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Tuesday, 24 May 2016 13:28

A Looted 17th Century Bowl Returns to the National Museum of Afghanistan

An example of a bowl from the Safavid period. An example of a bowl from the Safavid period. Wikimedia Commons

Christie’s and the British Museum recently teamed up to return a 17th century Safavid bowl to the National Museum of Afghanistan. The ornate tinned-copper vessel was lost during the country’s civil war of the 1990s. In 1994, the piece was bought in good faith from an antiques dealer in Saudi Arabia by a German couple, who later sold the bowl. While researching the object, Sara Plumbly, the head of Christie’s Islamic art department, realized that the bowl had once belonged to the Afghan museum—a revelation that was confirmed by experts at the British Museum.

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