let's talk about what celebrities' are doing with ancient artifacts...

[00:00:00]You know, I love a Zenaia red carpet moment, especially this angel outfit she has on today is unbelievable. However, it does not mean that she nor the people associated with putting her outfits together, namely La Roach, should not be criticized for uh what is problematic revolving around these earrings that really are 3,000year-old artifact from uh I believe ancient Iran. And this is a problem, right? Cultural pilfering and how these artifacts end up in the hands of western institutions and wealthy companies like Cardier and then they lend out these pieces or sell these pieces to celebrities. So this is an issue in the art world of course, right?

[00:00:49]The question the ethics of providence and the moral obligations that surround the history and the ownership of artifacts and objects. Yeah, it's colonial [ __ ] Pretty much the entirety of the British Museum. Yes. And it's not just Zenaia who's come under fire. This is also just in the last year. Um I remember Margot Robbie and the red carpet of Weathering Heights. I remember Emma Chamberlain with the stolen necklace that she had on at the Met Gala. It's not just this instance with Zenaia at the Odyssey premiere. There's absolutely an individual moral responsibility here by celebrities, including celebrities like Zenaia. This needs to be called out and it needed to be called out when Margot Robbie did it, when Emma Chamberlain did it, when Elizabeth Taylor came in possession of that necklace, when yada yada yada yada in order to maintain the moral and legal responsibilities and obligations around the ownership of cultural artifacts like these Iranian discs which were turned into earrings. Right? These were not earrings. They were turned into earrings. They are ancient Iranian artifacts. In order to maintain those obligations, we have to call it out when it happens and then direct the conversation to the conversation that we've been having. And unfortunately, there's so much still so many wrongs that need to be writed as colonizing still is taking place as decolonizing is still an ongoing process. and the US and Great Britain. Two of the worst offenders here, both in colonialism and also in all things related to colonialism, which includes the stealing of culture [laughter] and all things uh that are part of culture. 3,000y old earrings to the premiere of the Odyssey. And the headlines have called it ancient Greek or as Vogue writes, ancient discs.

[00:02:45]That's wrong. Even the seller doesn't say that. Baron London, the Mayfair jeweler that owns them, calls them ancient Iranian Zvilla gold plaques, first millennium BC. Now, Zenaia plays the goddess Athena in the film, so the press assumed Greek, but the gold itself says otherwise. Each disc is engraved with a sun, a raised center throwing out rays, one of the oldest symbols in the ancient near east. To the Assyrians, that disc was Shamash, the sun god. And I have to say too, the kind of one two punch where I don't know if y'all saw this, but last week there was a there was a bit of a stir because La Roach was in Paris, I think, and attending um a Scaparelli fashion show and then in a clip he's talking about how he is getting on a private plane to fly the dress directly from the runway to Zenaia to wear on the carpet.

[00:03:45]So, a private jet from Paris to London, which mind you, there are so many other ways. [laughter] You can you can travel from Paris to London. It's absurd that it was for a dress off the runway to wear for one night of a press store that has been lasting days. Like, this was one dress being flown on a private plane and that is not okay. So, that happened. And now the latest is with these earrings that are actually cultural artifacts that of course the uh process of obtaining said artifacts has undisclosed by the company that is in possession of them that does not sell them but lends them out to celebrities like Zenaia on carpets like the Odysseies.

[00:04:32]>> A sign of divine power, justice, and protection. This jeweler is known for being very sketchy and again not disclosing the process of how these artifacts were obtained. Very sketchy.

[00:04:46]And then obviously there is the optics of an American celebrity wearing stolen Iranian artifacts as earrings when the country of the United States of America is currently bombing Iran. I am not casting solely the blame on Zenaia like Margot Robbie, like Emma Chamberlain and other celebrities who have been called out for wearing stolen artifacts. No, I don't think Zenaia knows anything about these. I think she puts on what she is dressed in. It does not mean that it is okay that there is still a responsibility, individual responsibility people have. This is just a major issue. And I think it also shows too, if you get really into it, the fact that these earrings were given to Zenaia to wear on the carpet for the Odyssey, which is uh obviously the story that involves ancient Greece and these cultural figures from the Odyssey. And it's not an Iranian story. wearing Iranian cultural artifacts and thinking that it's close enough to ancient Greece that it's like, "Oh, yeah, that works."

[00:05:57]It's giving an ancient Greece orientalist practices. Zenaia's ancient Iranian earrings at the Odyssey premiere spark backlash. These earrings worn by Zenaia at the Odyssey press tour are believed to be 2,000 to 3,000 years old and come at a time when the US is bombing Iran. Historians and archaeologists have uh come after Zenaia for wearing these 30,000-year-old Iranian earrings on the red carpet with experts telling the new era that the choice reflected orientalist practices and a disregard for the cultural heritage of the global south. The gold earrings believed to date to the first millennium B.CE and to originate from ancient Iran were one of the most talked about elements of Zenaia's appearance at the London premiere of the Odyssey last week. They were sourced by Baron London, a Mayfair-based dealer specializing in antique jewelry before being remounted with diamonds and 18 karat yellow gold.

[00:06:44]The jeweler describes them as a pair of Zouier gold medallion plaques circa first millennium BC Iran mounted by Glenn Spiro with diamonds and yellow gold. I find western celebrities who are part of the broader western discourse in all arenas and therefore an extension of the cultural dialogue between east and west to be largely deaf to questions of ethics and history when it comes to the global south. Zerar Ali, Londonbased author and expert on Islamic history, art and architecture told the new Arab, "Adorning artifacts, whether from museums or private collections, is often seen as harmless but can in fact constitute a display of power and domination. one culture asserting ownership over the heritage of another.

[00:07:24]And I think to kind of paraphrase this quote by Edward Say who wrote a book on orientalism. The quote being that they cannot represent themselves so the west will represent them. And essentially it is like the superiority, the western superiority and hegemonic attitudes that treats the east as this foreign, exotic, barbaric wasteland, but also have really pretty things, but that it is better represented by those in the west.

[00:07:58]According to Ali, the West often sees the ancient history of Iran, Arabia, and the rich history of the East more broadly as entirely detached from the modern nation states of Iran, Iraq, and others, which may justify why the jewelry choice was made while the US bombs Iran. However, he condemned the move, noting that it is deeply problematic. The practice of taking jewelry and other artifacts, especially those associated with the royal courts of great empires of the past, the Mughals, the Sophie uh Sophie, and others, and then allowing actors and celebrities to adorn them sends a clear message. Not only will we not return what we took from you because we consider ourselves more worthy custodians, but we also continue to occupy the symbolic position of monarchs and rulers over the lands from which these artifacts were removed. The earrings have also sparked fierce debate on social media with archaeologists and heritage campaigners questioning both their provenence and the ethics of wearing ancient artifacts as fashion accessories. This is not about just Zenaia. Like this is a conversation we're having because of her wearing these earrings on this carpet. that there is a larger conversation to be had here over this issue of cultural repreciation of historical accountability of justice for the people and the countries that have had so many valuable, priceless, historically important items stolen, colonized and then it ends up at like Cardier or it ends up at this London uh jeweler company. Zenaia's Odyssey premier earrings are seemingly first millennium BC gold adorment disc turned into earrings and we know nothing else about their providence meaning their journey from their homeland which is probably Iran. She notes that the jeweler often acquires real artifacts from the Middle East and West Africa by means undisclosed. Bad taste and mouth. She says these pieces are likely looted from Iran and they are gracing the ears of an American actress from a country that just bombed Iran. So why not replicas?

[00:09:40]Because let's be real, the point of these earrings is not to showcase legitimate ancient artistry. It is to fetishize the past, to be a commodity stolen from the elite, circulated illegally and immorally. This is about class signaling. Fellow creators, let's not hype this type of commodity.

[00:09:52]Fetishism. The choice of jewelry also divided opinion with many noting that while the earrings are of Iranian origin, Zenaia's look was inspired by her role as Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. Colonization chic, one person commented on a video of Zenaia wearing the earrings on Instagram. It belongs in a museum, said another. The latest controversy comes after American actor Margot Robbie also came under fire in January for wearing the Taj Mahal diamond on the red carpet for the premiere of Weathering Heights in Los Angeles, which was not good. And what she had said on the carpet as well was not good because she referred to this necklace as Elizabeth Taylor's necklace because Richard Burton whom Elizabeth Taylor famously had many affairs with and they were married multiple times and would break up. He purchased the necklace from her. I think it was at that point in the ownership of Cardier.

[00:10:44]Cardier often a constant villain here.

[00:10:48]one of the frequent perpetrators of having stolen artifacts as jewelry on a red carpet. [clears throat] The reason that she was wearing the necklace is because Elizabeth Taylor's estate, who now owns the necklace, since Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton have passed, lent the necklace to her. So, the fact that you're wearing this stolen piece that has so much history on a carpet and you're not even adequately or accurately identifying the history is problematic.

[00:11:19]>> She was seen wearing a $12 million heart pendant. What they don't tell you is that this piece of jewelry was part of the Mughal Empire Jihinger's family who then passed it down to his son Shah Jahan who gifted it to his wife Mumaz Mahal. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in his wife's memory which inspired the diamond's name and the custom gold ruby which has an inscription in pari that reads love is everlasting as well as the name of Jihinger's wife Norjan. The inscription on the necklace has been wrongly translated to this and that is what Margot Robbie said on the red carpet. She's like oh it translates to love everlasting. The real inscription actually translates to lady of the poda.

[00:11:57]It bears the name of Nerjahan and the Islamic year 1037. And what happened was when Cardier acquired through undisclosed means acquired this piece, this artifact, it removed the tradition, the traditional Indian silk cord and replaced it with this golden ruby chain and then the translation has been now mistransated. In my reading, it does not actually mean love is everlasting.

[00:12:22]That's like the western interpretation of it. This almost exact scenario also happened with the Cardier Batiala necklace which was originally made for the Indian Royal Maharaja Opin Singh.

[00:12:32]It's a delicate piece made out of thousands of diamonds and rubies to be the same one that American creator Emma Chamberlain wore to the Met Gala. There was a lot of controversy around this because allegedly Cardier denied Punjabi singer Dilji Dange from wearing that same necklace at the Met Gala. So, not only did they give it to Emma Chamberlain, they also refused to allow someone of actual Indian nationality to wear the piece. They did not allow an actual Indian man at the Met Gala to wear this, but allowed influencer Emma Chamberlain, who absolutely had no understanding of the history of this necklace. Orientalism [snorts] is absolutely an aspect here. All the ways that the west represents and treats the east, treats what they have uh historically but also contemporarily otherized and exoticized and created this image of a barbaric backwards univilized wildlands.

[00:13:36]that the west being the opposite of that is the civil representation here and therefore needs to represent the east but in the the ways the west does it in all things. We see orientalism manifest in politics via foreign policy. Uh we see this in academia. We see this in the way that western academics in like the 18th and 19th centuries would compile information about eastern cultures, religions, etc. did so not to actually understand those cultures but for the purposes of like western colonial interests. We see this in art. We see this in media. We see this in really all aspects of western life. Do you remember? Now let me get this right. Kim Kardashian. And I'm not talking about the dress. I'm not talking about uh Marilyn Monroe's dress because that's a separate issue. Kim posed next to a sarcophagus, an Egyptian coffin at the 2018 Met Gala. And what that ended up doing was providing evidence as to where this stolen coffin had ended up. This was a neverseen before coffin. Kim Kardashian and the rep repatriation of a looted Egyptian coffin. She posed next to this and then the illegal ring that had acquired this through undisclosed means. Um the the district attorney's antiquities trafficking unit in Manhattan saw this photo and was sent the picture by one of the looters who had unearthed the coffin in the Alminia region of Egypt. The source detailed that he was disgruntled. He was still pending payment for his role in the coffin sale. Bogdano subsequently requested photographic evidence of the coffin that the thief referred to, successfully pairing it with that of the mech met exhibition. So, a disgruntled looter who was like, "You know what? I'm not getting paid. My payment is nowhere to be found. So, I'm I I'm going to snitch. I'm going to spill." and sent photographs of this stolen coffin and it matched the one that Kim was posed next to at the Met. The coffin is said to be that of an Egyptian high priest, the Nejamanka of the ram god, Hurishef of Hera Cleopolo Polus and dates back to the 1st century BC. Depicted on its golden surface are scenes and texts designed to guide spiritually from death to eternal life. An inscription on the coffin reads, "Oh gold, oh gold, oh flesh of the god, oh flesh of the god, oh fine gold, oh fine gold." Alluding to the ancient Egyptian association of precious metals with divinity. With this new information, Bogdano successfully traced the coffin's providence and journey to the Met. During the Egyptian revolution of 2011, thieves excavated the coffin and discarded the mummy inside into the Nile. Oh my god. During this hurried process, a remaining fingerbone was overlooked. Two years later, the thieves sent the coffin to an antiquity stealer, Hassan Fiselli, in Sharah in the United Arab Emirates. From there, it traveled to Germany under forged export papers. Fiselli labeled it Greco Roman to avoid suspicion, hiding it in plain sight and transporting it via FedEx. Then arrived at its new German owner, Robin Dib, manager of the Dionis Gallery in Hamburg. Dib had the coffin previously in poor condition, repaired to the state that it's in now.

[00:16:58]However, he forged documents, an Egyptian export license stating that it was Need Jamanka's coffin, exported legally in 1971, enabling him to sell it without fear of interception. Dib then successfully sold it on to Paris-based French antiquity scholar Kristoff Kuniki and his associate antiquities dealer, Richard Seer. Seer subsequently sold it to the Met in 2018 for $4 million. And this is a short timeline of like the item passing hands compared to a lot of artifacts. So just how many hands from 2011 to 2018 just how many hands it passed through, how many documents were forged, etc. Now imagine an an artifact, an item from like 400 years ago. And so this is why the process of trying to track the history of where an artifact originated and then all of the hands that passed through where it ended up in order to assure accountability and also that this is this is justice, right? to return these items to those to the countries or the people who they originated with were stolen from. The discovery of a stolen antiquity in such a prominent position in the Met raised questions about the thoroughess of the museum's research into their acquisitions.

[00:18:26]That is a very legitimate and fair question to raise. This resulted in the director Max Hollen's vow to review their acquisitions program to understand what more can be done to prevent such events in the future. Much more than one might expect the collections in such museums came to be there do due to colonialism and pillaging such as the Ben & Bronzes. For an artifact from such a respected museum as the Met to be identified as stolen opens up a realm of questions that need to be asked about the objects we appreciate in museums and galleries. As viewers benefiting from these objects, we have a moral obligation to respect the cultures they represent. The socopolitical importance of antiquities is highlighted by this process of repatriation. International events such as the Arab Spring have raised governmental priorities to prevent illegal art smuggling. The Arab Spring destabilized the region, leaving nations unable to protect their cultural heritages and allowing great increases in looting. It is particularly common to see an increase of antiquities on the market areas experiencing conflict. In addition to the removal of cultural heritage, the money from these artifacts funds militant groups such as ISIS.

[00:19:29]Matthew Bghdonis, when serving as a colonel in the army, protected the Iraq Museum, which had contained some of the greatest Mesopotamian artifacts in the world. Well, I don't know if that fully canceled out the other crimes committed, but at least at least there's that. The museum, though, has been heavily looted during the extended period of conflict. Bdanos meticulously cataloged some 15,000 missing artifacts. He succeeded in recovering and repatriating thousands of stolen artifacts by forensic analysis.

[00:19:55]Macdonald seeks to change the perception of looting antiquities and selling them from their home country to another from a victimless crime to a crime that steals nation's heritage. Furthermore, Max Hollen asks us to view these lootings as an offense against cultural property. These artifacts are the stories of the civilizations that we now inhabit. I think this is an issue that is not treated with the seriousness that it deserves. It is seen as a victimless crime when really there is a victim. It may not be one individual person. This is a terrible crime. The pilfering of culture amongst everything else and the then reemergence of these artifacts in the hands of western institutions and the very same places that created these conditions to piler and loot and steal.

[00:20:43]Culture is uh morally reprehensible and it is indefensible. And there are obligations. There are we do have obligations to ensure cultural repatriation. And this is all a part of decolonization. And I think people particularly over the last couple years have been talking about decolonizing.

[00:21:06]But there is still for a lot of us westerners still a lot of what decolonization means in its entirety that we have to learn. And this has been brought up in the wake of Graham Platner's the claim of rape against him, but then resurfacing of course his killing of Arabs over in Iraq and Afghanistan that he feels very proud of and then afterwards, you know, his mercenary work and the discourse around decolonization being one that has shown how a lot of us in the West, Americans particularly, still have a lot to learn as far as what decolonization really means. What it means to be anti-colonial, to be a decolonialist.

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