Gilgamesh Dream Tablet. Image from ICE
Back in 2017, Hobby Lobby agreed to return thousands of smuggled clay artifacts they bought in 2010 and pay a fine of $3 million. Well, now it has come to light that another piece in their collection – Gilgamesh Dream Tablet – was illegally smuggled out of Iraq.
According to several articles, Hobby Lobby paid $1.6 million to an unnamed auction room (finding the name was pretty easy – here is a link to a PDF from Christie’s featuring the item) for the 6 1/4 x 4 3/4 inch tablet. It has also been revealed that the provenance listed was fictitious; it seems the work was stolen in 1991, and not sold by a California auction room in 1981.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave…
Source: Civil action filed to forfeit rare cuneiform tablet from Hobby Lobby