Numerous historical artifacts confiscated in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

Police teams in Istanbul have conducted an operation against persons smuggling historical relics, seizing a total of 636 pieces from various different periods.

Historical coins believed to date back to the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Federal Republic of Germany were confiscated during operations at three different locations in the city’s Fatih district.

Among the confiscated artwork are 334 icons of varying sizes and shapes that are believed to belong to Christianity, featuring images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and saints.

The confiscated pieces also include a total of 63 ethnographic cultural assets believed to be from the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, representing the people's social standing and associated with science, religion and the mechanical arts.

As part of the large-scale operation, teams also confiscated a Hebrew-written book of spells and doors depicting images of Jesus and Mary, believed to be 500 years old. Additionally, 28 seals from the Late Ottoman and Early Republican periods were seized, along with a collection of 39 silver spoon sets thought to date back to the Late Ottoman period.

These confiscated artifacts were exhibited at the police department and subsequently taken under protection to be delivered to the Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum, Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum and Istanbul Archaeological Museums.

Authorities released one of the two detained suspects under judicial control, while the legal proceedings for the second suspect are still ongoing at the police station.

The question of where and how the suspects found such a large amount of artifacts remains unknown.