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U.S. returns 36 Syrian antiquities worth $5 million to Syria
Syria has recovered 36 antiquities from the United States, including a large funerary relief removed from Palmyra and 14 mosaics stolen from a Roman villa. The artifacts were handed over at a ceremony in New York attended by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Syrian and U.S. officials.
The total value of the 36 antiquities handed over to Syria at a ceremony in New York was announced to exceed $5 million. The returned collection includes a large funerary relief removed from the ancient city of Palmyra and 14 rare mosaics stolen from a Roman villa in Syria.
The ceremony was attended by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack, Syria’s chargé d’affaires in Washington Mohammad Nasser Qanatri and Ambassador to the United Nations Ibrahim Olabi. The handover was carried out as part of cooperation to combat the illicit trafficking of historical and cultural property.
The history of the Palmyrene relief
One of the collection’s most prominent pieces is a Palmyrene funerary relief dating to the late second century CE. The limestone artifact, which weighs more than 454 kilograms, depicts a reclining man surrounded by a woman and three children.
The relief was located on the wall of a burial chamber in ancient Palmyra. It was carefully removed from the wall to prevent damage to the figures carved on it.
Manhattan District Attorney Bragg said the relief had been smuggled from its original location during the period when the terrorist organization ISIS was systematically looting archaeological sites in Syria. Bragg also said his office had seized 31 antiquities from the Middle East and North Africa as part of its investigations.
Mosaics taken from a Roman villa
The returned artifacts include the “Telete and Eros” mosaic, which dates to the third century BCE. Made up of hundreds of small, colorful stone cubes, the work depicts the mythological wedding of Telete and Eros.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office seized the mosaic in July 2021 along with 22 mosaics stolen from Syria and Lebanon. The collection also includes three female “Syrian-Hittite” figurines produced in northwestern Syria and dating to the second millennium BCE.
The figurines appeared on the art market in the possession of New York art dealer Edward Merrin in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Merrin, who was later convicted in federal court of crimes linked to antiquities trafficking, sold the artifacts to collector Michael Steinhardt.
Bragg said the four artifacts sent to Syria were among 180 antiquities worth a total of $70 million that his office seized from the Steinhardt collection following a yearslong criminal investigation spanning several countries.
Syria’s looted cultural heritage
Syria’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, Qanatri, said Syrian-American cooperation had restored part of the country’s history. Qanatri said joint efforts to protect cultural heritage were helping establish lasting ties between the two countries.
Archaeological sites in Syria faced looting, trafficking and destruction during the years of the civil war. Palmyra, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, also suffered extensive damage while it was under ISIS control in 2015.
The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2199 in 2015 to prevent the illicit trade in Syrian antiquities. In 2016, the United States imposed emergency restrictions on the import of archaeological and ethnological materials illegally removed from Syria on or after March 15, 2011.
The restrictions cover stone, metal, ceramic, glass, ivory, bone and textile items, as well as paintings, mosaics and other Syrian cultural property. UNESCO later documented the destruction of the temples of Bel and Baalshamin, the Arch of Triumph, the city museum and parts of the collections in Palmyra.
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