Plates were stolen from Hussein's estate and eventually sold on eBay
Handout/U.S. Attorney's Office
Hussein’s plates were used for service of special meals at upper East Side restaurant Park Avenue Autumn through an arrangement with arts group Creative Time.
Dinner plates that once belonged to Saddam Hussein have been taken off the menu at a swanky upper East Side restaurant.
The notorious despot’s dishware was being used to serve special entrees at Park Avenue Autumn, a restaurant at E. 63rd St. and Park Avenue, after an artist of Iraqi descent bought them on eBay.
The plates were odd collector’s items, but they were also contraband. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced Wednesday that the 19 artifacts were stolen from the estate of the late U.S. archenemy and would be returned to their rightful owner, the Republic of Iraq.
The Iraqi plates included china that originally belonged to King Faisal II, who was killed in 1958. Some of the plates bore the Iraqi seal. They had been purchased on eBay by artist Michael Rakowitz of the art group Creative Time.
In collaboration with Park Avenue Autumn chef Kevin Lasko, Rakowitz created a dining experience with the plates that was called “Spoils” and was intended to give diners a taste of Iraqi culture and history.
The plates were sold on eBay by U.S. troops who had bought them at flea markets on American military bases in Iraq, said Creative Time spokeswoman Anne Pasternak. Rakowitz paid between $100 and $300 per dish, she added.
Bharara said his office became aware last month that the plates had been smuggled illegally into the U.S. He said Creative Time voluntarily agreed to relinquish the items to the custody of his office’s asset forfeiture unit.
“We were delighted,” Pasternak said of the handover. “To us, it was the perfect conclusion to this project.”
The plates were returned Tuesday to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Iraq to the United Nations.
rgearty@nydailynews.com
