November 23, 2012
Turkey wants a dialogue with France over disputed antiquities in Louvre
For some months now, Turkey has been increasing their efforts to retrieve disputed artefacts held by foreign museums. Now, their Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay is requesting a dialogue with the Louvre over the return of various artefacts held by the French Museum.
From:
Art Daily
Turkey’s Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay wants talks with France on ‘stolen’ antiques
Friday, November 23, 2012PARIS (AFP).- Turkey wants to start a “dialogue” with French authorities for the return of tiles and other antiquities on display at the Louvre museum in Paris, Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay said Thursday.
Saying the artefacts “were stolen at the end of the 19th century”, Gunay said: “We want talks to start between French authorities and the board controlling Turkish museums to work on the issue and take stock.
“The theft had nothing to do with the Louvre or with a French citizen who could have acquired them in good faith,” he said, adding that Ankara had launched moves to “recover objects representing cultural heritage which were illegally taken out of Turkey”.The contested pieces include tiles from a historic Ottoman mosque in Istanbul.
The tiles are part of a 12-metre- (40-foot-) long mosaic put together by the Louvre and one of the highlights of a new wing of Islamic art which was launched at the end of October.
Turkey’s Radikal newspaper said they were “stolen” from the Piyale Pasha mosque designed by Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan for the vizier and grand admiral Piyale Mehmed Pasha and built between 1565 and 1573.
Louvre authorities have said the pieces used in the mosaic were either donated and bought between 1871 and 1940, “In conditions that were perfectly legal and in line with the rules of the time”.
Turkey has also long been seeking the return of tiles taken from the 16th-century tomb of Sultan Selim II in Istanbul but former culture minister Frederic Mitterrand rejected the demand.
Louvre’s new wing of Islamic art showcases about 3,000 precious works dating from the seventh to the 19th centuries. pcm/ach/gk
- Louvre denies accusations that exhibited tiles were stolen from Turkish mosque : November 7, 2012
- Turkey advertises the fact that some tiles in Agia Sophia are copies with originals in other museums abroad : January 2, 2013
- Turkey versus the Louvre – Ankara’s artefact restitution attempts continue : February 27, 2013
- Turkey lobbies foreign museums for return of artefacts : September 12, 2012
- Turkey puts pressure on foreign museums involved in artefact disputes : June 19, 2012
- Turkey’s requests for the Samsat Stele to be returned – Cultural nationalism? : April 12, 2012
- Weary Herakles bust to be returned by Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts to Turkey : March 19, 2012
- Turkey gets tough on disputed cultural treasures in foreign museums : May 18, 2012
Antiquinews said,
11.23.12 at 2:11 pm
RT @elginism: Blog post: Turkey wants a dialogue with France over disputed antiquities in Louvre http://t.co/MVP3ARn5
semironic said,
11.23.12 at 5:26 pm
@elginism At the same time, Turkey has no problem continuing its totally illegal occupation of the land of Cyprus, a sovereign state.
grhluna25 said,
11.23.12 at 5:27 pm
RT @elginism: Blog post: Turkey wants a dialogue with France over disputed antiquities in Louvre http://t.co/MVP3ARn5
erkoulinos said,
11.24.12 at 3:58 pm
RT @elginism: Blog post: Turkey wants a dialogue with France over disputed antiquities in Louvre http://t.co/MVP3ARn5