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| Mina'i ware bowl (wikipedia) |
The United States and Israel have started a war with Iran without, it now seems any clear preparration for the consequences. As with Iraq in 2003, planning for the aftermath is non-existant and the direction of this conflict is very unclear. Meanwhile, apart from the human costs of Trump's rashness, the effects on the cultural environment are going to be severe. Here I just want to consider the portable antiquities. At present, archaeological materials from the Iranian plateau have a long history of appearing in international markets. The illegal trade in these cultural goods is already a highly lucrative global industry.
Luristan Bronzes (c. 2500–700 BCE): Perhaps the most prolific Iranian artefacts on the market, these bronze objects (including horse bits, pins, cups, and animal figures) first flooded international markets in the late 1920s after being discovered by local farmers in the Zagros Mountains. They have became so abundant that they are popular acquisitions by numerous private collectors and major museums worldwide. A lot of what is offered as "Luristan" is not from tha region/culture at all, and a high quantity on the market at the (pre-US war) moment is fake, with a variety of artificial patinas.
Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BCE): Metalwork from this era, such as gold and silver jewellery, coins, and copper alloy items like arrowheads and pins, is highly sought after globally. These artifacts are valued for their craftsmanship and connection to the first major world empire.
Elamite Civilization (c. 2700–539 BCE): Elamite artifacts common in the trade include painted pottery, limestone and terracotta sculptures, and cylinder seals made of materials like lapis lazuli and chalcedony. A significant amount of unclassified Elamite material from earlier excavations remains unaccounted for or in vulnerable storage.
Jiroft Culture (Bronze Age, c. 3000 BCE): This previously unknown civilization was discovered in 2001 after flash floods in the Helil River Valley exposed ancient cemeteries. Mysterious chlorite artifacts began appearing on the antiquities market shortly after (... ahem...), leading to the identification of the site.
Sassanid Period (224–651 CE) : Artefacts from this period are perhaps not very prominent on the Market at the moment, but there is increasing interest in the glassware. In addition to ancient archaeological artifacts, several other categories of high-value cultural heritage are frequently found on the global market. These items are particularly susceptible to being smuggled when national oversight is compromised:
Persian Manuscripts and Calligraphy: Iranian manuscripts are highly sought after for their artistic and historical value, frequently appearing in auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's (for example recent sales of ilustrated copies and pages of copies of the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) and the Khamseh of Nizami). These mss feature elaborate calligraphy (Nasta'liq script), miniature paintings with vibrant opaque colours, and "unvan" (illuminated headpieces) in gold and ultramarine (lapis lazuli). Single folios torn by destructive bastards out of mss are often more common than complete codices because they are easier to smuggle and sell individually.
Glazed Decorative Tiles Tiles are frequently "harvested" from religious and historical buildings. Common Types are Lajvardina and Lustreware tiles from the Ilkhanid and Seljuk periods (12th–14th centuries), which are highly prized by collectors. Historical tiles are sometimes declared as "modern copies" at customs to bypass export bans.
Antique Persian Carpets While the modern carpet trade is legal, high-end antique carpets are frequently targets for illicit export. Common Types: Kashan, Tabriz, Isfahan, and Kerman carpets from the 16th to 19th centuries. High-end pieces often use silk foundations and asymmetric "Persian knots" to achieve extremely high knot densities.
Metalwork and Ceramics Various types, such as lustre pottery, medieval ceramics from cities like Kashan for exammple, among the metalwork, Qajar Enamels: 18th and 19th-century enamelled gold and silver objects.
In light of current regional instability, we can expect looting and smuggling to intensify. Monuments and outdoor sculptures etc. of course could be damaged by shelling, bombing or vandalism, such non-movable objects are frequently protected only by sandbags, making them vulnerable to strikes and subsequent looting of fragments.
We may also see an increase in illegal eExcavations: as we have seen recently in the Middle East especoially, economic collapse and social upheaval often drive local populations toward "graverobbing" or unauthorized digging. I
Historic precedents suggest that conflict-zone artefacts are often laundered through existing legal markets. For example, Israeli dealers were previously used to launder thousands of stolen cuneiform tablets from other Middle Eastern conflict zones for sale to U.S. collectors. Funding for Militant Groups: Trafficking in "blood antiquities" can represent a significant portion of revenue for militant groups and organized crime.
It remains to be seen, given the current wave of cultural philistinism and interference coupled with money-cutting in foreign policy of the Trump White House, whether the State Department will be able top put any measures in place to help prevent the US dealers and collectors getting mixed up in the passage of illicit artefacts that this war may generate. They really should.
