hobby lobby

The Museum of the Bible is located near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The entrance is flanked by large bronze doors depicting the first lines of the Book of Genesis.

World News

After 'Missteps' And Controversies, Museum Of The Bible Works To Clean Up Its Act

4:29pm June 23, 2020

by Jane Arraf

The museum has tightened its acquisition policies and is working to return potentially looted objects. Early acquisitions reflected a lack of expertise and lack of policy, its chief curator tells NPR.

Hobby Lobby bought the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet for more than $1.6 million in 2014. "This rare tablet was pillaged from Iraq and years later sold at a major auction house, with a questionable and unsupported provenance," Peter C. Fitzhugh, special agent in

World News

U.S. Authorities Say Hobby Lobby's Gilgamesh Tablet Is 'Stolen,' Must Go Back To Iraq

3:56pm May 19, 2020

by Jane Arraf

U.S. federal prosecutors are seeking the return of the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, purchased by Hobby Lobby for display in the Museum of the Bible, which authorities say cooperated with the investigation.

An authentic 2,000-year-old scroll fragment found at Qumran near the Dead Sea.

Museum's Collection Of Purported Dead Sea Scroll Fragments Are Fakes, Experts Say

4:00pm March 17, 2020

by Scott Neuman

Using advanced techniques such as scanning electron microscopes, a team of researchers concluded that all 16 scroll fragments at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., are modern forgeries.

A clay tablet from the seized Hobby Lobby collection bears a cuneiform inscription referring to the disbursement of leather bags to hold water, known as water skins. The inscription is dated with the name of a month used exclusively in Irasagrig, a lost a

Hobby Lobby's Illegal Antiquities Shed Light On A Lost, Looted Ancient City In Iraq

11:22am June 28, 2018

by Jane Arraf

About 3,800 objects purchased by Hobby Lobby were returned to Iraq in May. Some come from an ancient Sumerian city, Irisagrig, and indicate that life there was "pretty good," an archaeologist says.

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On Wednesday, the U.S. will return 3,800 ancient artifacts to Iraq. This July 2016 photo shows a tablet from southern Iraq which used by a child learning to write more than 3,600 years ago.

World News

Hobby Lobby's Smuggled Artifacts Will Be Returned To Iraq

11:16pm May 01, 2018

by Sasha Ingber

Antiquities were shipped from dealers to the Oklahoma-based chain of arts and crafts stores. But on Wednesday, federal authorities will give the ancient objects back to Iraq.

The lobby features a 140-foot digital mosaic that rotates through different images.

New Museum Invites Visitors To 'Engage' With The Bible

4:40pm November 10, 2017

by Tom Gjelten

The $500 million privately funded project focuses on biblical history, biblical stories and the Bible's impact on the world.

Hobby Lobby agreed earlier this month to a forfeiture of smuggled artifacts.

Israeli Authorities Arrest Antiquities Dealers In Connection With Hobby Lobby Scandal

5:04pm July 31, 2017

by Daniel Estrin

Israel's Antiquities Authority says the dealers, arrested early Sunday morning, were involved in sales of antiquities to Hobby Lobby — including items that U.S. authorities determined were smuggled.

Cuneiform writing on a clay tablet improperly imported into the U.S. by the Hobby Lobby company, which is forfeiting thousands of items.

National

Hobby Lobby To Forfeit Smuggled Iraqi Antiquities

9:59pm July 05, 2017

by Richard Gonzales

The company says its passion for historical Bibles and other artifacts led to "regrettable mistakes." It will pay a $3 million dollar fine for improperly importing items such as ancient clay tablets.

Judge Neil Gorsuch's confirmation hearings on his nomination to the Supreme Court begin on Monday.

Judge Gorsuch's Writings Signal He Would Be A Conservative On Social Issues

2:35pm March 17, 2017

by Nina Totenberg

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch ruled on the Hobby Lobby case before it reached the high court. His concurrence argued religious freedom could extend even further than the Supreme Court ruled.

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The Supreme Court will hear another challenge to the Affordable Care Act about religious objections to providing contraception.

Supreme Court Will Hear More Religious Objections To Obamacare

3:47pm November 06, 2015

by Laura Wagner

Birth control and the Affordable Care Act are back on the Supreme Court's docket, in what could be called a sequel to the Hobby Lobby ruling.