Amid regional instability and rising demand, a historic agreement could protect priceless cultural artifacts

BY SANDY PETRYKOWSKI  December 6, 2016 at 5:48 PM EST

Egyptians artifacts that had been captured in U.S. Customs in 2013, all estimated to be Late Period. Photo by Ken Garrett/National Geographic

As long as there have been tombs, there have been tomb raiders. On the night of Jan. 28, 2011, while protests engulfed Egypt’s Tahrir Square, thieves took advantage of the chaos and climbed into the Cairo Museum through the roof. Looters made their way through the museum and damaged two mummies in their search for gold. Luckily, King Tutankhamun’s famous golden mask and other priceless treasures were left untouched, but 110 artifacts were spirited away under the cover of darkness.

But as long as there have been tomb raiders, there have also been tomb protectors. One of the lasting images of the Egyptian revolution is a human chain of soldiers and residents surrounding the Egyptian Museum in an effort to protect the antiquities that remained.

READ MORE: Protecting ancient treasures from becoming casualties in Iraq and Syria

Instability in the Middle East over the last couple of years has raised concerns about the smuggling of ancient artifacts and the reach of cultural racketeering. Plus, the price of antiquities has soared over the past decade. A 14-inch tall bronze Egyptian cat cast from the first or second century B.C., for example, sold in 2013 at Christie’s auction house in New York City for more than $2 million — well beyond the $250,000 maximum expected.  Prices like this have fueled the underground market demand for such goods.

A historic agreement was signed last week between the United States and Egypt in the State Department’s Treaty Room. It marks the first so-called “cultural property agreement” between the United States and any country in the Middle East and North Africa region. The agreement lays the groundwork for the U.S. to impose import restrictions on Egyptian archaeological items dating from 5200 B.C. through 1517 A.D. The goal: to reduce the incentive to traffic such items.

Deborah Lehr, founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Antiquities Coalition, has been working hard over the last few years behind the scenes with Egyptian and American government officials to help bring the agreement to fruition.

“We’ve worked through two revolutions, three different governments, six ministers of antiquities, and six ministers of foreign affairs,” she said.

One central element of the agreement is that it changes the burden of proof. For example, until now, Egypt has had to prove an item was looted. With the MOU in place, the burden is now on the seller to prove that it wasn’t looted and that there is a solid paper trail tracing the journey from Egypt to their hands, including a valid export license.

Secretary of State John Kerry said this “represents the first agreement in the Middle East or North Africa regarding the protection of antiquities” and called it “groundbreaking.”

“I think it’s a good moment for Egypt, the United States, for the region, for us to make it clear that these antiquities are priceless treasures that do not belong to traffickers and crooks and should not be sold illegally and bought by wealthy people to hide away somewhere,” Kerry said. “They are the antiquities that belong to the world, that have been protected and should be protected by an old civilization.”

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said he hopes that the agreement “becomes a road map for the protection of these antiquities to preserve them for generations to come and to preserve them against the treachery of those who want to destroy them and to wipe out this commonality of our humanity.”

Egyptian antiquities were not all that popular before the 1970s, but prices have been rising astronomically in the last 10 years, said egyptologist Salima Ikram.

“Everything has its vogue,” she said.

The reason that the 14-inch tall bronze Egyptian cat was able to fetch such a high price was the documentation or provenance. Christie’s was able to show that the item had been owned by former Egyptian statesman Nubar Pasha Nubarian, and in Paris since 1895. Dates matter, because the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property of 1970 called on signatories to better protect their cultural heritage and halt illegal excavation, import and export of antiquities.

In a statement released on Dec. 1, ICE said the investigation has identified “a criminal network of smugglers, importers, money launderers, restorers and purchasers who used illegal methods to avoid detection as these items entered the United States. Items and funds were traced back to Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Iraq, France, and other nations” and has secured “four indictments, two convictions, 19 search warrants, and 16 seizures totaling approximately $3 million. The agency is also seeking an international fugitive involved in the case.”

Some of the finds include a sarcophagus retrieved from a garage in Brooklyn and a shipment of smuggled Egyptian goods including a funerary boat model and figurines.

“Each of the artifacts returned today tells a story, a human story, our story, Shoukry said at the repatriation ceremony. “History comes alive when someone is able to not only read about the past, but is also able to visit the historical sites, watch and enjoy the artifacts, appreciate the images and see the actual writings of our ancestors.”

Ikram says this is a good first step, but that more needs to be done. “It’s not just the issues of looting and exporting; the auction houses and collectors need to be more vigilant.” She says many collectors buy in good faith, but the auction houses are not doing their homework.

She adds that if demand for Egyptian antiquities continues to rise and the crime rings are not stopped, sales could move from legitimate auction houses to the private market, a move that will make it hard to recover lost treasures.

“Once something goes, part of everyone’s past is destroyed,” she said. “It affects all of human history and our understanding of the past. It is everyone’s loss and one’s person’s gain.”

In the meantime in London, it’s Classic Week at Christie’s. One of the items for sale is this four-inch tall Egyptian cat statue with earrings. Ikram has a specialty in animals and the afterlife in ancient Egypt.

“It is rare,” she said, “to have such beautiful bronzes for sale. They were offerings to the cat-headed goddess, Bastet, protector of children, women, and promoter of love. Often mummified cats were placed within the bronzes or within the base that supported the statue.”

The top-selling piece in the category of antiquities was a large Egyptian bronze that represents the ancient Egyptian Gods Isis And Horus, and dates to 747-656 B.C. It sold for $1,382,290, solidly topping the estimate of $355,000.

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After Long Delay, US and Egypt Sign Historic MoU Restricting Endangered Heritage from American Import

The United States and Egypt signed a cultural property Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday after lengthy consideration. The agreement, authorized by the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA), restricts American imports of designated archaeological objects from Egypt in jeopardy of looting. The bilateral agreement covers ancient objects dating between 5200 BC through 1517 AD.

According to a State Department press release, the MoU will “reduce the incentive for pillage and trafficking.”

The agreement took two years and seven months to finalize. Asked why the process took so long compared with other agreements, Nathan Arnold, Director for Media Affairs at the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, declined to comment. “It is the State Department’s policy to not comment on our private diplomatic negotiations with countries or internally,” Arnold explained. “Achieving agreement on specific language for bilateral agreements involves a process.”

Since the tumultuous spring of 2011, Egyptian cultural material has been subject to particular danger. Damage to archaeological sites, houses of worship, and museums was extensive, and cultural heritage objects remained under constant threat of plunder. That prompted urgent calls from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Saving Antiquities for Everyone (SAFE), and other heritage preservation groups to take action. The International Council of Museums quickly published an Egyptian Red List to focus attention on illegal trafficking, and CHL in January 2011 and July 2013 urged adoption of emergency legislation.

Egyptian authorities did not officially ask for American assistance quickly under the terms of the CPIA and the treaty it implements, the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property Convention. Officials reportedly spoke with the White House on March 11, 2014, according to Tom Mashberg at The New York Times, discussing “fast action on [US import] restrictions.”

At that time, CHL recommended that import controls be implemented “with all deliberate speed” because “the lack of comprehensive action to stem the looting and smuggling of cultural heritage [since 2011] has afforded heritage traffickers the advantage of a three year head start to move their ill-gotten gains to the United States.”

Egyptian authorities formally asked the State Department to enact CPIA import controls in April 2014. The move prompted immediate comments from preservationists, ancient coin collectors, the Association of Art Museum Directors, and other stakeholders. The Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) held a public hearing in June that same year, and then the matter retreated from public view. Meanwhile, news of heritage destruction continued to pour out from Egypt and the Middle East/North Africa region. Then came last week’s sudden public announcement that a bilateral deal would be signed, just seven weeks before the end of President Barack Obama’s final term in office.

While the US-Egypt cultural property MoU is an important cultural property protection agreement, it does not cover antiquities imported into the American marketplace prior to its adoption, overlooking imports that already occurred during the recent years of heightened heritage destruction. Customs officials and federal prosecutors conceivably could take action against prior shipments of illicit Egyptian artifacts under other federal laws. Homeland Security Investigations and US Attorneys’ offices did just that in Operation Mummy’s Curse, which involved the case of United States v. Khouli et al., and resulted in the repatriation of artifacts to Egypt during the MoU signing ceremony this week, including a mummy’s hand.

Cultural objects covered by the new MoU’s import restrictions may legally pass through America’s borders under certain conditions, such as when accompanied by either an export permit or proof showing that the artifacts left Egypt before the adoption of US import regulations. Prohibited cultural material may be detained, seized, and forfeited by customs authorities as contraband, and smugglers could face criminal prosecution, although that rarely occurs.

The US now has bilateral agreements with 16 countries around the world, as well as emergency import restrictions on cultural property originating from Iraq and Syria.

Deborah Lehr of the Antiquities Coalition noted her organization’s role in the US/Egypt MoU process, tweeting “proud to have been a partner,” and observing that “US and Egypt sign first cultural heritage MOU in Arab region.”

Video source: US Department of State

Text and original photos copyrighted by Cultural Heritage Lawyer, a blog commenting on matters of cultural property law, art law, cultural heritage policy, antiquities trafficking, and museum risk management. Blog url: culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of any blog post without the express written consent of CHL is prohibited. CHL is a service of Red Arch Cultural Heritage Law & Policy Research, Inc.

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Winning Friends and Influencing Policy through Cultural Heritage

Deborah Lehr 

Chief Executive Officer, Basilinna; Senior Fellow, The Paulson Institute

Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry and Secretary of State Kerry sign Cultural MOU

Secretary John Kerry and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry signed the first bilateral agreement between the U.S. and an Arab country to protect cultural heritage at a ceremony in the historic Treaty Room of the U.S. State Department this week. Such :Memoranda of Understanding (or MOUs) are a little used but effective diplomatic tool for the United States, especially given the threat now facing the Middle East and North Africa’s long and significant history from a rampant black market in plundered ancient art. But more importantly, in addition to safeguarding the past, these agreements also close the enormous U.S. art market to illicit antiquities that may be funding terrorism.

The romanticism of Egyptian history—from the boy King Tut and his golden tomb, to Cleopatra, and the Great Pyramids, which are now the sole remainder of the ancient wonders of the world—is celebrated around the globe. Yet during Egypt’s time of political crisis, organized criminals began to chip away at these tangible representations of these legends. Today, ISIS threatens to bomb the Pyramids—and has made several failed attempts.

Protecting culture is an important end in and of itself. Add the potential for violent extremist organizations using illicit antiquities to support terrorism, and it is essential that the United States close its borders to becoming a funding source for these violent causes. Fortunately, the legal tools exist, as today demonstrates, as well as the necessary political will to take action.

As Secretary Kerry eloquently stated at the signing ceremony, “I think it’s a good moment for Egypt, the United States, for the region, for us to make it clear that these antiquities are priceless treasures that do not belong to traffickers and crooks and should not be sold illegally and bought by wealthy people to hide away somewhere. They are the antiquities that belong to the world, that have been protected and should be protected by an old civilization. And so I think this is a great step forward.”

I have spent the last five years shuttling back and forth between Cairo and Washington, DC, and know that there are many in both countries working tirelessly to protect our shared heritage. During that time in Egypt, The Antiquities Coalition has worked through two Revolutions, three different governments, six Ministers of Antiquities, and six Ministers of Foreign Affairs. While the names may have changed on the door, the support for protecting their heritage never wavered. The same dedication exists in the State Department and several of the archaeological organizations.

The signing of this agreement demonstrates the seriousness with which both Egypt and the United States take this threat. Egypt’s action, as a historic leader in the region, will set a new standard for others to meet. Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Mali—all face similar threats to their heritage. And steps should be taken to more fully enforce the existing legislation protecting Syrian and Iraqi antiquities, including additional training for Customs and Border Enforcement at key transit points into the United States.

“We hope that it becomes a roadmap for the protection of these antiquities to preserve them for generations to come and to preserve them against the treachery of those who want to destroy them and to wipe out this commonality of our humanity,” said Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry.

As the new Administration develops its Middle East policy, it should consider active negotiation of these MOUs with countries in the region as part of U.S. efforts to fight terrorism—and to build friendships and allies through our shared and storied histories.

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