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Canberra Today 17°/20° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Handing over artefacts

It’s  been a busy time  for Sally Basser, first assistant secretary in the  Federal Office for the Arts.  Two weeks ago she was at the Egyptian Embassy formally handing over stolen artefacts seized by Australian customs officers.

The miniature pots returned to Jordan.
Today, she had the double duty representing Arts Minister Simon Crean in two handovers. In the morning, she handed over nine cultural artefacts,  including fragile textile remnants, woven and pottery dolls and gold foil artefacts, to the Ambassador of Peru, Luis Quesada, describing them as “important cultural assets [that]  give invaluable insights into each country’s history and identity.”

Then, in the afternoon, she was at the Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan  presenting  two tiny precious Roman-era pots  to Ambassador Rima Ahmad Alaadeen.

Ms Basser made an impassioned plea for Australians thinking about buying ancient objects but possibly unaware of the 1986 Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act, to check their provenance carefully first and make sure they had the correct export permits. The tragedy of archaeological looting, she said, was that no scientific study was possible for items acquired in that way.

In the case of the miniature pots, she said, the purchaser had acquired them in good faith over the internet, and willingly surrendered to customs officials, whose diligence was clear from the size of what he called “the  small but perfectly formed ancient miniature pots.”

For her part, Ambassador Alaadeen was plainly delighted. Jordan, she said, was home to more than 36,000 historic sites reaching back to 7763 BC, covering all the great civilisations of the region, so this meant a great deal to her country.

Jordanian Ambassador Rima Ahmad Alaadeen, left, and Sally Basser, first assistant secretary in the Office for the Arts. Photos by Helen Musa

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Ian Meikle, editor

Helen Musa

Helen Musa

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