Piers Secunda has spent two years recreating artefacts destroyed by ISIS in Iraq. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Piers Secunda has spent two years recreating artefacts destroyed by ISIS in Iraq. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
The central installation of the exhibition has been created by laser scanning and 3D printing the Ashmolean Museum’s Assyrian relief, which stands in the Welcome Space. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
The central installation of the exhibition has been created by laser scanning and 3D printing the Ashmolean Museum’s Assyrian relief, which stands in the Welcome Space. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
The pieces of the installation are cast by Piers in industrial floor paint and the broken stone texture is transferred from moulds which Piers made from the ISIS smashed sculptures in the Mosul Museum. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
The pieces of the installation are cast by Piers in industrial floor paint and the broken stone texture is transferred from moulds which Piers made from the ISIS smashed sculptures in the Mosul Museum. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Casts for Damage Field. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Casts for Damage Field. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
In 2018 Piers visited the Mosul Museum, in northern Iraq, where he saw the damage to the Museum collections caused by Islamic State, and he was given permission by Iraq’s Minister of Culture to mould the broken stone surfaces of destroyed sculptures, from the Assyrian Rooms. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
In 2018 Piers visited the Mosul Museum, in northern Iraq, where he saw the damage to the Museum collections caused by Islamic State, and he was given permission by Iraq’s Minister of Culture to mould the broken stone surfaces of destroyed sculptures, from the Assyrian Rooms. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Mosul Museum Interiors. Piers used the charcoal gathered from the partly burned Mosul Museum to make ink by the traditional process of grinding the charcoal into a powder with a mortar and pestle, mixing in with alcohol and then Gum Arabic. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Mosul Museum Interiors. Piers used the charcoal gathered from the partly burned Mosul Museum to make ink by the traditional process of grinding the charcoal into a powder with a mortar and pestle, mixing in with alcohol and then Gum Arabic. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Mosul Museum Interiors. He used this ink to make a series of drawings based on photographs taken inside the Mosul Museum, bringing burned remnants of the artefacts and the building back to life as new works of art. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Mosul Museum Interiors. He used this ink to make a series of drawings based on photographs taken inside the Mosul Museum, bringing burned remnants of the artefacts and the building back to life as new works of art. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
A Sumerian figure. This statue was uncovered by soldiers of the Indian army serving with the British, digging trenches at Isatalabat, on the banks of the River Tigris. It dates to around 2400 BC and the front of the figure has been damaged by the pick of the soldier who discovered it. The regiment’s commanding officer donated the statue to the Ashmolean in 1919. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
A Sumerian figure. This statue was uncovered by soldiers of the Indian army serving with the British, digging trenches at Isatalabat, on the banks of the River Tigris. It dates to around 2400 BC and the front of the figure has been damaged by the pick of the soldier who discovered it. The regiment’s commanding officer donated the statue to the Ashmolean in 1919. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Assyrian Relief. This carved slab is one of many such gypsum panels that lined the walls of important rooms in the so-called Northwest Palace at Nimrud, capital of Assyria, in what is now northern Iraq. This example was especially important as the imagery was designed to offer magical protection to the royal throne room.Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Assyrian Relief. This carved slab is one of many such gypsum panels that lined the walls of important rooms in the so-called Northwest Palace at Nimrud, capital of Assyria, in what is now northern Iraq. This example was especially important as the imagery was designed to offer magical protection to the royal throne room.Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Local community workshops. Owning the Past looks at the creation of Iraq’s geographic borders and the impact that this had on its communities, as expressed by local participants from the Middle East. The museum has worked closely with Oxford residents from the Middle East to include their thoughts about who owns their heritage and who tells their histories. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Local community workshops. Owning the Past looks at the creation of Iraq’s geographic borders and the impact that this had on its communities, as expressed by local participants from the Middle East. The museum has worked closely with Oxford residents from the Middle East to include their thoughts about who owns their heritage and who tells their histories. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
The Ashmolean’s exhibition team included two paid Community Ambassadors, who engaged directly with friends, colleagues and communities, coordinating a series of workshops on identity, heritage and histories. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
The Ashmolean’s exhibition team included two paid Community Ambassadors, who engaged directly with friends, colleagues and communities, coordinating a series of workshops on identity, heritage and histories. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Often the perspectives of communities are not visible in displays devoted to the very histories and heritage of their homeland, but in Owning the Past community voices are woven through the narrative of the exhibition. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Often the perspectives of communities are not visible in displays devoted to the very histories and heritage of their homeland, but in Owning the Past community voices are woven through the narrative of the exhibition. Courtesy Ashmolean, University of Oxford

World

British sculptor Piers Secunda launches collection of Mosul artefacts that replicate those destroyed by ISIS

Exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford

Nicky Harley
Nicky Harley
London

December 29, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

For two years British sculptor Piers Secunda has painstakingly worked hard to restore and replicate many of the priceless treasures destroyed by ISIS.

Now an exhibition of his work, Owning the Past: from Mesopotamia to Iraq, has opened at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

ISIS looted and destroyed thousands of ancient artefacts in museums and at the Nirgal Gate, one of several entrances to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire.

One of worst hit areas, was Iraq’s second largest museum the Mosul Museum, which contained ancient Assyrian relics.

The exterior of the damaged Mosul Museum in northern Iraq. Photo by Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP
The exterior of the damaged Mosul Museum in northern Iraq. Photo by Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP

The 44-year-old sculptor spoke to The National about the "harrowing" scenes he witnessed when he was confronted with the devastation left behind.

“It was pretty horrendous for me going to the Mosul Museum, there were people who had worked there who had witnessed the arrival of ISIS, their stories were horrifying,” he said.

“It was difficult as an artist to see the damage ISIS had done and take moulds of the damaged sculptures but my job was to make sure we left with these moulds. It was harrowing for me to see what they had done there.

“At one site I had to walk away and compose myself.”

He was commissioned by the Ashmolean to carry out the work and went to Mosul in 2018.

Previously he has carried out similar projects around the world restoring the damage caused by terror groups.

It has taken over a year to restore and replicate more than 600 of the lost treasures in his London studio.

“It has taken years for me to be able to get to the ancient sites because I was unable to go beyond the frontline of ISIS,” he said.

“I think the most important thing is that the Ashmolean gave me the opportunity to make these works using moulds from the broken artefacts.

“There has been no project on this scale and it has been really important to me to expand on the message of the work about the fragility of these artefacts and the culture and value they hold and expose the damage that was done to them when ISIS began systematically targeting them and our history.

“I was worried the pieces would not achieve the emotional impact which I felt and I wanted other people to understand, but I felt a great sense of relief when I managed to do that.”

One of the pieces he worked on contained Sumerian cuneiform script, the world's oldest writing system.

Many of the relics dated from the Sumerian era, one of the first human civilisations whose people lived along the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers some 3,000 years ago.

Sculptures, pottery and cuneiform writing tablets dating from this civilisation were among the works destroyed by ISIS troops.

“Secunda’s work examines some of the most significant subjects of our time – including the deliberate destruction of culture,” a spokesperson for the Ashmolean Museum said.

“His powerful artwork was created by laser scanning and 3D printing a reproduction of the Assyrian relief of a bird-headed spirit that had been removed from the site of Nimrud in the mid-nineteenth century and is now in the Ashmolean.

“Secunda casts the pieces in the installation in industrial floor paint, with the broken stone texture transferred from moulds, which the artist made from the sculptures smashed by ISIS.

“He used charcoal gathered from the partly burned Mosul Museum to make ink by the traditional process of grinding the charcoal into a powder with a mortar and pestle, mixing it with alcohol and then Gum Arabic. He used this ink to make drawings of the interior of the Mosul Museum, based on photographs, bringing burned remnants of the artefacts and the building back to life as new works of art.”

The full exhibition critically examines the role Oxford University played during the early 20th century in the formation of the nation state of Iraq, previously Mesopotamia, and the importance of the remains of the ancient past in modern cultural identities.

Using a selection of objects, maps and diaries featured in the exhibition, residents from the Middle East reflect on the colonial legacy that continues to have an impact today.

The exhibition looks at the creation of Iraq’s geographic borders and the impact it had on its communities and was inspired by ISIS’ attempts to erase the borders and, with it, the identities of its people and their histories, the museum’s spokesperson said.

Dr Xa Sturgis, director of the Ashmolean Museum, said: “We are proud to present this exhibition which explores this particularly difficult period in Iraq and Oxford’s linked history.

“We are grateful to the local participants who dedicated their time and shared their thoughts and experiences, allowing us to present such an insightful and personal display. Through this and Secunda’s work, the exhibition shows the significant legacy of this pivotal time that still resonates more than a century on and across generations.”

The exhibition runs until May 2021.

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  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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