Stolen 2,700-year-old Iraqi artifact found in Emory University museum
(FBI Atlanta)
ATLANTA - An artifact believed to have been stolen from a Baghdad museum has been returned to Iraq after it was discovered on exhibit inside a museum at Emory University.
Historians date the artifact, named "Furniture Fitting with Sphinx Trampling a Youth," back to the Iron Age and to the 7th Century BC. It is made of ivory, pigment and gold leaf, and stands at two and a quarter inches tall.
The FBI says the artifact is thought to have been stolen from the Iraq Museum during a looting of the museum in 2003.
Three years later, Emory's Michael C. Carlos Museum purchased the artifact from a third party after the FBI say administrators were shown fake paperwork stating that the artifact had been in the U.S. since 1969. After acquiring the piece, the museum had the artifact on exhibit.
After consulting with experts and examining photos of the item taken in 1983, the FBI determined the artifact belonged to Iraq. The museum has been cooperating with the investigation and voluntarily handed over the artifact to agents in 2022.
"While realize there was no ill intent on behalf of Emory University, we are glad our agents could return a small part of history back to where it belongs in Iraq," said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "Our agents work diligently with our law enforcement partners around the world to return artifacts to their rightful owners."
Wednesday, a special agent with the FBI Art Crime Team presented the artifact to the Iraqi Charge’ d’Affaires
The protection of the world's cultural heritage is a priority for the U.S. Government." said case agent Special Agent Rafael Jimenez. "The FBI Atlanta Field Office is honored to have the opportunity to do its part by returning this important piece of cultural heritage to the people of Iraq. The FBI is also grateful to the Michael C. Carlos Museum for its cooperation in this matter."