Iraq’s prized modern art plagued by forgery, trafficking

Paintings and sculptures at the Museum of Modern Art in Baghdad. Many masterpieces of Iraqi painting were looted or destroyed during the years of war, but now the country's artistic heritage faces another threat: rampant counterfeiting and illicit trafficking. (AFP)
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Updated 30 June 2023
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Iraq’s prized modern art plagued by forgery, trafficking

  • Ministry of Culture are fighting to return some of Iraq’s stolen art, provided Interpol with information about 100 missing pieces

BAGHDAD: Many masterpieces of Iraqi painting were looted or destroyed during the years of war, but now the country’s artistic heritage faces another threat: rampant counterfeiting and illicit trafficking.
Adorning a wall of Baghdad’s modern art museum, the painting “Death to Colonialism,” with its somber blues and greys, by pioneering Iraqi artist Shakir Hassan Al-Said is one of the rare pieces from its era still on public display.
Painted in the 1970s, toward the end of the heyday of Iraq’s modern art movement, it survived the chaos that followed the 2003 US-led invasion when the museum’s 8,000-strong collection was decimated by looters.
“The works of Shakir Hassan Al-Said are extremely valuable as far as Iraqi modern art goes as well as art from the Middle East,” said Tamara Chalabi, co-founder and head of the Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Art.
Paintings by Said, who established the influential Baghdad Modern Art Group alongside painter and sculptor Jewad Salim, can fetch up to $100,000 at auction.
The late artist’s family says it has successfully prevented the sale of numerous counterfeits of his works, and is in regular contact with international auction houses and galleries about his oeuvre.
“Recently, we spotted a fake in Baghdad,” said the artist’s 50-year-old son, Mohammed Shakir Hassan Al-Said.
He contacted the gallery through social media to demand the painting be taken down — but said the management refused, claiming it was authentic.
Said’s family, in an effort to safeguard his legacy after his death in 2004, has meticulously documented his comprehensive works, comprising around 3,000 pieces.
Today, they are working on the publication of a catalogue to provide “immunity” against the fakes that have proliferated after 2003, his son told AFP.
The primary targets of forgers and traffickers within and outside Iraq are the works of its modern pioneers from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.


Many of them were among the thousands of pieces looted from the country’s museums and homes during the security vacuum after dictator Saddam Hussein fell.
“Iraqi art is today one of the most important sources of artistic production in the Arab world,” said Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation, a museum in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
Kadhim Hayder and Dia Azzawi are among some of the most sought-after artists.
“Nowadays some Iraqi artworks are sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the Emirati art collector told AFP. “Forgers are noticing the auction results... It’s enticing them to create better and better forgeries.”
The authentication problem arises across the region — notably in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria — but “with Iraq it is especially acute because of the multiple layers of challenges: the exile of artists, the successive wars,” said Qassemi.


For Chalabi, “forgery is part of the overall problem of corruption in Iraq which has become embedded in the system and is accepted by people.”
One of the largest collections lost was at the National Museum of Modern Art in Baghdad, which housed some of the country’s most treasured artworks from the 21st century.
“Before 2003, we had 8,000 works,” said Ali Al-Doulaimi, the museum’s former director. “Today, there are around 2,000.”
In the years after the invasion, “we acquired new works, and lost pieces were returned,” said Doulaimi.
The museum and Ministry of Culture are fighting to return some of Iraq’s stolen art. They have provided Interpol with information about 100 missing pieces, said Doulaimi, who recently retired.
However, it is difficult to determine the true extent of what is missing — with the unreliable inventory hand-written by the previous administration.
In 2017, British auction house Christie’s announced it was withdrawing a painting by Iraqi artist Faeq Hassan after a “disagreement over ownership.”
An Iraqi official explained at the time that the painting was likely smuggled out of the country after being on display at an officer’s club affiliated with the Ministry of Defense.
The painting was never returned to Iraq.
At the Akkad gallery in Baghdad, owner Hayder Hachem Naji said the increase in counterfeits “damages the reputation of Iraqi art.”
“Sometimes forgers will use an old painting to repaint on — the frame and the canvas will be old,” said the 54-year-old gallery owner.
Recently, he was asked to exhibit a painting attributed to well-known Cubist-influenced painter Hafidh Al-Droubi.
Its owner hoped to sell it for $40,000 — but Naji politely declined.
“Honestly, it was a very high-quality counterfeit,” he said.


Israel signs $5.2 bln deal to acquire 25 F-15 fighter jets from Boeing

Updated 58 min 30 sec ago
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Israel signs $5.2 bln deal to acquire 25 F-15 fighter jets from Boeing

  • The $5.2 billion agreement was part of a broader package of US aid
  • Delivery of the new F-15IA aircraft will begin in 2031

JERUSALEM: The Israeli defense ministry said on Thursday it had signed an agreement to acquire 25 next generation F-15 fighter jets from Boeing Co.
It said the $5.2 billion agreement was part of a broader package of US aid approved by the US administration and Congress earlier this year and included an option for 25 additional aircraft.
Delivery of the new F-15IA aircraft will begin in 2031, with 4-6 aircraft to be supplied annually, it said.
The aircraft will be equipped with weapons systems integrated with existing Israeli weapons as well as having increased range and payloads.
“These advantages will enable the Israeli Air Force to maintain its strategic superiority in addressing current and future challenges in the Middle East,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This F-15 squadron, alongside the third F-35 squadron procured earlier this year, represents a historic enhancement of our air power and strategic reach — capabilities that proved crucial during the current war,” the director general of the defense ministry, Eyal Zamir, said in the statement.
Zamir said that the government has secured procurement agreements worth nearly $40 billion since the onset of the war in Gaza that began Oct. 7, 2023.
“While focusing on immediate needs for advanced weaponry and ammunition at unprecedented levels, we’re simultaneously investing in long-term strategic capabilities,” he said.
For Boeing, the F-15 agreement is the second major deal this year. In August, flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines, signed a deal with Boeing for the purchase of up to 31 737 MAX aircraft worth as much as $2.5 billion, beating out rival Airbus.
Ido Nehushtan, president of Boeing Israel, said the company’s relationship dates back to Israel’s establishment and “will continue working with the US and Israeli governments to deliver the advanced F-15IA aircraft through standard military procurement channels.”


Erdogan phones Trump to discuss cooperation

Updated 07 November 2024
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Erdogan phones Trump to discuss cooperation

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken by phone with US president-elect Donald Trump to discuss cooperation between the two countries, the presidency said on Thursday.
Erdogan “congratulated Trump on his election victory” and “expressed his desire to develop cooperation between Turkiye and the United States in the period ahead,” it said in a statement.
Erdogan was twice hosted at the White House by Trump during his first term, but has never been received there by current President Joe Biden.


Israel passes law that would allow it to deport the families of Palestinian attackers

Updated 07 November 2024
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Israel passes law that would allow it to deport the families of Palestinian attackers

  • They would be deported, either to the Gaza Strip or another location, for a period of 7 to 20 years

JERUSALEM: Israel’s parliament passed a law early Thursday that would allow it to deport family members of Palestinian attackers, including the country’s own citizens, to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip or other locations.
The law, which was championed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his far-right allies, passed with a 61-41 vote but is likely to be challenged in court.
It would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed east Jerusalem who knew about their family members’ attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.”
They would be deported, either to the Gaza Strip or another location, for a period of 7 to 20 years. The Israel-Hamas war is still raging in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed and most of the population has been internally displaced, often multiple times.
It was unclear if it would apply in the occupied West Bank, where Israel already has a longstanding policy of demolishing the family homes of attackers. Palestinians have carried out scores of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis in recent years.
Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute and a former international law expert for the Israeli military, said that if the law comes before the Supreme Court, it is likely to be struck down based on previous Israeli cases regarding deportation.
“The bottom line is this is completely non-constitutional and a clear conflict to Israel’s core values,” said Shamir-Borer.
Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians want for their future state. It withdrew settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005 but has reoccupied parts of the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack triggered the war.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized by most of the international community. Palestinians there have permanent residency and are allowed to apply for citizenship, but most choose not to, and those who do face a series of obstacles.
Palestinians living in Israel make up around 20 percent of the country’s population. They have citizenship and the right to vote but face widespread discrimination. Many also have close family ties to those in the territories and most sympathize with the Palestinian cause.


Israeli strike hits area near Beirut airport

Updated 38 min 24 sec ago
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Israeli strike hits area near Beirut airport

  • The Israeli army had issued evacuation orders ahead of the strikes
  • Hezbollah had pledged the result of the US election would have no bearing on the war

JERUSALEM: Lebanon's transport minister said Thursday the country's only international airport was operating normally, after Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, including one on an area near the hub.
Minister Ali Hamie told AFP that planes were taking off and landing without any issue.
A heater factory next to the airport's perimeter wall had been badly damaged in a strike, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.
Israel has been at war with Lebanon's Hezbollah since late September when it broadened its focus from fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip to securing its northern border.
The strike near the airport came after Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it had targeted a military base close Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main international transport hub.
The overnight strike in Beirut caused "minor damage" to some buildings but "not inside the terminal building", an airport official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to media.
He said the strike had affected a maintenance building belonging to a subsidiary of Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's national carrier and practically the only airline still operating flights there.
Abu Elie, a taxi driver, was at the airport when the strikes hit.
"The entire car park shook. People were carrying their luggage on their shoulders and running," he said.
"When I made it to the street there was so much smoke I had to turn the headlights on."
The Israeli army had earlier issued an evacuation order for four neighbourhoods in southern Beirut, including a site near the airport.
"Once they sent warnings, we got in the car and fled," Beirut resident Malak Okail told AFP.
"It has become repetitive," said Ramzi Zaitar, another resident.
"We've had to flee our homes several times. Sometimes we sleep in the car," he added.
"Death has become a matter of luck. We can either die or survive."
Since September 23, more than 2,600 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to Health Minister Firass Abiad.


Israel, WHO say evacuated dozens of Gazans for medical care

Updated 07 November 2024
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Israel, WHO say evacuated dozens of Gazans for medical care

  • The WHO said the “patients included those with autoimmune diseases, blood diseases, cancer, kidney conditions and trauma injuries”

JERUSALEM: Israel and the World Health Organization said more than 200 Gazans, both patients and their carers, were evacuated to the United Arab Emirates or Romania Wednesday for medical treatment.
In total, the group numbered some 230 people, according to the WHO and COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories.
“This is the largest number of patients and caregivers who have left through the Kerem Shalom crossing in recent months,” COGAT said in a statement.
The operation was carried out in cooperation with the UAE, the European Union and the WHO, it added.
The WHO said the “patients included those with autoimmune diseases, blood diseases, cancer, kidney conditions and trauma injuries.”
The patients were transferred from Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing into Israel, and then to Ramon Airport near Eilat in southern Israel.
The WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, had said Tuesday that those on the evacuation list were among up to 14,000 people currently waiting in Gaza to be evacuated for medical reasons.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 43,391 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to Gaza health ministry figures which the United Nations considers to be reliable.
The ministry also lists 102,347 people as having been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began.
Peeperkorn said Tuesday that fewer than 5,000 people had been granted medical evacuations out of the territory since the war began.