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Issues of 2008
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Restitution — the Ukrainian style
Tajikistan: Rachmonov vs the British Museum In early April, the mass media informed about the Tajikistan president Emomali Rakhmonov calling for studying the chances of repatriating the Oxus treasure, also known as the Amu-Darya treasure. During his visit to the site of the ancient town of Takhti-Sangin in Khatlon region President Emomali Rahmonov called for taking measures to organize an exhibition of findings of the Amu-Darya treasure and their subsequent repatriation. The Amu-Darya treasure discovered in 1877 comprises over 1,300 coins and pieces of jewelry dating back to the IV–II centuries B.C. when the ancient state of Bactriana existed in the territory of modern Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Iran. British representatives in India bought the treasure by installments from several merchants. Greece has long urged the British Museum to return the Elgin or Parthenon marbles, a collection of friezes and sculptures removed from the Acropolis above Athens by the British diplomat Lord Elgin 200 years ago.
Uzbekistan: Teshabekov vs Christie’s Infuriated Uzbek businessman, Otabek Teshabekov, launched a quirky campaign against the famous Christie’s auction house for allegedly cheating him. In May, Teshabekov unveiled a book he has written relating his ill-fated efforts to sell a precious carpet to Christie’s to raise the fortune he needed to persuade his girlfriend’s parents he was worthy of their daughter. The man flew to the Emirates, where he purchased a worthy old carpet. He sent its photos to the Christie’s auction house in London. The Christie’s experts informed him that it is a precious Old Persian carpet from 1910, worth of about 60,000 — 100,000 pounds. However, when he flew to London in February 2003 expecting Christie’s to pay him at least 60,000 pounds (90,000 euros/120,000 dollars) for one of two delivered carpets based on an earlier valuation given using photographs he had supplied, and brought the carpet to the auction house, Christie’s cancelled the valuation, saying it was not in fact a valuable 19th century Persian carpet, as he had claimed, but the one of the Turkish origin and made in the 20th century and was worth of only 7,000–10,000 pounds. «I was brought up to be a proud man and am not used to being cheated,» he said. At the presentation at a swanky Tashkent restaurant he also showed the animated advertisement for his book, «Christie’s Unmasked,» which depicts Christie’s physical destruction. Packed with quotes from the Koran and the Bible, messages of support and photographs of people at Christie’s who he says cheated him, the book details how Teshabekov arrived in London carrying two carpets. A member of Christie’s press office in London, Rhiannon Broomfield, said she was unaware of the dispute but stressed that the company would never give a firm valuation without first seeing an item. Undaunted, Teshabekov claims to have secured expert backing on the carpet’s true value and says he is now in talks with Hollywood movie stars on a film on his plight. The Ukraine: Mass media vs The Hermitage (St.Petersburg) Since the end of February, the Ukrainian printed source «Blik» and Ukrainian USA diaspora sources publish the information about an Ukrainian relic, the only survived sword (saber) of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, «being kept in negligence in the cellars of the State Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg». The story beginning was several years ago, when some Ukrainian collector of antiques stated that the saber of Mazepa, must be kept in Canada. It is known that it was presented by Count Perovsky to Emperor Nicholas I in 1849 and kept in the Imperial Armoury in Tsarskoye Selo. American «cossacks» started to study the archives, but only discovered that later it was preserved in one of the Polish museums up till 1945, and then vanished. The new research took one year more. It was discovered that the sword was taken from Poland by the Soviet secret services after the end of WW II. The Hermitage associates confirmed the fact that the Hetman’s sword is kept in their museum. It is in excellent condition and was thoroughly restored. The last time, when the relic was exhibited was at an exposition in Poland in 1990s. According to the reporters there is no hurry in returning the relic to Poland. Our reporters contacted the Hermitage press office in connection with the story. The Hermitage director M.N. Piotrovsky informed us via the press office that passing the sword is totally impossible, also because there is no absolute certainty of belonging this particular saber to Mazepa. Both the Hermitage and the Ukrainians decided that though the item will not be passed to the Ukraine, nethertheless, it will be exhibited in a temporal exposition in one of the country’s museums. The wide coverage of the theme of returning the national state kleinods in the Ukrainian printed press this question is rather «hot» today in the political life of the country. Not long ago, the Bohdan Khmelnytskyi’s personal banner, belonging to the 17th century, arrived on Wednesday from the Military Museum in Stockholm (Sweden). This banner was got there to be used during President of Ukraine Viktor Yuschenko’s inauguration ceremony. Some time ago Bohdan Khmelnytskyi’s mace, belonging to the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw, was brought to Kyiv also for this purpose. Except for Bohdan Khmelnytskyi’s cap, which is preserved in the National Historical Museum of Ukraine, all other Hetman’s relics have been preserved beyond the Ukrainian borders. In particular, one local newspaper refers to a Soviet government decree of 1917 and 1918 concerning the question of returning to the Communist administration of the Ukraine of its national state relics, i.e. banners, weapons, and illuminated charts, being kept in the Hermitage, Kremlin Armoury, Artillery Museum in St.Petersburg, Kazan and Preobrazhensky cathedrals in St.Petersburg. It was put there by Empress Katherine II after the liquidation of the self-governing Zaporozhsky Sech military formation in the Ukraine in the late 18th century. Of course, this step had a political reason those days. However, it is clear that their enforcement nowadays can result in an exodus of exhibits from the major Russian museums. On the same reason, the Oxe treasure will not leave the British Museum.
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