CBP donates Byzantine-era artifact to Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History

Oklahoma City — U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently donated a Byzantine-era ceramic artifact—initially assessed by experts as possibly a hand grenade—to the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma. The donation culminates a months-long interagency and academic collaboration that began with a shipment manifested as “Ceramic Ornament for Home Decoration.”

CBP officers in Oklahoma City conducted the inspection of the shipment, declared at $18, arriving from the United Kingdom. Although the cardboard box was sealed and showed no signs of tampering, examination revealed a single ceramic vessel inconsistent with the manifest description. Based on the vessel’s condition and appearance, CBP officers suspected the item might be a protected cultural property, detained it, and notified Homeland Security Investigations.

CBP Oklahoma City and HSI consulted CBP’s Cultural Property Identification Program, providing detailed photographs and case information. CPIP relayed an initial expert view from Polytechnic University of Milan that the vessel appeared authentic and could be a Byzantine-era “Greek fire” hand grenade.
 

CBP officers also contacted the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Professor Claire Nichols agreed to assist. CBP officers and HSI special agents met with University of Oklahoma scholars—including Professor Nichols, Dr. Sue Alcock, Dr. Joey Williams, and Dr. Mark Pawlowski—to examine the artifact in person. The scholars concluded the vessel was authentic and likely Byzantine-era and believed it was used to store mercury or perfumes; they could not make a definitive determination of country of origin.

CBP also contacted the purchaser and seller, but neither could provide provenance or documentation establishing lawful export or country of origin.
 

“Safeguarding cultural heritage is part of CBP’s mission to protect the American public and uphold the law,” said Shane Pequano, CBP Port Director, Oklahoma City. “Our officers went the extra mile—working with HSI, CBP’s cultural property experts, and university scholars—to ensure this artifact was properly identified, preserved, and made available for public education. Donating the piece to the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History ensures responsible stewardship while the research community continues its work.”

“HSI is proud to partner with CBP to disrupt the illicit trafficking of cultural property,” said HSI Oklahoma City Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jim Carmany. “This case underscores the importance of interagency collaboration and expert engagement to protect heritage items from being unlawfully traded.”

The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History will conserve, research, and interpret the artifact for the public.

CBP remains committed to protecting cultural property and collaborating with law enforcement, museums, and the academic community to ensure valuable artifacts are identified, preserved, and kept out of illicit markets.