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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.
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Maybe Turkey could talk about Cyprus in return?
Lots of stuff has been taken from other countrys in a manner which was perfectly “legal” at the time, the items were still effectively stolen from the countrys they belonged to.
To give an example,
Say the English took the entrance stone from Newgrange during the 1800′s,
Perfectly legal for them to do so because at the time Ireland was belong to the then British Empire. would we want it back now?….of course we would as we’d consider it stolen!
Or say instead of them taking it they sold it to the french instead, again legal but we’d still want it back and we’d still consider it stolen from Ireland.
Barry , you are using the word “stolen” lightly. This was in the days of invasion and all that goes with it. Is , “stolen” an appropriate word. I dunno , just putting it out there. The Elgin Marbles ? For some reason , I DO regard the Nazi plundering to be theft. Maybe I am just having selective ideas on theft.
The ‘stolen’ is entirely appropriate in my opinion.
Berlin’s museums are full of stuff plundered from ancient Egypt. It should be returned.
The revolt in Egypt two years ago saw priceless historical artefacts destroyed by gangs. No country in the world is giving any artefacts to that region in case theyre destroyed. Artefacts belong to all people and shouldnt be left in the hands of those who cant care for them.
Sean..
Believe me, I share your concern. I’m actually familiar with the incident you’re talking about. The Museum of Antiquities is right by Tahrir Square: epicentre of the revolution. Government thugs raided the museum and caused some damage. After this volunteers – normal Egyptians – formed a human circle around the building and defended it with their lives. I wonder would we see the same self-sacrifice for a museum in Europe. I’m not sure we would.
The problem with European counties hanging onto their loot is that they have appointed themselves judges of when the countries of origin are ‘ready’ to take the artefacts back, and the answer is perpetually ‘not yet’.
Fair enough, these artefacts were plundered from what is modern day Egypt, but the vast majority of modern day Egypt’s population should have very little rights over these items. Very few Coptic Egyptians survive today and the ones that do are terrorised. The Copts are the true descendants of the ancient Eqyptians who created these artefacts, not the Arab Islamic invaders that currently occupy Egypt.
Wasn’t ‘government thugs’ I’m afraid.
Where the f@&k is the Lia Fail ?! Brits robbed it . Then some hippies. I want it back on Tara with the rest of our stuff !
Steo: “Wasnât âgovernment thugsâ Iâm afraid.”
While we’re at it, somebody nicked my 1600 century painting death of a virgin by Caravaggio a few years ago and the one your display is defo the one that got stolen, I propose a dialogue between us where you give it back and I won’t have to do a Danny ocean and nick it back K!
What about the “bond holders” who are taking our money right now?
Is this not also stealing?
Helen , the politest way of saying it “go and **** off”.
What is it about journal comments section and armchair bond holder experts?
Quite right too. The Greeks should also go after Germany for the destruction that the nazis caused during the last war.
And the Americans for all the stuff that went missing in Iraq
Stuff? What stuff?
And the millions, now billions, of national debt imposed by the Nazis on Greece during the war.
The museums were looted , the Americans didn’t take it but they stood by and allowed it to happen when they had previously stated they would protect these sites .
Well the US has handed over more than 2 thousand items illegally stolen from Iraq by military personel. So I guess the US is playing its part in repatriating these items.
They’re playing their part now , it’s a shame they didn’t at the time they could have saved a lot more .
mjhint, The us’s innocence in Iraq wouldn’t be a winnable argument on any level.
black gold….
Can we end the America bashing and get back on topic?
Absolutely true..
A bit rich, given what Turkey did to the ancient city of Zeugma:
Is that the same turkey that was talking to the lad last night on YouTube?
Angry Islamists nothing new their
Test
-icles
This is a typical example of lazy jouralism. Everyone knows turkeys can’t talk.
Wars start over the littlest things !
have your say