Paul-Émile Botta's Alabaster Bas-Reliefs

Origin
Paul-Émile Botta was served as Consul in Mosul (then in the Ottoman Empire, now in Iraq) from 1842, and discovered the ruins of the ancient Assyrian capital of Dur-Sharrukin. Funding the excavation out of his own pocket, he initially found very few artifacts. Hopeless, a local dyer told him about the alabaster bas-reliefs his village frequently dug up. Botta then sent back word he had discovered an ancient city and the French government generously funded him to continue the dig. Although many of the artifacts were displayed in the Louvre Museum, some were stolen by pirates while others sank into the Tigris River.

Effects
The artifact was born out of the desperation, hardships and joy experienced by Botta on his famed dig. The reliefs transform money and negative emotions like despair into valuable objects. Any transformed object can be detected when it is shaken and sand or dirt falls from it. These objects help re-establish hope in a person and their credibility with others.

To compensate for the effects, the reliefs will make other objects disappear. Although random at first, the disappearances will then focus on the user’s possessions. All objects taken are based upon historical and personal value to the user, not monetary.