Washington (CNN) A New York federal court has ordered US craft store Hobby Lobby to forfeit an ancient artifact purchased at a 2014 auction that "originated in the area of modern-day Iraq and entered the United States contrary to federal law," the Justice Department announced Tuesday. The artifact -- known as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet -- is inscribed with a portion of "Gilgamesh," an epic poem considered one of the world's oldest works of literature. In 2014, Hobby Lobby, a privately owned arts and crafts retailer whose president is also the chairman of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, bought the clay tablet for display in the museum from an international auction house for $1,674,000. The Museum of the Bible has expressed its support for the government's effort to return the artifact to Iraq. Christie's, the international auction house from which Hobby Lobby bought the item, previously told CNN that "any suggestion that Christie's had knowledge of the original fraud or illegal importation is unsubstantiated."

Source: CNN July 28, 2021 00:56 UTC