From Mosul to Baghdad: The looting of the National Museum
Iraq's cultural heritage has suffered greatly because of the war and in the chaos that followed the Iraq War (or Second Gulf War) between a US-led coalition and Saddam Hussein's regime.
Fearing looting during the Iraq War, the Mosul Cultural Museum sent its collections to the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad. Unfortunately, the National Museum was looted when American troops entered Baghdad. More than 15,000 priceless works of art were stolen, and many others were ransacked or destroyed.
In June 2003, some 2,000 objects, including the famous Uruk vase, were returned by looters and fences. Various other stolen objects later reappeared in several countries. But the National Museum of Iraq is still searching for a large part of its collections.
The reopening of the National Museum in response to the sacking of the Mosul Cultural Museum
After being closed since 1991 (following the First Gulf War), the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad announced a partial reopening on 23 February 2009, with the presentation of six rooms to the public. But it wasn’t until 2015 — in response to the destruction of the Mosul Cultural Museum broadcast by video in February 2015 — that the National Museum finally reopened all of its rooms.
