Rare Book Monthly

Articles - June - 2020 Issue

Another Valuable Ancient Document Obtained Under Shady Circumstances Likely Heading from the U. S. Back to Iraq

The Gilgamesh tablet as depicted in the 2007 Michael Sharpe Catalog No. 1.

The Gilgamesh tablet as depicted in the 2007 Michael Sharpe Catalog No. 1.

On May 18, the U. S. Department of Justice filed suit to return a cuneiform tablet apparently worth well over $1 million to authorities in Iraq, from which it was looted, most likely early in this century or late in the last. It was held by the Museum of the Bible, where it was placed for display by Hobby Lobby, the large U. S. chain of arts and crafts stores. Hobby Lobby and its owners, the Green family of Oklahoma City, fund the Museum of the Bible in Washington. Hobby Lobby has provided the museum with many artifacts from biblical times, but has also had to return some of them to the countries from which they were looted. Hobby Lobby has maintained it was not aware of the illegal sources of what they purchased but clearly they were sometimes sloppy in authentication efforts, and at times that would be a generous interpretation. However, this time they claim they were misled by sources far more reputable than some shady dealer in the Middle East selling them from his living room.

 

The item in question is what is known as a Gilgamesh tablet. It describes a dream by an ancient king, Gilgamesh. Few of these tablets remain, this one dating back to around the 15th century B.C. It is written in the Summerian language, that of an ancient culture that existed in what is today Iraq.

 

In a press release, the Department of Justice describes the chain of events as follows. In 2003, a U. S. antiquities dealer traveled to London where he purchased the tablet. He imported it to America and had it cleaned and examined by an expert, which revealed that it was a Gilgamesh tablet.

 

In 2007, the complaint continues, the dealer sold it to a collector. At that time, the dealer provided a provenance letter that said it had been purchased in a U. S. auction in 1981. The claim does not clearly state that this dealer created the false provenance though one might infer it.

 

The false provenance letter followed the tablet to a second new owner who later took it to an auction house. The Department of Justice claims, “This false provenance letter traveled with the tablet and was provided to the Auction House by a later owner. As part of its due diligence, the Auction House’s antiquities director spoke with the Antiquities Dealer. The Antiquities Dealer advised the Auction House that the provenance would not withstand scrutiny and should not be used in connection with a public sale. The Auction House nevertheless represented to Hobby Lobby that the tablet was purchased in the 1981 auction.” The auction house sold it to Hobby Lobby in 2014 through a private sale rather than a public auction. It has been reported elsewhere that the price was $1,674,000.

 

The complaint concludes that in 2017, the Museum of the Bible became concerned about the tablet's provenance. Hobby Lobby then contacted the auction house for more details. The auction house, the government says, told Hobby Lobby the antiquities dealer confirmed the provenance but did not provide them with the provenance letter or the dealer's name.

 

The government's complaint does not name any of the parties involved other than Hobby Lobby and the Museum of the Bible. However, in a recent Twitter message posted by the Museum of the Bible, they say, “We support the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to return this Gilgamesh fragment to Iraq. Christie’s, the source of the item, is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by Hobby Lobby, which loaned the item to us.” The tablet was seized by law enforcement from the museum in 2019 and the government now seeks to return it to Iraq. The government said that the museum has cooperated with their investigation.

 

Other sources have named Michael Sharpe as the dealer. We cannot confirm this, but do know that in a 2007 catalogue, Michael Sharpe Rare and Antiquarian Books listed what appears to be this tablet for sale at a price of $450,000. The catalogue does not describe the the tablet's provenance, but does say there is a translation, authentication, and “a clear provenance” available. We could not find any recent references to Michael Sharpe's business and it appears that it must have closed many years ago.

 

Reportedly, the false claim that the tablet was purchased in a 1981 auction describes an auction at Butterfield & Butterfield of San Francisco. It should be noted that at the time of the Gulf War of 1990, importation of Iraqi cultural property into the U. S. was banned. This false date would have put the importation safely ahead of that date, rather than after it as was the case in 2003. The tablet was claimed to be in a lot of miscellaneous antiquarian objects. In other words, the description of this real 1981 lot at Butterfield's could conceivably have included this object, though it did not specifically list it. In 1999, Butterfield's ceased to exist as a separate auction house, sold first to eBay, then to Bonham's, which dropped the Butterfield name about ten years ago. Records which might be able to confirm or deny what objects were part of this lot do not appear to exist any longer.

 

CNN has reported that a spokesperson for Christie's issued a statement saying, “this filing is linked to new information that has come to light regarding an unidentified dealer's admission to government authorities that he illegally imported this item, then falsified documents over a decade ago in order to perpetrate an illegal sale and exploit the legitimate market for ancient art. Now that we are informed of this illicit activity pre-dating Christie's involvement, we are reviewing all representations made to us by prior owners and will reserve our rights in this matter. Any suggestion that Christie's had knowledge of the original fraud or illegal importation is unsubstantiated.”

Rare Book Monthly

  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Books & Collectors’ Sale
    April 30th & May 1st
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Taylor (Geo.) & Skinner (A.) Maps of the Roads of Ireland, Surveyed 1777. Lond. & Dublin 1778. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Messingham (Thos.) Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum seu Vitae et Acta Sanctorum Hibernia, Paris 1624. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus). The Haw Lantern, L. (Faber & Faber) 1987, First Edn., Signed and dated. €225 to €350.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Valencey (Lt. Col. Chas.) Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Vols. I-IV, 4 vols. Dublin 1786. €400 to €600.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Powerscourt (Viscount). A Description and History of Powerscourt, Lond. 1903. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Moryson (Fynes). An Itinerary ... Containing His Ten Yeeres Travel Through the Twelve Dominions of Germany, Bohermerland, Sweitzerland…, Lond. (John Beale) 1617. €700 to €1,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: After Buffon, Birds of Europe, c. 1820. Approx. 120 fine hd. cold. plts., mor. backed boards. €125 to €250.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Dunlevy (Andrew). An Teagasg Criosduidhe De Reir Ceasda agus Freagartha... The Catechism or Christian Doctrine by Way of Question and Answer, Paris (James Guerin) 1742. €400 to €700.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: The Georgian Society Records of Eighteen-Century Domestic Architecture in Dublin, 5 vols. Complete, Dublin 1909-1913. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Scale (Bernard). An Hibernian Atlas or General Description of the Kingdom of Ireland, L. (Robert Sayer & John Bennet) 1776. €625 to €850.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: [Johnson (Rev. Samuel)]. Julian the Apostate Being a Short Account of his Life, together with a Comparison of Popery and Paganism,L. (Langley Curtis) 1682. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Nichlson (Wm.) Illustrator. An Almanac of Twelve Sports, Lond. 1898. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) trans. The Light of the Leaves, 2 vols., Mexico (Imprenta de los Tropicos/Bunholt) 1999. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Fleming (Ian). Moonraker, L. (Jonathan Cape) 1955. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) & Egan (Felim) artist. Squarings, Twelve Poems, D. (Hieroglyph Editions Ltd.) 1991. €1,750 to €2,250.
  • Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN'S EXTREMELY RARE FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT. "Scene af: Røverne i Vissenberg i Fyen." in Harpen, 1822.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST ISSUE OF THE FIRST THREE FAIRY TALE PAMPHLETS, WITH ALL INDICES AND TITLE PAGES. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: THE FIRST FAIRY TALES WITH A SIGNED CARTE DE VISITE OF ANDERSEN AS FRONTIS. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: KARL LAGERFELD. Original pastel and ink drawing in gold, red and black for Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes (1992), "La cassette de l'Empereur."
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY OF THE SIXTH PAMPHLET FOR PETER KOCH. Eventyr, Fortalte For Børn, Second Series, Third Pamphlet. 1841. Publisher's wrappers, complete with all pre- and post-matter.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN RARE AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED IN ENGLISH from "The Ugly Duckling," c.1860s.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HEINRICH LEFLER, ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR FOR ANDERSEN'S SNOW QUEEN, "Die Schneekönigin," 1910.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST EDITION OF ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES IN ENGLISH. Wonderful Stories for Children. London, 1846.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN ON MEETING CHARLES DICKENS. Autograph Letter Signed ("H.C. Andersen") in English to William Jerdan, July 20, 1847.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR EDGAR COLLIN. Nye Eventyr og Historier. Anden Raekke. 1861.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: DOLL HOUSE FURNITURE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, DECORATED WITH FANTASTICAL CUT-OUTS, for the children of Jonna Stampe (née Drewsen), his godchildren.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR GEORG BRANDES. Dryaden. Et Eventyr fra Udstillingstiden i Paris 1867. 1868.
  • Sotheby's
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    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR

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