Where is the ‘Head of an Akkadian Ruler’
Supposedly it’s in the iraq museum but the object itself seems to be missing or at least highly restricted to the public eye.
Unlike most other famous artifacts, there are no recent photos/videos of the object circulating on the internet shared by museum goers. Sometimes you’ll find mediocre replicas displayed inside some museums (photos 2 and 3) but media concerning the original is confined to professional photographs taken many years ago/shortly after its discovery. Furthermore, the interior of the iraq museum in 2009 is free to explore in google street view. Noticeably missing is the copper head. It seems that it has been off display since 2003 in the wake of the Iraq war.
So what gives?
I’ve heard that it was looted in 2003 or more likely, that it’s stored within a very secure place like a vault. Since iraq is a whole lot more stable than it was in 2003, the obvious question is why isn’t the crown jewel of the museum’s collection on display?