Thirty-nine artifacts returned to Turkey in 2015
Umut Erdem - ANKARA
Twenty-seven smuggled artifacts were returned from the United States while 10 came back from Switzerland last year, according to the ministry. Also among them were one piece from Austria and one from Germany.
The artifacts returned to Turkey in 2015 include the head of a bull from Austria, a piece of a tomb from Germany, various ceramics and architectural pieces from Switzerland, two stelas and 23 artifacts from the U.S. Brauer Museum of Art.
Among the pieces that were returned from the U.S. are two manuscripts that were returned from the Schoenberg collection as a result of doctoral student Hüseyin Şen’s efforts. Şen, who is doing his doctorate in the Netherlands on the history of Islamic sciences, received a letter of appreciation from Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu during a recent visit to the Netherlands.
Since 2002, a total of 4,268 artifacts have been returned to their homeland, Turkey.
Thanks to its works on the return of cultural artifacts, Turkey was chosen for the second time as a four-year member of the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Counties of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP) in 2015.