To Steal Candy from a Nation

(The ethical dilemmas of the Ishtar Gates)

The sun was beaming down on the desert our city lies on. Sweltering in the heat, it was midday. Everyone and their neighbors were thirsty and hungry after the drought. Our living conditions were far from abundant.

A sudden rumble startled the livestock near the city. The noises of the animals continue to rise parallel to the rumble, louder and louder. It was now evident that the king, Nebuchadnezzar the Second, sent his royal guards to play their trumpets of triumph. They shook the ground with every note that played. The people of the town big and small wandered out into the sandy streets, puzzled at the celebration.

“The king’s gate is completed! The king’s gate is finished! Ishtar will bless this city of Babylon we now stand on!” They repeated. The crowd roared in excitement, people were leaping and laughing at the joyous news.

The sun was beaming down my neck near window where I had viewed it. It was a bleak 10 am while I was slumped at my desk in a mundane office job. At the time I did not have much to do, so I was completing a few assignments from school, until I was interrupted by my dear old coworker.

‘Photocopy these 60 pages into a PDF for me doll won’t ya?”

“Of course,” I nodded my head as I chose to oblige. Who could say no to such a sweet lady like that? I begin my monotonous task until I was gloriously offered an opportunity to visit a presentation by my boss. The presentation was on the supposed ‘stolen artifacts’ of the Elgin marbles housed in the British museum created by a professional candidate for the department. Being an art conservation major, this was infinitely more enticing than spending my day chained to the copier.

Elle Chapman presented. Her inflection was poised and precise as she glided through her slides. The people on each side of me were lost in the words that saturated the air. The passion for the return of these marbles by Mrs. Chapman was absurd. It wasn’t even her culture I thought! Then another voice joined the sea of harmony. The low rumble spoke of the Pergamon Museum and their prized loot in disdain, the Ishtar gate. I had never heard of the Ishtar gate, and that immediately sparked my curiosity. I’ve known about the many issues associated with stolen artifacts and the British Museum, I never appreciated them, but the idea that many other museums in Europe are robbing them of other cultures is heartbreaking. I craved for a justification.

Elle Chapman phrased and rephrased the word, Repatriation. She said it’s the rightful return of a nation’s person or artifact. Her choice to use the word rightful struck me. Rightful is more of an opinionated word to include in a definition. A definition is supposed to introduce a neutral stance on a word. It’s informational.

The Webster Dictionary defines repatriation “To restore or return the country of origin, allegiance, or citizenship.” The dictionary broadens the definition given by anthropologists and conservators. It eliminates the idea of an object and its emotions. What is interesting here is the use of the word allegiance. Anyone can claim their allegiance to a country, and any country can claim an object’s allegiance to them. This definition leaves unsewn ends into the rightful return.

Other conservators such as Kathrine Hodge and the Smithsonian Museum redefine the word repatriation to restrict the blurred lines the Webster Dictionary left. The two definitions are written as, “Repatriation means the return of cultural item or individuals that were removed from their homeland” (Kathrine Hodge) and “Repatriation is the process whereby human remains and certain types of cultural items are returned to lineal descendants, Indian tribes, and native Hawaiian organizations (Smithsonian). I agree with how narrow these definitions are, it correctly defines a noun associated with the definition. It also specifically narrows how these objects are returned, rather than the Webster’s choice of allegiance. Collecting these terms allowed me to develop my own definition that defines my argument for the repatriation of the Ishtar Gates. From this point forward, Repatriation is the recovery of a person or property to its origin.

Like many artifacts that have been wrongly stolen or lost to people that are not of their culture, the Ishtar gates fall victim to such a tragic fate. Many of the miniature relics have been destroyed to time by the American culture or stolen by German architects who wrongly assumed ownership due to a previous alliance. The Ishtar gates are considered a wonder of the ancient world, and they deserve to be returned to their home country where they belong to preserve the Iranian culture.

This ‘wonder’ of the ancient world was excavated by a man named Robert Koldewey between 1902 to 1914 right before WW1. Unfortunately, the excavation halted because of the war. Since the Ottomans were defeated, they once ruled the land that the gate once lay, their allies, the Germans, assumed rights to the gate. They rekindled the excavation and reconstructed a gate at the Pergamon museum. The remaining objects associated with the gate, remained in Iraq. A group of Italians after the second war decided to excavate the remains, but a huge surge of nationalism from Saddam Hussain prevented such. Saddam Hussain took charge of the excavation because he believed he was not of Muslim descent, but of a genuine descendant from the kings that ruled the Babylonian nation. Funny enough, there were some parallels between Saddam and Nebuchadnezzar II. Both were aggressive leaders that led a somewhat militaristic nation and ordered large projects to be built. Evil or good, both are leaders that will be remembered.

The culture of the Ishtar gate demonstrates hardships and victories succeeding the empire. In the eyes of the Israelites, Nebuchadnezzar II was not a fantastic hero. In the story of Daniel in the Bible he offended Judaism, besieged Jerusalem, and disregarded all their religion

The inflicted pain on Zedekiah the Jerusalem king were unimaginable horrors by Nebuchadnezzar, killing the sons, friends, and followers in front of his eyes to then capture him and the city. Nebuchadnezzar then asked a Jewish prophet to interpret his dreams of his kingdom fall. Daniel, the Prophet, told him God was to destroy his kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar said this was foolish and denied the existence of their god and sent him to die. As a result of this narrative and many more involving the evildoings of Nebuchadnezzar, The Israelites see him as an undesirable dictator.

But his legacies are not preserved in the place he ruled. Germany stole Iraq’s culture to profit. But maybe it is okay for Germany to retain it. To summarize, the Ishtar gates are seen by four million people each year. Millions of people are provided the opportunity to learn about an important culture. The gates are also housed in a safe environment away from political strife and harsh weather conditions, so they can last for many lifetimes to come. Yes, profiting from another person’s culture for your own benefit is morally incorrect, but in the end, this benefits the world and preserves Iraqi culture for longer. Well in that case, why should the gates be the only thing argued for, why not other artifacts? Who decides what is important to be preserved and what is not? Aren’t all objects important to an individual or a group of individuals? Art conservation is a massive whirlpool of ethical dilemmas that bounce off each nation. As important as it is to return these gates to their rightful owners, it very well may not be done for a long time, nor will it ever be done.

I would like to thank my Job in the Art Conservation Department for helping me develop this idea, I would also like to thank for lack of a specific name, “Elle Chapman” for her wonderful presentation when I needed it most. Finally I would like to thank Joe Harris, for being one of the kindest and encouraging English teachers I’ve had. Thanks for making this a fun semester!

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