Success stories
November 2003
The Nimrud brazier was uncovered in a raid.
The Nimrud brazier was uncovered in a raid. According to Professor John Malcolm Russell, this unique wood and bronze piece - decorated with crenellated towers of a city wall - is the first of its kind to be discovered. The recovery of the Numrud brazier led to the return of the 4,300-year-old Bassetki statue, found in a cesspool. Professor Russell considers both pieces "unique objects of tremendous artistic and historical importance." November 3, 2003.
September 2003
Mask of a Warka Woman Returned
The 5,200-year-old while marble mask of a Warka woman, perhaps the world's oldest naturalistic sculpture of a woman's face, was returned to the authorities through an informant. After being buried in the ground for months on a farm, the Lady of Warka - also known as the Mona Lisa of Mesopotamia - had changed hands five times in the black market before it was deemed "too hot to handle" and impossible to smuggle out of the country. September 23, 2003
We thank the Museum Security Network Mailinglist and Cultural Property Protection Net Mailinglist for their work.
