The list of antiquities demanded gets longer as more
exhibitions are hit by the loans boycott
By Martin Bailey. Museums, Issue 236, June 2012
Published online: 13 June 2012
Among the exhibitions that have been hit is a British Museum project on the Uluburun ship, the
world’s oldest recovered wreck. Dating from the 14th century BC, it was
discovered (with its cosmopolitan cargo) in 1982, six miles off the south-west
Turkish coast. It was put on display 12 years ago at the Bodrum Museum of
Underwater Archaeology. The British Museum was discussing an exhibition, along with
reciprocal loans to Turkey ,
but this has had to be dropped because of Turkey ’s claim for the Samsat
stele.
Refusing loan requests to museums that reject Turkish
antiquities claims represents a new policy for prime minister Recep Erdogan,
who has been in power since 2003 leading a centre-right government. Although
his administration is pro-Western and keen on joining the European Union, repatriation
of antiquities strikes a nationalist appeal with the electorate.
The Turkish government has been encouraged by the success
of Italy
in making antiquities claims against several American museums in recent years.
More importantly, it has been buoyed up by three successful restitutions of its
own last year. In February 2011 the Serbian government returned 1,485 coins and
379 small antiquities, which had been seized at its border in 2004. Two
restitutions were also made by major museums. In July Berlin ’s Pergamonmuseum returned the
Bogazkoy Sphinx, dating from around 1600BC and found at the Hittite capital of
Hattusa in 1915. It had been taken to Germany for restoration in 1917,
but was not returned. Last year pressure for restitution was intensified by the
Turkish authorities, who withdrew permits for German archaeologists to work on
Turkish sites. This led to a decision to return the sphinx, which is now with
its twin in the Bogazkoy
Museum .
Two months later Boston ’s Museum of Fine Arts returned the top half of the
second-century AD Roman sculpture of the Weary Herakles. In 1990, scholars had
noted that it matched the bottom half of a statue that had been excavated in
Perge a decade earlier and was at the Antalya Museum .
The Boston
museum eventually decided to voluntarily relinquish its half, acquired in 1981
(although initially jointly purchased with collectors Leon Levy and Shelby
White, full ownership passed to the museum in 2004).
The man behind last year’s successes is Osman Murat Suslu,
the director general of cultural heritage and museums. Using a carrot-and-stick
approach, he is calling for cultural co-operation, but firmly warning that this
will be withdrawn from museums that refuse to accept claims. Suslu has
strengthened his department’s anti-smuggling and intelligence bureau to show he
means business. He says that he regards it as a “win-win” policy, on the
grounds that Turkish action also helps to stamp out the illegal trade in
antiquities.
Some of the claim letters were signed by prime minister
Erdogan, an indication that the new policy has approval from the very top.
Nevertheless, there are concerns that the Turkish strategy could backfire for
the ministry of tourism and culture, led by Ertugrul Gunay. Repatriating a few
antiquities is unlikely to increase foreign tourism, but retaliation against
Western museums may have a negative impact on its image abroad. Turkey ’s
ministry of foreign affairs is also monitoring the policy’s impact on the
country’s international relations.
Andrew Finkel (author of Turkey: What Everyone Needs to
Know) says that the claims are “a matter of national pride”, although for the
ministry of tourism and culture it represents “a distraction from the hard
work” of protecting what is in Turkish museums. He points out that “exhibitions
generate enormous publicity and goodwill”, and with tourism and culture under
the same ministry there will inevitably be tensions.
Meanwhile, the Western museums facing claims are now
engaged in further provenance research on the targeted antiquities (the
“Chasing Aphrodite” website has posted what information is readily available;
www.chasingaphrodite.com). Under Ottoman laws of 1884 and 1906, antiquities
belong to the state, but this has sometimes been only loosely enforced.
After the imposition of the Turkish loans ban, there is
growing concern about its impact. Although many of the museums facing claims
have told us that no loans have actually been refused, formal requests are
normally only made when there is a reasonable chance of success—and a number of
exhibition projects are currently on hold. Linking loan requests and
restitution demands could be taken up by other nations, creating a damaging
impact on the museum community worldwide.
What Turkey
wants…
Louvre, Paris : Turkey is claiming a set of important 1577 tiles
from the mausoleum of Sultan Selim II in Hagia Sophia in Istanbul . One panel was acquired by French
collector Albert Sorlin-Dorigny (dentist to the Sultan) and then passed to the
Louvre in 1895. A Louvre spokeswoman says the tiles were “acquired in good
faith”, but the Hagia
Sophia Museum
states on its website that they were simply removed “for restoration”.
J. Paul Getty Museum ,
Los Angeles :
Ten items acquired between 1968 and 1974 are being claimed. They include four
marble statues of muses from about AD200, which were owned by a dealer, Elie
Borowski, by 1968. A Getty spokeswoman says: “We are in dialogue with officials
from the Turkish ministry of culture regarding some objects in our collection.
We expect those discussions to continue.”
Dumbarton Oaks, Washington ,
DC : The claim is for the
sixth-century Sion treasure, which was discovered near Kumluca in 1963. Some of
the liturgical silver and gold went to the Antalya Museum .
Forty pieces, representing half the find, were sold by the dealer George Zakos
to Mildred Bliss, who donated them to Dumbarton Oaks (part of Harvard University ).
The director of Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Jan Ziolkowski,
says: “We are confident that we have proper title to these antiquities.”
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