volume 2 - Robert Bedrosian's Armenian History Workshop

132 / Abandon the Altar.
antiquities was prohibited by the Ministry of Instruction
in Stambul, and that the altar being an antiquity
could not therefore leave the country. Moreover, he
had received information from Baghdad that the altar
had been taken from the place which the French
excavated many years before, and though he was willing
to do anything for the English he dared not risk giving
offence to the French Consul in Baghdad. We talked
and talked and drank innumerable cups of coffee, and
finally he said that he personally wished me to take
the altar, and that he would see what he could do, and
would send me a message in the afternoon. A few
hours later his message arrived, and it took the form of
a native scribe, who produced a document written in
French stating that he was empowered to treat with
me about the altar. He said that much time had been
wasted and many words spoken, and that he was a man
of business. The French, he said, could not prove
that the altar was theirs, on the other hand, neither
could I. The governor was certain that a huge, ugly
block of stone was no use in Stambul, and would take
upon himself to give it to me personally if I really cared
for such things. But there were certain enemies of
.the governor in Basrah who would certainly misrepresent
his generosity to me, and might write to the
Porte even, and make accusations against him. To
such people presents would have to be made if I took
the altar away, but if I would give him a draft on one
of the English merchants for so many pounds Turkish,
he would distribute them in such a way that everyone
would be satisfied. I exclaimed at the considerable
sum of money he mentioned, whereupon he halved it.
But even so the altar was not worth that to the British
Museum, for the Trustees already possessed an altar
of Ashur-nasir-pal, which was not only of the same
size and shape of that of Sargon, but was about 150
years older. I therefore abandoned the altar of Sargon
II and it was taken back to Baghd§.d, where it remained
for several years in the Custom House ; what became
of it later I know not.