GREAT NEWS!Archaeo-diplomacy: US gives million-dollar cup back to Iran

[RazPaK]

Tell me about it.

There are so many Ancient Chinese artifacts in the West, worth millions a piece. Not to mention artifacts from every other non-Western civilization as well.

F*cking ridiculous. The West claims to have given up colonialism yet they won't return the spoils of their colonialism.

Not that they could even afford to give back all the money they stole and looted from the rest of the world anyway. And that is even without taking interest into account.

This is what must be done to the colonials.

 

[Sashan]

Tell me about it.

There are so many Ancient Chinese artifacts in the West, worth millions a piece. Not to mention artifacts from every other non-Western civilization as well.

F*cking ridiculous. The West claims to have given up colonialism yet they won't return the spoils of their colonialism.

Not that they could even afford to give back all the money they stole and looted from the rest of the world anyway. And that is even without taking interest into account.

My boss who is a Chinese American has a hobby - He goes to various antique shops during weekends around NY and Connecticut looking for ceramics with Qing dynasty seal. He says antiques worth millions were moved during the cultural revolution.

 

[RazPaK]

It's a shame that books of Timbaktu are eroding into dust and these western countries do not offer a single cent into preserving such precious manuscripts. There is much scientific knowledge in these scrolls and books, however the west's obsession only relies on material wealth.

 

[Hack-Hook]

well , sadly many of these artifacts are gifts ad nothing can e done about them but about the rest which were taken without the permission two side of the discussion can reach to some agreement

 

[iranigirl2]

well , sadly many of these artifacts are gifts ad nothing can e done about them but about the rest which were taken without the permission two side of the discussion can reach to some agreement

I noticed on the met museum website many Iranian items itusually says Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, does that mean it they basically don't know where these item come from or is Anonymous Gift like an organization?


like these items?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Fragment of a Cover


The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Stamp seal


http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/326002


http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/326030

 

[Srinivas]

If Iran got its cup back, then why is the cat looking dejected in the avatar

I noticed on the met museum website many Iranian items itusually says Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, does that mean it they basically don't know where these item come from or is Anonymous Gift like an organization?


like these items?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Fragment of a Cover


The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Stamp seal


The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Goblet


The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Bracelet

 

[Hack-Hook]

I noticed on the met museum website many Iranian items itusually says Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, does that mean it they basically don't know where these item come from or is Anonymous Gift like an organization?


like these items?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Fragment of a Cover


The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Stamp seal


The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Goblet


The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Bracelet

usually the one that gave it to them wanted to remain anonymous , the museum knew who gave it to them but as they are asked not to reveal it ,they put such signs .

 

[Maler]

Well, a great gesture by US, Iran can return the favor by returning back US's modren day 'Antique' piece i.e. RQ-170 Sentinel)

 

[iranigirl2]

RQ-170 Sentinel

Credit Line:Anonymous Gift 2011

 

[Skallagrim]

Very good news. All cultural heritage properties should return to their respective successors. Waiting for a day for the looted Baghdad museum artefacts to find their way back home.

 

[Esfand]

Looted treasures should always find their way back to home, but I have to say: Western museums take much, much better care of such artifacts than their Asian counterparts would, so its not all bad IMO.

 

[thesolar65]

U.S. diplomats say a 2,700-year-old Persian silver drinking cup, cast in the form of a griffin, has been returned to Iranian authorities. The cup was seized during an investigation in 2003.



Here's one more sign of a thaw in U.S.-Iranian relations: A 2,700-year-old silver drinking cup, looted from a cave in Iran and seized by U.S. Customs officials a decade ago, was returned to Iran this week. Its value is estimated at a million dollars or more.

The ceremonial drinking vessel from the 7th century B.C., cast in the shape of a winged griffin, has been sitting in a warehouse in New York for years. And for years, U.S. officials have been saying they couldn't return it to Iran until relations between Washington and Tehran were normalized. "This piece can't go back," the New York Post quoted James McAndrew, senior special agent in charge of cultural property for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as saying in 2010.

On Wednesday, the piece went back.

"It is considered the premier griffin of antiquity, a gift of the Iranian people to the world, and the United States is pleased to return it to the people of Iran," the U.S. State Department said.


The ancient vessel, known in art circles as a rhyton, has a history that's worthy of an Indiana Jones sequel: It's thought to be part of the Western Cave Treasure, a hoard of ancient silver that was found in a cave near the Iran-Iraq border in the late 1980s. Soon afterward, looters plundered the site — and some of those treasures found their way to the international antiquities market.

Federal authorities say a New York art dealer named Hicham Aboutaam brought the Pre-Achaemenid artifact into the United States in 2000, and provided Customs officials with an invoice falsely claiming that the piece came from Syria. Aboutaam negotiated a deal to sell the artifact to a collector for $950,000 — but when federal agents caught wind of the sale, they seized the artifact and arrested Aboutaam on smuggling charges in 2003.

In 2004, Aboutaam pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in connection with the false import claim and paid a $5,000 fine.

If the drinking cup was worth $950,000 a decade ago, it's worth at least a million dollars today. But it's probably worth even more as a diplomatic gesture: Iranian authorities have been seeking the rhyton's return for more than two decades.

"The return of the artifact reflects the strong respect the United States has for cultural heritage property — in this case, cultural heritage property that was likely looted from Iran and is important to the patrimony of the Iranian people," the State Department said. "It also reflects the strong respect the United States has for the Iranian people."


Archaeo-diplomacy: US gives million-dollar cup back to Iran - NBC News.com


This is like the best ******* news EVER!

Can it be that whoever drinks from that cup will become IMMORTAL or Am I seeing/believing too much Hollywood Movies?

 

[SHAHED]

How they made it 2700 years ago?

 

[Esfand]

How they made it 2700 years ago?

I was also thinking about that, very detailed craftsmanship. Impressive!

 

[Capt.Popeye]

U.S. diplomats say a 2,700-year-old Persian silver drinking cup, cast in the form of a griffin, has been returned to Iranian authorities. The cup was seized during an investigation in 2003.



Here's one more sign of a thaw in U.S.-Iranian relations: A 2,700-year-old silver drinking cup, looted from a cave in Iran and seized by U.S. Customs officials a decade ago, was returned to Iran this week. Its value is estimated at a million dollars or more.

The ceremonial drinking vessel from the 7th century B.C., cast in the shape of a winged griffin, has been sitting in a warehouse in New York for years. And for years, U.S. officials have been saying they couldn't return it to Iran until relations between Washington and Tehran were normalized. "This piece can't go back," the New York Post quoted James McAndrew, senior special agent in charge of cultural property for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as saying in 2010.

On Wednesday, the piece went back.

"It is considered the premier griffin of antiquity, a gift of the Iranian people to the world, and the United States is pleased to return it to the people of Iran," the U.S. State Department said.


The ancient vessel, known in art circles as a rhyton, has a history that's worthy of an Indiana Jones sequel: It's thought to be part of the Western Cave Treasure, a hoard of ancient silver that was found in a cave near the Iran-Iraq border in the late 1980s. Soon afterward, looters plundered the site — and some of those treasures found their way to the international antiquities market.

Federal authorities say a New York art dealer named Hicham Aboutaam brought the Pre-Achaemenid artifact into the United States in 2000, and provided Customs officials with an invoice falsely claiming that the piece came from Syria. Aboutaam negotiated a deal to sell the artifact to a collector for $950,000 — but when federal agents caught wind of the sale, they seized the artifact and arrested Aboutaam on smuggling charges in 2003.

In 2004, Aboutaam pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in connection with the false import claim and paid a $5,000 fine.

If the drinking cup was worth $950,000 a decade ago, it's worth at least a million dollars today. But it's probably worth even more as a diplomatic gesture: Iranian authorities have been seeking the rhyton's return for more than two decades.

"The return of the artifact reflects the strong respect the United States has for cultural heritage property — in this case, cultural heritage property that was likely looted from Iran and is important to the patrimony of the Iranian people," the State Department said. "It also reflects the strong respect the United States has for the Iranian people."


Archaeo-diplomacy: US gives million-dollar cup back to Iran - NBC News.com


This is like the best ******* news EVER!

This move by the US is extremely wise and the only correct thing to do. The fact of the matter is that this historical cup is the property of Iran and its People. So it must be returned to them.

It is good to see that the US is waking up to the reality of Iran's importance in the Region. I have said so before and will say it again on this forum; the world needs Iran to stabilise that part of the world with special emphasis to Afghanisan. That has been the consistent stand of India and has been reiterated innumerable times in dialogs with both the US and EU. Even the Russians have been cognizant of this fact and are in agreement. So let this rapprochemont proceed further still.

Of course; one thing needs to be said. That the Ayatollahs in Iran need to take a back-seat in matters of governance; there are enough people in Iran who have their heads screwed on in the proper place. They in fact, must run the country; while the Ayatollahs can continue to dispense religious advice and so on instead of messing about in temporal matters. Iranians need to understand; that in order to flourish they need to join the world main-stream (while still maintaining their independence); while behaving as 'fringe elements' will only result in the world looking at them at them as 'cast-offs'.