Syrian Culture Ministry lists artifacts stolen in National Museum of Damascus heist
The ministry released photos and catalog details of six Venus statues taken in the heist to help officials identify the missing pieces.
Government
Syria’s Ministry of Culture has published detailed descriptions and photographs of six artifacts stolen from the National Museum of Damascus as authorities continue investigating a recent break-in.
The ministry published the list, reviewed by Urgent Matter, on Wednesday “to assist in tracking them down and recovering them.” The list includes museum inventory numbers, object heights and the reported origins of each piece.
Among the missing works are four marble statues, as well as one in alabaster and one in plaster, each standing between 9 and 16 inches tall. All are of the Roman goddess Venus.
The listing notes that they were discovered in the cities of Homs, Hama and Al-Rastan, and some of them had been previously restored.
Homs, Hama and Al-Rastan are home to some of central Syria’s most important archaeological landscapes, with histories that span the Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic periods.
Excavations across the Orontes River valley have previously uncovered temples, domestic architecture, mosaics and sculptural fragments that show how widely Greco-Roman artistic traditions circulated in the region. Small sculptures like the Venus figures are represented in museum and research collections, including the Louvre, from these sites.
Including even their most basic provenance in the ministry list is significant because it could link the missing pieces to known excavation records and museum documentation, which could aid in authenticating and tracing the artworks if they reappear on the market.
Syrian artifacts stolen in heist from National Museum of Damascus
An investigation has been launched under the direction of Syrian Culture Minister Muhammad Yassin Al-Saleh.
Adam Schrader
The circulated list also includes an alabaster Venus in a standing pose from Homs, a 34-centimeter-tall marble Venus statue from Al-Rastan, and a plaster statue of a standing woman identified as Venus, labeled as “broken and restored.”
The Ministry urged all official bodies and members of the public to report any information related to the missing artifacts.
Syrian authorities announced earlier this week that thieves had broken into the National Museum of Damascus and taken several artifacts. The Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums said the investigation is ongoing under the supervision of Culture Minister Muhammad Yassin Al-Saleh. The DGAM has not yet returned comment to Urgent Matter.
Officials said they have begun strengthening museum security and enhancing monitoring systems in response to the theft.
Members Discussion