Stolen Artifacts from Turkey | A Primer

Mavi Boncuk |

AN ARRAY OF ARTIFACTS FROM THE ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS OF ANATOLIA AND THE MORE RECENT OTTOMAN EMPIRE ARE ON EXHIBIT IN SEVERAL GREAT MUSEUMS AROUND THE WORLD.

And some of those artifacts were spirited abroad without official permission, in other words by smuggling. Now, through the efforts of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism over the last ten years, more than 4,000 of those artifacts large and small have been returned to Turkey. Among the important items returned in the last year are the Boğazköy sphinx and the top half of the 2nd century Weary Herakles statue. Among the other monuments whose return is being sought are the Altar of Zeus in Berlin and a tile panel from the Tomb of Sultan Selim II at the Louvre.

LOUVRE (PARIS)
TILE PANEL FROM THE TOMB OF SULTAN SELIM II[1]

The intact panels not in need of repair are thought to have been transported to Paris and added to the Louvre Museum collection during a restoration in 1882-1883 by Albert Sorlin Dorigny, who was engaged for the task. Efforts to retrieve the missing sections have been under way since 2006.


PERGAMON MUSEUM (BERLIN)
ALTAR OF ZEUS

This monument was discovered by Carl Humann, a German engineer tasked with road construction in the Bergama region in the 1870’s. Artifacts recovered by German archaeologists were transported to Berlin under Humann’s contract with the Ottoman government. Work has commenced on framing a new policy for the recovery effort, which has been under way since 1991.

APHRODISIAS - STATUE OF THE OLD FISHERMAN

The torso of the statue of the Old Fisherman, the head and legs of which are at the Aphrodisias Museum in Geyre, are at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.


VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM (LONDON)
HEAD OF EROS

Efforts have been under way since 2010 to recover the head of Eros believed to belong to the lid of the Sidamara Sarcaphagus in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.


[1]In 1892, a French dentist then living in Istanbul, Albert Sorlin Dorigny, somehow got permission from the Sultan to restore various tiles in Istanbul. In context of this process, one of the panels was taken to France by Dorigny and he brought fakes to Istanbul. In other words, Dorigny stole original 60 tiles and replaced them with the fakes. Now in 21th century, although truth revealed and this theft case has been enlightened, famous Louvre Museum still holds these stolen objects captivated. 

PANNEAU MURAL DU TOMBEAU DE SELIM II

Situé à l'origine dans l'enceinte du musée de Sainte-Sophie à Constantinople, cet élément ornemental du tombeau de Selim II 1574 est acheté par le Louvre, en 1895, à Albert Sorlin Dorigny, chirurgien-dentiste et collectionneur. Il est soupçonné d'avoir remplacé le panneau originel par une copie, prétextant sa restauration. Ces contrefaçons porteraient la marque des ateliers de Choisy-le-Roi. La demande de restitution, non effective à ce jour, émane du ministère turc de la Culture et du Tourisme.

La dernière phase du style d'Iznik, qui débute vers 1550 - 1560, estllustrée par ces panneaux. Elle correspond à une explosion de l'utilisation des revêtements de carreaux de céramique comme élément du décor intérieur. La palette de cette phase comporte, comme dans les périodes antérieures, les bleus cobalt et turquoise. S'y ajoutent le fameux rouge d'Iznik, dont les nuances vont du corail au brique, puis le vert émeraude. Panneaux et frises de revêtement Seconde moitié du XVIe siècle Turquie, Iznik Céramique siliceuse, décor peint sur engobe et sous glaçure transparente Panneau aux médaillons fleuris polylobés : OA 3919/ 2-268 Panneau à décor de fleurs composites: OA 3919/ 2-297 Panneau aux bouquets : OA 3919/ 2-247d Panneau à décor saz : OA 7455 Panneau aux tiges ondulantes fleuries : OA 3919/ 2-247b Panneau à décor saz : OA 3919/ 2-287 Panneau aux bouquets : OA 3919/ 2-277 Panneau à la mandorle : OA 3919/ 2-247e Panneau aux réseaux fleuris : OA 3919/ 2-271 Excepté le panneau (OA 7455) légué par la baronne Alphonse Delort de Gléon en 1912, toutes les autres pièces proviennent de la collection d'Albert Sorlin-Dorigny et ont été acquises par le musée en 1895 Département des Arts de l'Islam