Iraq has vested ownership of all previously unexcavated archaeological objects in its national government since 1936. Therefore any such objects excavated after 1936 and subsequently removed from Iraq without permission of the government are stolen property.
The import of stolen property is prohibited under the Customs statute when there is a violation of the National Stolen Property Act or other relevant statutes. Finally, anyone who knowingly possesses, deals in or transfers stolen objects or who intends to do so is violating the National Stolen Property Act and is subject to criminal prosecution.
This web site attempts to present images of as many objects known to have been in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad or in one of Iraq's provincial museums as possible. However, the absence of any particular object from this database does not mean that it may not be a stolen object.