A large black Hermes golf bag valued at $7,750, a bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln valued at $9,800, and framed artwork made of marzipan valued at $4,000 are among the gifts given to President Obama in 2011, according to a disclosure report form the Office of the Chief of Protocol.
The gifts in the report, scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, range in type and value. For instance, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave Obama a basketball signed by the 2010-2011 Toronto Raptors basketball team in a 10" x 10" display case with the Seal of the Prime Minister on it. The estimated value is $1,880. The Raptors did not make the playoffs that year and finished in thirteenth place in their conference.
Then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife gave Obama the Hermes golf bag with an extra strap in the bottom compartment. Chinese President Hu Jintao gave a bronze 48" statue of Abraham Lincoln made by the artist Yuan Xikun.
One of the more unique gifts to Obama, according to the report, is framed artwork made out of marzipan "with representation of Hungarian lace patterns on blue background." That gift, from the Mayor of Eger of Hungary, is estimated to be worth $4,000.
The ambassador and spouse of the Republic of the Philippines gave a handmade banjo bicycle to the president. The estimated value of it is $1,060.
Besides Obama, the report also lists gifts members of the First Family, Vice President Biden and other U.S. officials in 2011. For example, the chief of staff for Qatar, Major General Hamad bin Ali Al-Attiyah, gave the U.S. ambassador to Qatar and his spouse Germani diamond watches valued together at $37,000.
There is a column in the report for "circumstances justifying acceptance" that, for many of the gifts, warns that "non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. government."
The recipeints do not keep the gifts, but they are for the most part turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration or the General Services Administration. Some, by permission, are put on display.
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