Turkey, stolen heritage: Iznik tile panel: Stolen by a dentist, replaced with fakes, now in Louvre Museum.
See related stories too."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. We want captivated cultural objects return to their homes".
It is very difficult for us non-Westerners to understand the attitude of famous Western museums when faced with evidence that artefacts in their collections have been stolen or looted. They react as if truth were of no importance to them when it comes to artefacts. They appear not to be worried by the impression they create that Western museums are havens for looted or stolen artefacts of others. They should not be surprised that many think Western admonitions to obey the law and abide by International Law standards are considered by many as pure hypocrisy and propaganda. Famous and rich institutions must set standards and lead by example.
ReplyDeleteKwame Opoku