BY CHRISTIAN COMPANY
DOJ seized the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet - a portion of the epic of Gilgamesh - from Hobby Lobby
The Department of Justice announced that it seized a tablet from the Epic of Gilgamesh.
According to the DOJ, the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was smuggled into the US and then auctioned off.
The ancient tablet had been bought by Oklahoma-based arts and craft superstore Hobby Lobby.
The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it had recovered the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, a rare portion of the epic of Gilgamesh, from Oklahoma-based arts and crafts superstore Hobby Lobby.
The epic of Gilgamesh is considered one of the most ancient works of literature and originally comes from Iraq. According to the Department of Justice, the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was smuggled into the US, and an international auction house sold the tablet to Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. The company put the tablet on display at the Museum of the Bible.
Law enforcement seized the tablet from the museum in 2019.
"Forfeiture of the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet demonstrates the Department's continued commitment to eliminating smuggled cultural property from the U.S. art market," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. said in a written statement. "Thwarting trade in smuggled goods by seizing and forfeiting an ancient artifact shows the department's dedication to using all available tools, including forfeiture, to ensure justice."
The tablet measures approximately 6 inches by 5 inches and is written in the Akkadian language, the DOJ said.
It first fell into the hands of a US antiquities dealer in 2003 after he bought it from the family member of a London coin dealer, according to the DOJ. At the time the tablet was encrusted with dirt and unreadable. That dealer and a US cuneiform expert then shipped the tabled into the US without declaring its contents, according to the DOJ complaint.
When it arrived in the US, experts figured out it was a portion of the Gilgamesh epic.
About five years later, that dealer then sold the tablet with a false provenance letter - a document detailing the past ownership of an artwork - stating that it had been inside a box of miscellaneous ancient bronze fragments purchased in a 1981 auction.
The letter traveled with the tablet throughout several sales in several countries, before one of the new owners provided the letter to the Auction House in London, according to the DOJ.
In 2014, the Auction House sold the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet to Hobby Lobby in a private sale and an Auction House employee carried it on a flight from London to the US.
Ultimately Hobby Lobby consented to the tablet's forfeiture based on the tablet's illegal importations into the US in both 2003 and 2014.
The Museum of the Bible, founded by Hobby Lobby's controversial president, has been plagued by scandal.
News broke in 2017 that museum chairman and Hobby Lobby president Steve Green had been involved in smuggling ancient Iraqi artifacts into the United States. The museum has also faced backlash on certain exhibits, such as the decision to display the Confederate flag and pro-slavery texts in an attempt to understand the Bible's role in the Civil War
"This forfeiture represents an important milestone on the path to returning this rare and ancient masterpiece of world literature to its country of origin," said Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "This Office is committed to combating the black-market sale of cultural property and the smuggling of looted artifacts."
DOJ seized the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet - a portion of the epic of Gilgamesh - from Hobby Lobby
aharoun@businessinsider.com (Azmi Haroun,Haven Orecchio-Egresitz)
© Justin Sullivan/Getty Images The Department of Justice recovered the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet from Hobby Lobby. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The Department of Justice announced that it seized a tablet from the Epic of Gilgamesh.
According to the DOJ, the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was smuggled into the US and then auctioned off.
The ancient tablet had been bought by Oklahoma-based arts and craft superstore Hobby Lobby.
The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it had recovered the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, a rare portion of the epic of Gilgamesh, from Oklahoma-based arts and crafts superstore Hobby Lobby.
The epic of Gilgamesh is considered one of the most ancient works of literature and originally comes from Iraq. According to the Department of Justice, the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was smuggled into the US, and an international auction house sold the tablet to Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. The company put the tablet on display at the Museum of the Bible.
Law enforcement seized the tablet from the museum in 2019.
"Forfeiture of the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet demonstrates the Department's continued commitment to eliminating smuggled cultural property from the U.S. art market," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. said in a written statement. "Thwarting trade in smuggled goods by seizing and forfeiting an ancient artifact shows the department's dedication to using all available tools, including forfeiture, to ensure justice."
The tablet measures approximately 6 inches by 5 inches and is written in the Akkadian language, the DOJ said.
It first fell into the hands of a US antiquities dealer in 2003 after he bought it from the family member of a London coin dealer, according to the DOJ. At the time the tablet was encrusted with dirt and unreadable. That dealer and a US cuneiform expert then shipped the tabled into the US without declaring its contents, according to the DOJ complaint.
When it arrived in the US, experts figured out it was a portion of the Gilgamesh epic.
About five years later, that dealer then sold the tablet with a false provenance letter - a document detailing the past ownership of an artwork - stating that it had been inside a box of miscellaneous ancient bronze fragments purchased in a 1981 auction.
The letter traveled with the tablet throughout several sales in several countries, before one of the new owners provided the letter to the Auction House in London, according to the DOJ.
In 2014, the Auction House sold the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet to Hobby Lobby in a private sale and an Auction House employee carried it on a flight from London to the US.
Ultimately Hobby Lobby consented to the tablet's forfeiture based on the tablet's illegal importations into the US in both 2003 and 2014.
The Museum of the Bible, founded by Hobby Lobby's controversial president, has been plagued by scandal.
News broke in 2017 that museum chairman and Hobby Lobby president Steve Green had been involved in smuggling ancient Iraqi artifacts into the United States. The museum has also faced backlash on certain exhibits, such as the decision to display the Confederate flag and pro-slavery texts in an attempt to understand the Bible's role in the Civil War
"This forfeiture represents an important milestone on the path to returning this rare and ancient masterpiece of world literature to its country of origin," said Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "This Office is committed to combating the black-market sale of cultural property and the smuggling of looted artifacts."
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