and is one of the earliest examples of its kind.
“It’s probably the equivalent of stealing the
Liberty Bell or an early version of the Declaration of
Independence,” Komaroff said.
Matthew Liebermann, an associate professor in psychology,
suggested other looting carried out by citizens of Baghdad may be a
symbolic way for Iraqis to take back a piece of Saddam
Hussein’s fortune.
Komaroff had another theory.
“It is possible that people from poor neighborhoods in
Baghdad were paid or incited to loot as a cover for potential
professional thieves,” she said.
She further speculated the main reason behind the looting would
be financial gains made from trading the artifacts on illegal
artwork markets.
“They would be sold to people who aren’t interested
in the details of their provenance,” she said.
“The purchaser would most likely never be able to exhibit
the artifact,” she added.
Even though countries have strong regulations against the export
of antiquities, the market for stolen antiquities amounts to $5
billion per year, second only to drugs, said Koichiro Matsuura,
director-general for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization.
While recovering the artifacts may be difficult for Interpol,
selling these antiquities may be just as arduous a task for the
looters.
“The more publicity that surrounds the theft, the more
likely it is for artifacts to be returned as no one would want them
unless they were really anxious,” Komaroff said.
If the market for these goods is poor, then incentives such as a
“no-questions-asked” policy or amnesty for those
returning artifacts may be the best way for retrieval, she
said.
Financial awards are not advisable, she said, because they may
promote further theft.
The looting of prized artwork during times of war is not
new.
The trend dates as far back as ancient Rome when Roman armies
conquered Greece and looted temples and collections, securing
prized Greek sculptures for Rome.
“Art is traditionally part of war booty,” Komaroff
said. “Back then, like now, art was something you can own and
appreciate but also a commodity.”
During World War II, Jewish families in occupied German
territories were also stripped of their art collections. Though the
war ended more than a half century ago, many works are still not
recovered.
But Robert Englund, professor of Assyriology, said the looting
in Iraq differs from traditional cases.
“I haven’t heard of antiquities being taken by
people taking advantage of a U.S. invasion,” he said.
Usually, the victors are the ones who plunder such valuables,
not a third party, Komaroff said.
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.