Two Akkadian Cylinder Seals
Object or Group Name
Case Summary
These two 4,000-year-old stone cylinder seals were stolen from the Duhok Museum in northern Iraq in 1991 during the First Gulf War, when many museums were left unattended. The seals, each depicting human figures wearing horned helmets battling rampant animals, date to the Akkadian Empire in southern Mesopotamia (2350-2150 BCE).
The circumstances under which the seals were looted and trafficked out of Iraq are unknown, but they emerged on the art market in 2025, when they were put up for sale by two separate owners at the same London auction house. The unnamed auction house checked the objects with the Art Loss Register, which matched them with photographs of the stolen seals and their impressions recorded by the Duhok Museum.
The Metropolitan Police Art Antiques Unit seized the works, and the UK repatriated them to Iraq in separate ceremonies held in London on November 18, 2025, and March 2, 2026. The return is evidence of the ongoing partnership between Iraq and the United Kingdom to restore stolen heritage.