Cylinder from the restored Temple of Ninkarrak in Sippur, Iraq

I am being asked by a blogger in Iraq whether I know anything about the real origins of a cuneiform cylinder of Nebuchadnezzar II being sold in New York on 9h April. They are incensed because 9th April just happens to be the eleventh anniversary of the Fall of Baghdad, which seems somewhat culturally insensitive of the American auction house. The cylinder is being sold among rare books, autographs and manuscripts by auctioneer Doyle New York, (est. US$500,000/£300,000).

The cylinder, measuring 20.8cm, is the largest to come to market in recent times, said Doyle, and describes the king's rebuilding of the temple of Shamash, the Akkadian sun god, in Sippar – Tell Abu Habbah in Iraq today. [...] The text on this particular cylinder is in two columns, and sees the scribe write of "Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, the Wise, the Provider, Favourite of Marduk, Sakkanakku of the lands of Sumer and Akkad, who established the foundation of the lands". [...] Over the old cornerstone I established the foundation for Ninkarrak, my beloved Mistress, Guardian of my soul, who brings prosperity to my kinsmen; for her I rebuilt E-ulla, her temple in Sippar. Its tithes I enriched and its offerings I restored. O Ninkarrak, Exalted Mistress, look graciously upon the work of my hands. May my acts of devotion be made known to Thy lips. Grant unto me long life, many descendants, good health, and a joyful heart. Present my deeds favorably unto Samas and Marduk; speak in my behalf.

The object has a worn surface. The auctioneers give the collecting history as: "Ellen Shaffer (later Rare Book Librarian at the Free Library of Philadelphia, Dawson's Book Shop, Los Angeles; sold to Mr. Archie P. Johnston, 1953". I cannot find in a quick search any information about either as a collector of Mesopotamian artefacts. No mention is made in the sales offer of any documentation verifying the claim, neither is it stated that Mr Johnson or his heirs are the current owner.

McGuire Gibson sets the scene:

During the 1920s there was some legal dealing in antiquities in Baghdad, but by the 1930s the trade was being reduced systematically. Edgar J. Banks, probably the leading American dealer in Mesopotamian antiquities at that time, would routinely mention in letters to clients the increased difficulty in obtaining objects from Iraq due to the strictness of the antiquities law. After the revolution of 1958, the antiquities trade in Iraq was stopped entirely. 

How, then, and when did Ellen Shaffer acquire this artefact? There were excavations at Tell Abu Habba by Hormuzd Rassam between 1880 and 1881 for the British Museum and in 1894 by Jean-Vincent Scheil. The next licit excavations were by a Belgian team 1972-3, and by Iraqi archaeologists Walid al-Jadir with Farouk al-Rawi, 1977 onwards (their discoveries included a huge archive of cunies, some of which went missing in the 2003 looting of the Baghdad Museum). After 2000, they were joined by the German Archaeological Institute.*  Since the site is relatively close to Baghdad, it has been a popular target for illegal excavations. So, where did the object acquired by Ellen Shaffer come from if the only legal excavations before 1953 were those of the British Museum in the 1880s?  What is the actual evidence that this object was out of the country before 1958? 

Alison Flood, 'Ancient clay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar II up for auction', The Guardian, Thursday 3 April 2014


McGuire Gibson, 'The loss of archaeological context and the illegal trade in Mesopotamian antiquities', Culture Without Context Issue 1, Autumn 1997.

*Neighbouring Sippar-Amnanum (modern Tell ed-Der across the river) was also excavated by Hormuzd Rassam in the early 1880s. More recently, Tell ed-Der was excavated between 1970 and 1985 by the Belgian Archaeological Expedition to Iraq .

UPDATE:
The cylinder sold for $500 000  (Anne Crane, 'Babylonian cylinder sealed at $500,000' Antiques Trade Gazette 14 April 2014).