Berlin museum seeks return of ancient gold tablet

[Skywizard]

Berlin antiquities museum wants Holocaust survivor's family to return ancient gold tablet

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/v2xSE.16vvcV4Tr.Ni3Q8A--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTY4NTtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz05NjA-/http://globalfinance.zenfs.com/images/US_AHTTP_AP_FINANCIALTIMES/069769a4c7774d22400f6a706700935c_original.jpg


A Holocaust survivor's family urged New York's highest court Tuesday to let them keep an ancient gold tablet that their late father somehow obtained in Germany after World War II.

Attorney Steven Schlesinger argued that the estate of Riven Flamenbaum has a legal claim, whether the native of Poland bought the relic from a Russian soldier or simply took it to compensate for losing his family at Auschwitz, the concentration camp where he spent several years.

"Under the Soviet rules at the time, there was permission to pillage and plunder," Schlesinger said. "My client could have taken it in retribution."

The tablet was in the collection of the Vorderasiatisches Museum, a branch of the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, before the war. The family argued that the museum's failure to reclaim the tablet for 60 years was an unreasonable delay, undercutting its claim. Schlesinger said Flamenbaum had been told by Christie's in 1954 that the small tablet was a fake and kept it at home. It's now in a safety deposit box on Long Island.

Museum attorney Raymond Dowd said the absence of the 3,200-year-old relic was quickly noted by the museum, later reported by scholars and widely known.

"There's no such thing as a right of pillage," Dowd said. "Reparation has nothing to do with this case."

Who gets it is up to New York's Court of Appeals, where the seven judges grilled both lawyers Tuesday. A ruling is expected next month.

The 9.5-gram tablet was excavated a century ago by German archaeologists from the Ishtar Temple in what is now northern Iraq. It went on display in Berlin in 1934, was put in storage as the war began and later disappeared.

"It could fit in the palm of your hand," said Hannah Flamenbaum. "We played with it as children."

Her father met her mother, another Holocaust survivor, at a relocation camp after the war. By his accounts he traded cigarettes or a salami for it. The couple came to the U.S., where her father went to work for a Manhattan liquor store and later bought the store, settling in Brooklyn, raising three children and later moving to Long Island, she said.

"He never tried to sell it. ... This was sort of the legacy of his suffering in the camps," she said. "The thought was if we're allowed to retain it, put it on display in one of the museums, whether down here in Battery Park City in Manhattan or even in Israel. Use it as a way to talk about the Holocaust ... and my parents' story."

According to court documents, the tablet dates to 1243 to 1207 B.C., the reign of King Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria. Placed in the foundation of the temple of a fertility goddess, its 21 lines call on those who find the temple to honor the king's name.

The tablet was excavated by German archaeologists from about 1908 to 1914 in what was then the Ottoman Empire, with Germany giving half the found antiquities to Istanbul, Raymond Dowd, the museum's lawyer, said. The modern state of Iraq has declined to claim it, he said.

In 1945, the Berlin museum's premises were overrun, with many items taken by Russia, others by German troops and some pilfered by people who took shelter in the museum, Dowd said. The museum director was not in a position to say who took it, only that it disappeared.

One recent estimate put its value at $10 million, Schlesinger said.

Lower courts in New York were split on the decision, leading to the latest appeal.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/berlin-museum-seeks-return-ancient-143014029.html


peace...
skywizard

[rgray222]

This is a great post but it highlights so many issues that it is hard to know where to start.



Attorney Steven Schlesinger argued that the estate of Riven Flamenbaum has a legal claim, whether the native of Poland bought the relic from a Russian soldier or simply took it to compensate for losing his family at Auschwitz, the concentration camp where he spent several years.

"Under the Soviet rules at the time, there was permission to pillage and plunder," Schlesinger said. "My client could have taken it in retribution."

This statements above make loose assumptions that the court can consider the following issue;

It assumes that war is acceptable
It makes the assumption that pillaging and plundering during or after a war is acceptable
It makes the assumption that reparations are acceptable


The tablet was excavated by German archaeologists from about 1908 to 1914 in what was then the Ottoman Empire, with Germany giving half the found antiquities to Istanbul, Raymond Dowd, the museum's lawyer, said. The modern state of Iraq has declined to claim it, he said.

Many times archaeologist are nothing more than treasure hunters
These early, so called archaeologist were nothing more than treasure hunters, giving away half of what they found is simply the necessary bribe so they could take these treasures back to their home country. Who determined which half of the treasure was kept, also, was it half of a certain number of items or was it half of the estimated financial value, maybe it was half of the historical significance of the objects. You can be absolutely sure that these early "treasure hunters" sorry archaeologist, took more than their fair share back home.

What gives an American court the right to determine this case?
The object was taken by a native of Poland who immigrated to the US but purchased or stole the piece from a Russian soldier after or during WWII. The soldier himself stole the piece from a German Museum that never had the right to have it in the first place. The object was plundered by a German Treasure hunter who spirited out of the country of origin. Why is this not being tried in a the world court, the case seems to be custom made for it.

What gives the the the plundering country the right to hang on to these ill gotten antiquities?
The Germans are hanging on to some very important antiquities that were plundered from the middle east more than 100 years ago. The statue of Queen Nefertiti is a case in point. Maybe some resolution has been reached but the last I read Germany had great reluctance to send it back to Egypt. This is twisted logic that is laced with greed and ego, what a shame.

Many items were plundered for financial gain
So many of these treasures are still housed in museums across Europe and some are adamant that they have no intention that they will return them. So many ended up in the United State because America was able to pay handsomely. That alone is proof that many of the items plundered were considered as a means of wealth.

Antiquities should be returned to the country of 'geographical origin"
I is my person belief that all of the antiquities that were stolen from the middle east should be returned to their country of geographic origin. If we could house all the early antiquities in the same place it would give a much better view of these extremely advanced ancient societies. Viewing all this "information" in each country of origin might shed some light on whether or not an advanced race (i.e. aliens) played a role in their development.

It is the right thing to do
Also it should be noted, if for no other reason............these things should be returned because it is simply the right thing to do!! The American court should find that the object in question should be returned to Germany on a paid lease basis until such time as Iraq has the interest and infrastructure to house such objects.

In my mind the countries, courts, museums and people involved in this case have no right to determine ownership and permanent location. In the last couple of years a few of these plundered objects are making their way back home, we can only hope that this trend continues!