Sculptor Michael Rakowitz says he will donate his fourth pedestal bull to Tate Modern if Iraq can take custody percentage
Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz has submitted in a letter to the British Museum the return of one of his ancient Assyrian treasures to Iraq in exchange for donating his fourth pedestal sculpture to the UK.
Rakowitz’s new interpretation of an Assyrian winged bull, known as lamassu, decorated in boxes of date syrup, made the impression on the Trafalgar Square pedestal from 2018 to 2020.
He tentatively agreed to donate the sculpture to the Tate Modern because it has custody in Iraq. But, as part of the deal, he said the British Museum will recover one of his two Assyrian lamassu sculptures, which were found in Nineveh. through the Victorian archaeologist Sir Austen Henry Layard.
Rakowitz said the return of one of those treasures would help relocate a lamassu from 700 BC. C. , which was at the Nergal Gate in Nineveh. Layard left it in place but it was intentionally destroyed by Islamic State fighters in a raid on the Mosul museum in 2015. Rakowitz’s proposal is expected to be on schedule for a stopover in London next month through Iraq’s new culture minister, Ahmed Fakkak, when he is expected to make a stopover at the British Museum.
In a letter to the British Museum, describing his deal, Rakowitz said: “As I pondered my gift to the British nation, I began to fantasize that it might be related to a momentary gift: the return of one of the British Lamassu from the museum to the land of Iraq, to update what he destroyed through Daesh [or Islamic State]. “
The letter continued: “Given all that has been destroyed in Iraq and the intersection of that destruction with the West’s insatiable appetite for Eastern goods without always, if ever, spreading this fear of its people, this return of an original would be more than just a restitutive. It would be restorative. “
Rakowitz said the British Museum first rejected the concept when it first recommended it in 2020. He was told that the museum had helped produce replicas of the originals. Rakowitz said, “I think it was crazy. Where is the dignity of giving back things that are necessarily a wrapper of the original.
But since then, other museum experts have been more understanding, Rakowitz said. He said: “I’ve had a smart date with other people at the British Museum, who are not ventriloquied by the general attitude that things happen behind. “Discussions and lawsuits aim to break some of the language that protects those elements and institutions. »
Rakowitz said Tate Modern was also pushing the scenes to verify and make it happen. He said: “Tate has informally agreed that he will pressure the British Museum to return one of the lamassu. Tate control was very friendly.
When he approached Iraqi Foreign Ministry officials to display his sculpture, Rakowitz said they sought out the former lamassu to return to Iraq.
“They enjoyed lamassu,” he said, referring to his work, “but they also didn’t need to let the UK get away with it, and they looked for the genuine ones to come back. London now has one too many, so one of them has to go back to Iraq.
Eleanor Robson, a professor of ancient Middle Eastern history at University College London, said the British Museum gave the impression of softening its stance on returning treasures to their home countries, amid discussions about the long-term Parthenon Marbles. to be changing,” he said.
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Robson, who is also the Nahrein Network’s lead researcher on post-conflict cultural recovery in Iraq and host of Fakkak’sArray, said: “The renovation of the Mosul Museum is one of its priorities, it has been hit hard by Daesh. There are many plans for what could happen. One option is for Michael’s lamassu to come to him. That will be decided by the minister. “
It is unclear whether the minister will push for the original lamassu to be returned to Iraq.
Robson added, “It’s smart that we have other people like Michael, who come and shake things up and start the debate. “
The British Museum has not committed to returning any of its laussu to Iraq, but has not ruled out loan deals. A spokesperson said: “We have been very concerned about supporting Iraqi requests for lamassu reproduction for the exterior of the Mosul University Library and, more recently, the Basra Museum, where we have been collaborating for more than a decade. It is possible that future collaborations will come with cooperation in exhibitions and loans, which the museum would appreciate.