The cursed stele of King Adad-Nirari III, now held as evidence by the Met Police

ishtartv.com - telegraph.co.uk

By Patrick Sawer , 21 January 2017

Before the planned auction Bonham’s had said that the stele was "given as a gift from father to son in the 1960s" and that although no details about how it left Syria were available, it was confident of its provenance.

Mr Korban holds Mr Hogan-Howe personally responsible for the actions of his men in seizing the stone and preventing its planned sale.

In his writ against the Commissioner he said: “At all times since their seizure of the stele the police have been aware of the claimant’s [Mr Korban] claim in respect of it, namely that he is its owner, and that he is who is entitled to its possession.”

But Scotland Yard intends to mount a robust defence against his claims, curse or no curse.

It maintains that the artefact is held legally as part of a criminal investigation.

In a written submission the Met’s solicitors have told the High Court that “there are reasonable grounds for believing that the provenance provided is false and the object of the false representation was to disguise the theft and illegal export of the stele from Syria.”

This is not the first time Mr Korban has become embroiled in controversy over the provenance and ownership of a valuable piece.

He was at the centre of the sale of the Sevso Treasure, a collection of 14 pieces of Roman silver worth up to £200 million. The J Paul Getty Museum, in Los Angeles, had hoped to buy the treasure, but declined, believing that Lebanese export documents had been forged.

The Treasure was eventually sold by Mr Korban and a colleague to former Sotheby’s chairman Peter Wilson, who in turn sold it to the Marquess of Northampton.