The significance of verifying the legality of purchases has come to light in light of widespread reports of ISIS selling artifacts that were obtained illegally. Museums and, to a lesser extent, individual collectors frequently assert that they have complied with all applicable laws. Their claims have been disproven more frequently than is reasonable. Here are 10 intriguing instances of theft from art or antiquities. The Top 10 Interesting Cases of Archaeologically Stolen Art are listed below.
- Italian Conquest Of Ethiopia
Benito Mussolini’s Italian troops arrived at Aksum (or Axum) in 1937, shortly before the start of World War II, to protect one of Ethiopia’s most revered treasures—the Obelisk of Aksum, a structure that goes dating from the 4th century AD. Since it lacks a pyramid at the top, it is technically a stele. One of Ethiopia’s holiest cities, Aksum played a key role in the spread of Coptic Christianity there.
After being driven from Ethiopia at the end of the war, the Italians signed a peace treaty a short time later that included the requirement that they return any seized items within 18 months. The stele remains outside a United Nations facility in Rome, even though many objects were returned. Over the ensuing decades, two further Agreements with the state of repatriation were signed, but they remained in place. It was eventually brought back in 2005, but due to its height and weight—more than 24 meters (79 feet) tall—it had to be split into three pieces for the trip. According to reports, the stele was the largest and heaviest object ever flown.
- Looting Of The Old Summer Palace
The United Kingdom found itself in Beijing and in need of, shall we say, “compensation” after the Second Opium War ended with the total defeat of Chinese forces. To do this, British forces invaded the city and created a direct passage to Yuanmingyuan with little assistance from the French. The Europeans began to plunder anything they could get their hands on while an envoy traveled to China to discuss peace negotiations. This was because looting had long been accepted as a natural consequence of war, along with the necessity to pay soldiers and postpone the cost of the dead.
The envoy’s mission, however, was never fulfilled because its subjects were captured by the Chinese and tortured to death as prisoners. The eighth earl of Elgin, the leader of the British forces, gave the order for his army to burn Yuanmingyuan to the ground because he was so furious and was seeking retribution. (If the name Elgin seems familiar, it’s because his father was the same Lord Elgin who allegedly “obtained” the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon.) A Pekinese dog named “Looty,” which had been presented to Queen Victoria was among the things taken.
- Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese war, which took place in Manchuria and Korea shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, raged for 2 years amongst two nations with imperialistic aspirations. It was the first significant military engagement in modern times that saw an Asian nation beat a European nation, and in the end, Japan came out on top. Japanese forces frequently encountered Chinese territory since the Manchuria region crosses both Chinese and Russian territory.
Even though an estimated 3.6 million artifacts were stolen between the First Sino-Japanese War and the end of World War II, one of the most prized items—the Honglujing Stele—was taken during the Russo-Japanese War. The stele, whose construction dates back over 1,300 years, is said to be of paramount significance in the study of the Bohai Kingdom. Even Japanese specialists have not been given permission to look at it.
- Construction Of The East Indian Railway
Since its removal from India in 1861, the Sultanganj Buddha has been a source of conflict between the Indian and British administrations, much like the more well-known Koh-i-Noor diamond. In the midst of constructing a station yard in the North Indian town of Sultanganj, it was discovered by E.B. Harris, a local British engineer. It was thought that it had been covered in an effort to conceal it. From these findings, Harris himself concluded that the local monks had just enough time to bury the enormous copper statue of Buddha before leaving Bihar. In the months that followed, a businessman involved in the railway’s construction took the Sultanganj Buddha off to Britain and transported it to Birmingham.
The statue, which dates back to around AD 500, is one of many stolen relics that the Indian government wants to recover. It is still in Birmingham. The Birmingham Museum, like all British institutions, has resolutely refused to return it, adhering to regulations that prohibit the return of significant objects. (Smaller, more affordable items are frequently returned, though.) Harris was the only person to recognize the bronze Buddha’s value and prevent it from being melted down by the villagers, according to the British, who insist that they are the rightful proprietors of the statue.
- The Morean War
The Republic of Venice, which no longer exists, was also responsible for the theft of a number of treasures, most notably the Piraeus Lion. Its naval commander, Francesco Morosini, is better renowned for destroying and then robbing the Parthenon in Athens. The adoration of Saint Mark, their patron saint, led the Venetians to frequently look for lion sculptures to plunder during their conquests.
The Ottoman Empire and a group of European states known as the Holy League fought each other in the Great Turkish War. Various lesser conflicts between the nations also erupted. The Morean War, one of them, was primarily a conflict between Venice and the Ottoman Empire. The Venetians and Morosini arrived in Athens while the fighting continued, and they were determined to conquer the city. Once they were successful, the looting started, with the white marble lion in Piraeus, the harbour of Athens, being the most prized landmark.
Before Morosini and his Venetian officers seized it and took it to the Venetian Arsenal, where it is still located today, the Piraeus Lion had been standing in the Greek city for close to 1,500 years and had been built in the 4th century BC.
- Napoleon’s Conquest Of Italy
Napoleon Bonaparte wanted to create a virtual encyclopedia of imaginary history at his newly built Louvre museum, providing a model for future tyrants like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. He and a large portion of France’s elite believed that French people had superior taste than anybody else and would value the looted items more highly than anyone else. They differ from the majority of articles on this list, though, in that they actually borrowed from Europeans.
Italy was the first on Napoleon’s extensive list of victims, which also included one of the earliest planned lootings of Egypt. The Convention Nationale, which approved priceless works of art as acceptable for payment for war duties, gave rise to the idea that the Louvre, temporarily known as the Musee Napoleon, would house the spoils of war. That choice led to the exportation of some of Italy’s best works, along with the Transfiguration by Raphael and the Madonna of St. Jerome by Correggio, to France.
- Excavation Of Karun Treasure
Although the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art was not directly involved in the excavation, theft, or shipment of over 200 pieces from the Karun Treasure, they were well aware that they were obtained illegally and bear equal responsibility. In actuality, they were aware from the start. “If the Turks come up with the proof from their side, we’ll give the East Greek fortune back,” Met head Thomas Hoving said in his memoirs. We assumed our risks when we purchased the stuff.
The items, which were taken from Iron Age ancient tombs in western Turkey and are collectively known as the Karun Treasure or the Lydian Hoard, were found in 1965. The 363 antiquities, which are almost 2,500 years old, were discovered by local treasure hunters and exported over the course of the next two years. The components were subsequently sent back to Turkey in 1993, despite being briefly on display at the Met in the 1980s.
- Looting Of Berlin During World War II
Several of the relics that Russia’s armed forces looted following Nazi Germany’s surrender have since been restored, but the majority are still hidden away in Russian museums and private collections. (However, Russia will claim that more than 90% of them have been returned.) The most notable of these is Priam’s Treasure, a collection of artifacts that were found near Hisarlik, which is widely believed to be the location of ancient Troy.
The artifact, discovered by amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, traces back 4,500 years, many centuries before its alleged original owner, King Priam of Troy, is thought to have existed. The group of ancient copper artifacts, which included a beautiful diadem known as the “Jewels of Helen,” was first forcibly smuggled out of Turkey. They eventually made their way to Berlin, where they resided until the Soviets looted them in 1945. The authenticity of Priam’s Gold was long denied by the Russians, who viewed it as “trophy art” or the spoils of war until it was ultimately discovered in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow in 1993.
- Amarna Excavation
The sculpture of Queen Nefertiti, consort of the notorious pharaoh Akhenaten, which dates back 3,500 years, was discovered on December 6, 1912, by a German historian by the name of Ludwig Borchardt. The bust was transported out of the country and disguised by Egyptian authority, who had planned to split the uncovered items until it was discovered in Thutmose’s workshop remnants at the dig site known as Amarna. Germany denies this account of what happened, claiming that everything was right and legal.
According to a receptionist in the German Oriental Company who was present at the time, Borchardt was reported to have “want to safeguard the bust for us,” realizing the importance of the object, which has since come to be known as an icon of feminine beauty. It was initially stored at the financier of the excavation’s private home. It was then presented in contrast to Tutankhamun’s burial mask, which at the time of its display had won British international acclaim.
Egyptian efforts to have the bust returned to Egypt have been ineffective for many years since so many German officials have rejected the idea. As one of his favorite pieces, Adolf Hitler himself declared: “I will never hand over the head of the Queen.”
- Benin Expedition Of 1897
The Benin Expedition of 1897, led by Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson, was a punitive expedition meant as punishment for an assault on the British forces known as the Benin Massacre. Its sole objective was to destroy each Benin town or hamlet and pillage anything of value along the road as reparation. The Kingdom of Benin had vanished from the face of the Earth by the time of Britain’s reign of destruction.
Ancient treasures from Benin finally arrived in London to a rapturous welcome, with every institution in Europe and the United States vying for a piece of the priceless collection. The Benin Bronzes, a collection of more than 1,000 metal plaques that honor the battles, kings, queens, and mythology of the Edo people, are among the artwork that is arguably of the highest importance. They have created in the year 13 AD. After their “discovery,” Europeans fell in love with African culture, amazed that a “primitive” and “savage” society could have produced anything of such great quality.