It is a work of goldsmith. At the Mosul museum, still damaged, the Iraqis, supported by French restorers, sort through hundreds of stones: fragments of ancient remains over 2,500 years old, destroyed by the jihadists, to be reconstructed.
A winged lion from the site of Nimrod, jewel of the Assyrian empire, two imposing “lamassu”, fabulous winged bulls, and a base of the throne of King Ashurnasirpal II. Pulverized by the Islamic State (IS) group, these pieces from the first millennium BC are being restored, thanks to international funding and expertise provided by the Louvre in Paris.
On the ground floor of the Mosul museum, the twisted iron bars of the foundations escape from a still gaping hole in the paving. In the different rooms, stones of all sizes are scattered on pallets. Experts began to separate the antiques from each other.
On some imposing stones, we recognize legs. Further on, there are the remains of the wings. Other stones display inscriptions in the cuneiform alphabet. No bigger than a fist, the smallest fragments line up on tables. “We have five important works in the museum, we have to separate all the fragments”, explains Daniel Ibled, one of the French restorers commissioned by the Louvre.
“It’s like a puzzle, you try to find the pieces that tell the same story. Little by little, you manage to recreate sets, ”he adds.
After three first missions in June, September and December, seven French experts will take turns for periodic visits to Mosul, coming to assist, by guiding them, to the restorations carried out with around ten museum employees.
“More than 850 songs”
The stone throne base, covered with cuneiform writings, seems almost reconstructed. Some fragments are held together with rubber bands or small metal hoops. “There, it is the epicenter of the explosion”, launches one of the Iraqi experts, indicating a gaping hole in a corner of the work.
Routed in 2017, the group entered Mosul in 2014, imposing its reign of terror on a third of Iraq. The jihadists had devastated with sledgehammers and jackhammers ancient statues and pre-Islamic treasures in the museum, portraying this relentlessness in a video released in February 2015.
It’s like a puzzle, you try to find the pieces that tell the same story. Little by little, you manage to recreate sets.
The most voluminous pieces, difficult to transport, were destroyed for the account of propaganda. The smaller remains were sold on the black market around the world.
“The throne base was pulverized into more than 850 pieces. We have gathered two thirds of them, ”Choueib Firas Ibrahim, museum official, told AFP. The knowledge of this graduate in Sumerian studies proves invaluable for the reconstructions.
“We read the inscriptions, and on this basis we manage to put the parts back in their place,” confirms his colleague Taha Yassin. Things get complicated, however: “the internal fragments do not have flat surfaces or inscriptions, this is the most difficult”, he adds.
“Resuscitate works”
After emergency responses launched in 2018 and delays caused by the pandemic, museum director Zaid Ghazi Saadallah hopes to complete the restoration of his institution within five years.
Formerly, its museum contained more than a hundred pieces. “Most have been destroyed or stolen,” he laments.
On some walls, sheets of paper replace the missing remains: “The mihrab of the Al-Rahmani mosque in alabaster stone is missing”, in allusion to these wall niches indicating the direction of Mecca.
Iraq has suffered for decades from the looting of its antiquities, especially after the American invasion of 2003 and the arrival of the jihadists. But the repatriation of these works is a priority for the current government.
The project in Mosul is funded by the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas.
In addition to the Louvre, it involves the Smithsonian Institution, which provides training for the museum’s teams, and the World Monuments Fund, responsible for the restoration of the building.
Once restored, the works will be unveiled to the public at an online exhibition, she adds. “When we said that with time, money, know-how we could resuscitate the most damaged works, it shows. Works that were completely destroyed are beginning to take shape. “