RED LIST OF

IRAQI
CULTURAL OBJECTSAT RISK
2015 Update

R E D L I S ITSK                     CTS AT REJBOLAR
UTUL
OF IRAQI C

Introduction

PurposeFor decades the world has witnessed theongoing disappearance of Iraq’s diverse
cultural heritage. This looting and destruction
impoverishes our knowledge and understandingof Iraq’s, and the region’s, history as well as its
many and varied contributions to the worldboth on a scientific and cultural level.

The fight against illicit trafficking in cultural
goods requires the enhancement of legalinstruments and the use of practical tools
disseminating information, raising publicawareness, and preventing illegal exportation.

Following the successful seizures made possible
thanks to the 2003 Emergency Red List of Iraqi
Antiquities at Risk, the first Emergency Red
List produced by the International Councilof Museums (ICOM), and in view of thepersisting threat to the Republic of Iraq’s
cultural heritage, ICOM concluded that an
updated version of the List was necessary.
This was effectively carried out with thegenerous support of the US Departmentof State.
The Emergency Red List of Iraqi Cultural Objectsat Risk presents the country’s cultural heritage
currently threatened by destruction, theft,looting, smuggling and illicit trafficking.

The Emergency Red List of Iraqi Cultural Objects
at Risk illustrates the categories or typesof cultural items that are most likely to beillegally traded. It aims to help art and heritage
professionals and law enforcement officials
identify Iraqi objects that are at risk andprotected by the legislation in force. Museums,auction houses, art dealers and collectors
are encouraged not to acquire such objects
without having carefully and thoroughly
researched their origin and all the relevant
legal documentation.
Due to the great diversity of objects, styles
and periods, the Emergency Red List of Iraqi
Cultural Objects at Risk is far from exhaustive.
Any cultural good that could have originatedfrom Iraq should be subjected to detailed
scrutiny and precautionary measures.

The cultural heritage of Iraq is protected by the following national
legislation and international instruments and agreements:
NATIONAL LEGISLATIONOTHER LAWS AND REGULATIONS

Law No. 55 of 2002 on Antiquities and Heritage (18 November 2002).

League of Arab States:
Riyadh Arab Agreement for Judicial Cooperation (6 April 1983).

Constitution of the Republic of Iraq, Article 113 (15 October 2005).

INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS
The Hague Convention of 14 May 1954 for the Protectionof Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict(ratified, 21 December 1967)
and the first Protocol (ratified, 21 December 1967).
UNESCO Convention of 14 November 1970
on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import,
Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property(accepted, 12 February 1973).
UNESCO Convention of 16 November 1972
Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage(accepted, 5 March 1974).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 661, Article 3a regarding
the import of commodities and products originating from Iraq
(6 August 1990).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 (2003)
on the Situation between Iraq and Kuwait(22 May 2003).
European Union Council Regulation (EC) No. 1210/2003 concerning
certain specific restrictions on economic and financial relations with Iraq,
and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 2465/96, Article 3(7 July 2003).
Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions - Iraq) Regulations 2008,
Select Legislative Instrument 2008 No. 45 as amended, Article 9on the Return of illegally removed cultural property of Iraq
and Article 10 on Dealing with illegally removed cultural property(18 May 2011).

Russian Federation:
Decree No. 968 on the measures to implement the UN Security Council
resolution 1483 of 22 May 2003 (18 August 2003).
Swiss Confederation:
By-law of 7 August 1990 on the Economic measures regarding
the Republic of Iraq, Articles 1a, 2a and 4c,
as amended by RO 2003 1887 on 28 May 2003 (25 June 2003).
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 1519, The Iraq (United Nations
Sanctions) Order 2003, Article 8 (14 June 2003).
United States of America:
Department of Homeland Security’s Import Restrictions Imposedon Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Iraq,
Committee of the Federal Register (CFR)
Title 19 regarding Customs Duties: 12.104 - Definitions(27 February 1986).
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control,
Committee of the Federal Register (CFR)
Title 31 regarding Money and Finance: Treasury
575.204 - Prohibited importation of goods or services from Iraq
(2 August 1990).
575.206 - Prohibited dealing in property (9 August 1990).
575.533 - Certain new transactions (23 May 2003).
576.208 - Prohibited transactions related to certain
Iraqi cultural property (13 September 2010).
576.411 - Prohibited transactions involving certain Iraqi cultural property(13 September 2010).
Emergency Protection for Iraqi Cultural Antiquities Act,
H.R. 1047 Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004,
Public Law 108-429, Title III - Iraqi Cultural Antiquities, Sec. 3001-3003(12 March 2004).

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2199 (2015)
on Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts
(12 February 2015).

Should you suspect that a cultural object originating from Iraq
may be stolen, looted or illegally exported, please contact:
State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH)
Relations department
Iraq
Tel.: +964 7 731 075 875 (mobile)
E-mail: relations_sbah@yahoo.com

International Council of Museums (ICOM)
22, rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris - France
Tel.: +33 1 47 34 05 00
Fax: +33 1 43 06 78 62
E-mail: illicit-traffic@icom.museum

RED LIST OF IRAQI!

IMPORTANT NOTE: A Red List is NOT a list of actual stolen objects. The cultural goods depicted are of inventoried objects within the collectionsof recognised institutions. They serve to illustrate the categories of cultural goods protected by legislation and most vulnerable to illicit traffic.
ICOM wishes to thank all of the institutions and individuals who so generously provided the photographs presented in the 2015 Iraqi Emergency Red List.

The objects presented in the Emergency Red List of Iraqi Cultural Objects at Risk cover the following periods:
Ancient Mesopotamia (Hassuna, Samarra, Halaf, Obeid, Uruk, Early Dynastic, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian periods) > 10,000 – ca. 539 BC
Mesopotamia or Classical Antiquity (Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman and Sasanian Empires) > 539 BC – AD 632
Islamic era (Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates) > AD 632 – 1258
Mongol era > AD 1258 – 1534
Ottoman Iraq and Mamluk rule > AD 1534 – 1831

Writing

4th millennium BC – AD 1258

Clay or stone tablets: Circular, square, or rectangular, slightly pillow-shaped. With cuneiform (wedge-shaped)
writings. May have inscriptions and/or seal impressions on both sides and/or the borders, and fragmentary
sealed casing. Size: 2-20 x 5-30 cm. [1–2–3]
Manuscripts, books and documents: Codices, Qur’ans and scientific texts. Paperor parchment, with Aramaic and/or Arabic inscriptions. Often with illuminations. [4]1243

1. Clay tablet with cuneiform writing, Uruk, ca. 3200 BC, 5.7 x 4.3 cm.
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer

3. Clay cylinder in cuneiform writing with the name of Assyrian king Ashurbanipal,Babylon, 7th c. BC, Ø 17.6 cm. © Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer

2. Clay tablet with seal impression depicting two goats in front of a building, Ashur,
12th – 11th c. BC, 6.5 x 6.7 cm. © Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer

4. Paper folio with ink, gold and opaque watercolours from a Materia Medica of Dioscorides
showing a physician preparing an elixir, possibly from Baghdad, AD 1224, 33.2 x 24.8 cm.
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Stamps and seals

6th millennium – 300 BC
Stone, terracotta, shell, bone. Engraved or carved, pierced through its centre or at the top. With geometricor figurative motifs (humans, animals, deities, buildings) in mythological, religious and/or daily life scenes.
Stamp seals and signet rings: Stamp seals may be ellipsoidal or animal-, gable- or pyramid-shaped.
Rings have a flat top with motifs in relief. Size: pictures 1.5-3 cm, seals 2-4 cm. [5–6]
Cylinder seals: May have cuneiform inscriptions. Size: 2-7 x Ø 1-3 cm. [7]55. Banded calcite ram-shaped stamp seal, Tell Agrab,Uruk Period (ca. 4000 – 3100 BC). © Courtesy ofthe Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

66. Ellipsoid carnelian stamp decorated with a scorpion,
Sasanian period (AD 224 – 677), 2.4 x 1.9 x 1.3 cm.
© Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN-Grand Palais, Paris /Raphaël Chipault

7
7. Lapis lazuli cylinder seal, Babylon, 14th c. BC,
5 x Ø 1.6 cm. © Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB,
Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer

CULTURAL OBJECTS AT RISK
Architectural elements

4th millennium BC – AD 1258

Foundation elements > Metal (bronze, silver, gold, alloys) figurines: Men carrying baskets or vases ontheir heads, lower body may be peg-shaped; animals; deities with horns and/or crowns. May haveinscriptions. Height: 10-20 cm. [8]Clay cones: With flattened base, may have cuneiform inscriptions. Average height: 15 cm. [9]Architectural fragments > Pre-Islamic: Figurative or geometric motifs. Friezes with gold and/or mosaic
inlays, coloured tiles and glazed bricks. Sumerian cone mosaics (stone, terracotta) with exposed colouredends. Classical Antiquity mural paintings with religious, military or daily life scenes; figures may have theirnames written beside them. [10]Islamic: Glazed tiles. Painted or carved, stuccoed or gilded bricks, stones and wooden beams and panels.
With floral or geometric motifs, arabesques or stars, and/or Arabic inscriptions. [11]8. Bronze foundation element figurine bearing a cuneiform inscription with thename of the Sumerian king Shulgi, Uruk, end of the 3rd millennium BC, 24.7 cm.
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer

99. Clay foundation cone with cuneiform inscription, Uruk, 19th c. BC, H 5.3 cm.
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer
10. Red, black and white painted mosaic terracotta cones mosaic (and detail),
Uruk, end of the 4th millennium BC, 8-10 x Ø 1.5-3 cm (for a single cone).
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer
11. Carved teak doors, 9th c. AD, 221 x 104.8 cm.
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

81110

Figural sculpture

6th millennium – AD 632
Plaques and inlays: Bone, stone, ivory, shell. May be gilded or inlaid with semi-precious stones, and/or
have engraved Phoenician letters on the back. Length: 8-20 cm. [12]Reliefs > Carved or moulded figurative (kings and their entourage, animals, mythical creatures, deities
with horned headdresses), floral or geometric motifs. Landscapes or religious, military or daily life scenes(feasts, hunts, sieges, construction).
Terracotta: Small plaques. Figures depicted with their heads
and chests facing forward and legs sideways.
Stone (alabaster, marble):
Plaques: Pierced in the centre. Scenes depicted in horizontal rows.
Min. height: 20 cm. [13]Slabs and steles: Fragments. May have cuneiform inscriptions. 1213Size of the full pieces: 1-2 x 2-3 m. [14–15]
12. Ivory plaque with ram-headed sphinx in Phoenician style, Neo-Assyrian period(ca. 9th – 8th c. BC), 7.8 x 8 x 0.8 cm. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York13. Stone relief plaque illustrating a banquet scene, its preparations and frolicking,Khafajah, Early Dynastic II – III A (ca. 2700 – 2600 BC), 20.4 x 20 x 4.2 cm.
© Courtesy of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
14. Alabaster relief of a winged and bird-headed genius with royal inscription,
Northwest Palace (Nimrud), reign of Neo-Assyrian King Ashurnasirpal II (883 – 859 BC),
220 x 163 cm. © Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer
15. Alabaster relief of the profile of King Ashurnasirpal II, Northwest Palace (Nimrud),
Neo-Assyrian Empire (911 – 609 BC), ca. 61 x 61 cm.
© Courtesy of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

1415

RED LIST OF IRAQI
Sculpture in the round > Clay figurines (6000 BC – 4th c. AD): Human- or animal-shaped. Women with arms
curved under their breasts; pregnant; broad, flat hips; large and incised pubic triangles. Figures withelongated skulls, serpent faces and coffee bean-shaped eyes. May be partly coloured. Height: 8-15 cm. [16–17]
Models and toys shaped as buildings, furniture, chariots, boats, etc. Height: 5-20 cm. [18]Stone (gypsum, limestone, marble) votive statues (3000 BC – AD 632):
Ancient Mesopotamia: Figures with skirts or dresses with one shoulder bare; hands clasped at the chest orwaist, or holding cups or branches. Inlaid or painted eyes, eyebrows and hair. Bearded and bald or long-hairedmen; women with headdresses or with their hair in heavy coils, braids or chignons. Height: 15-60 cm. [19]Classical Antiquity: Figures wearing trousers or long robes (caftans) and jewellery. May have inscribed bases.

16. Clay figurine with a serpent’s head, Uruk, end of the 5th millennium BC,H 9.6 cm. © Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Jürgen Liepe
17. Clay figurine of a bull, Uruk, ca. 5900 – 4400 BC, L 6.2 cm.
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Jürgen Liepe1718. Clay chariot model, Ashur, 2500 – 2000 BC, 13.2 x 13.2 cm.
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer
19. Alabaster votive statue, Ashur, 2400 BC, H 46 cm.
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer

161819Vessels and containers

5th millennium BC – AD 1534
Ceramics > Jars, plates and pilgrim flasks: Squat, flat, rounded, elongated, animal-shaped, etc., withhandles or lugs. May be plain, polychrome, and/or have figurative (humans, animals, buildings), floral and/or geometric motifs. Coloured Islamic era jugs and bottles with stamped, moulded or incised motifs. [20]Bowls: With Aramaic inscriptions in black ink. May include geometric motifs. [21]Glazed ware: May have Arabic inscriptions, polychrome lustre and/or blue or gold painting. Motifs arepainted, stamped and/or moulded. [22–23]
Glass: Jars, miniature bottles, etc. May be coloured and iridescent and/or have moulded or relief motifs(animal, floral, geometric, arabesques) and Arabic inscriptions. [24–25]

202122232425

20. Pottery jar, southern Iraq, early 2nd millennium BC, H 8 cm.
© State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, Baghdad / Abdulamir al-Hamdani

23. Lustered plate, Samarra, Abbasid Caliphate (9th c. AD), 8.5 x Ø 26.7 cm.
© Museum für Islamische Kunst – SMB, Berlin / Johannes Cramer

21. Ceramic bowl with Aramaic inscription, southern Iraq, Ø 11.5 cm.
© State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, Baghdad / Abdulamir al-Hamdani

24. Miniature glass bottle, Ashur, 13th c. BC, 23.2 x Ø 7.5 cm.
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Sandra Steiß

22. Green-blue glazed jar, southern Iraq, AD 632 – 1258.
© State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, Baghdad / Abdulamir al-Hamdani

25. Glass vial, 10th – 11th c. AD, 10.1 x Ø 6.9 x Ø 3.5 cm.
© Museum für Islamische Kunst – SMB, Berlin

CULTURAL OBJECTS AT RISK
Metal (copper, bronze, silver, gold, alloys): Pitchers, bowls, etc., plain or with rosettes,
geometric motifs and/or inlaid precious stones. Mortars with spikes or teardrop-shapedbosses. [26–27]
Stone (agate, alabaster, calcite, chalcedony, lapis lazuli, limestone, marble, steatite):
Jars and vases. May have floral and/or geometric motifs, inlaid or carved in relief. [28]26. Bronze vessel, Ashur, 9th – 8th c. BC, 41 x Ø 14.8 cm.
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer
27. Decorative brass box with silver inlay, Mosul, second quarter of the 13th c. AD,
11 x Ø 10.4 cm and 423 g. © Museum für Islamische Kunst – SMB, Berlin
26
28. Bituminous (black) limestone vessel with inlaid decorations, Uruk,
end of the 4th millennium BC, H 22.5 cm. © Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer

27

Accessories and instruments

28

5th millennium BC – 19th century AD

Jewellery: Metal (copper, bronze, silver, gold), shell, gemstones (carnelian, lapis lazuli, rock crystal, turquoise),glass, ivory, hardwood, ceramics, faience. Necklaces, earrings, threaded beads, etc.; hammered, gilded,cast, carved or granulated. Animal and floral motifs. May be inlaid. [29–30–31–32]
Tools and weapons: Ivory, stone and metal (copper, bronze, iron, steel) needles, axes, knives, arrows,armour, etc. Plain or with carved images (humans, animals, hybrids and/or deities). Armour and weaponsof the Islamic period can be decorated with arabesques and inscriptions. [33]2931303332

29. Gold earring with jasper and carnelian beads, Ashur, 14th – 13th c. BC, L 3.5 cm.
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer

32. Gold earring with pearls, garnets and glass, 8th c. AD, 9 x 2.5 cm and 8.2-8.4 g.
© Museum für Islamische Kunst – SMB, Berlin

30. Beaded necklace, Uruk, 8th – 6th c. BC, Ø 10 cm.
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer

33. Bronze axe, Ashur, last quarter of the 3rd millennium BC, L 12.8 cm.
© Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Fotoarchiv

31. Stone and shell necklace, southern Iraq, Parthian era (125 BC – AD 240).
© State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, Baghdad / Abdulamir al-Hamdani

Coins

400 BC – AD 1258

Pre-Islamic: Achaemenid Empire gold darics and silver sigloi, Seleucid copper coins, Parthian and Sasanianera silver drachms. Plain or with astrological signs and/or images of royals, archers, deities and/or fire altars,often off-centre. May have inscriptions. Mint locations are abbreviated to 2-3 letters. [34]Islamic: Mostly Abbasid Caliphate gold dinars. With 2-3 lines in Arabic surrounded by inscriptions, or with
an image on one side and writing on the other. Mint locations written in Arabic. Average size: Ø 19 mm. [35]34. Sasanian silver drachm, southern Iraq, reign of Khusrau II (AD 622),
Ø 32 mm and 4.13 g. © Trustees of the British Museum, London35. Abbasid gold dinar, reign of al-Mansur (AD 760), 4.26 g.
© Trustees of the British Museum, London
3435

ICOM AND THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

The International Council of Museums (ICOM), created in 1946 to represent museums and museum
professionals worldwide, is committed to the promotion and protection of natural and cultural heritage,
present and future, tangible and intangible. With a unique network of over 40,000 members in 138
countries and territories (2018), ICOM is active in a wide range of museum-and heritage-related disciplines.
ICOM maintains formal relations with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) and has a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
as an expert in the fight against illicit traffic in cultural goods. ICOM also works in collaboration withorganisations such as INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO) to carry out some of its
international public service missions.
The protection of heritage in the event of natural disaster or armed conflict is also at the core ofICOM’s work, thanks to its Disaster Risk Management Committee (DRMC) and through its strong
involvement in the international Blue Shield. ICOM has the ability to mobilise expert networks
in the field of cultural heritage from all over the world thanks to its numerous programmes.

The Red Lists have been designed as practical tools to curb the illegal trade in cultural objects. ICOM
is grateful for the unwavering commitment of the experts and institutions who generously contributeto the success of the Red Lists.

The Red Lists are available at the following address: http://redlist.icom.museum

With the generous support of:U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Washington, D.C.

22, rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris - FranceTel.: +33 (0)1 47 34 05 00 - Fax: +33 (0)1 43 06 78 62
E-mail: illicit-traffic@icom.museum - Website: http://icom.museum© 2015, ICOM, all rights reserved. - Graphic design: TTT. Cover: Alabaster votive statue, Ashur, 2400 BC, H 46 cm. © Vorderasiatisches Museum – SMB, Berlin / Olaf M. Teßmer

In 2013, ICOM created the first International Observatory on Illicit Traffic in Cultural Goods in order toreinforce its action in fighting illicit traffic.