türkçe links to original Turkish article
(Hürriyet Newspaper, 10 December 2025)
Head wondering "where's the rest of me?!"
According to a statement from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism,
the process of returning the bronze emperor statue and terracotta
tablets stolen from the ancient city of Boubon in Burdur to Türkiye
has been completed. The bronze statue is among the most important
achievements in recent years in Türkiye's international struggle for
its cultural heritage.
The return of the Boubon emperor statue progressed through an
investigation conducted by prosecutors and security forces in the
United States. The arrest warrant issued against Aaron Mendelsohn,
the collector who purchased the statue, played a critical role in its
return to Türkiye. Throughout the process, the Ministry worked in
coordination with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security and completed all necessary
procedures for the statue's delivery.
GQ had made a bid too.
The Ministry finalized the return of the bronze emperor statue and
the marble column capital depicting the Archangel Michael from
the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Investigations into the origins
revealed that the artifacts were illegally removed from the Peribleptos
Monastery of the Virgin Mary in Samatya, Istanbul. In the same
context, 28 artifacts, whose legal processes had been completed
earlier, were received from US authorities by Deputy Minister
Gökhan Yazgı. These artifacts include pieces of Boubon origin,
archaic terracotta tablets of Düver origin, and a marble head of
Demosthenes from the Roman period.
Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, in a social
media post regarding the repatriation process, stated: "The lost
emperor of Boubon is returning to our country. We secured the
return of the bronze emperor statue, which was stolen from the
ancient city of Boubon in Burdur, through international cooperation
and a determined legal process. This process is one of the best
indicators of the effective struggle we are waging worldwide in
pursuit of our cultural heritage and of international cooperation.
Collector Mendelsohn used his "get out ot jail free" card.
An American collector who illegally purchased the statue would
have been arrested by a US court if he had not accepted its return.
By agreeing to return the emperor statue to our country, he avoided
going to prison. This situation is an important result of our
determination in the fight against cultural property smuggling
and the acceptance of our righteousness by other countries'
authorities through signed agreements. Along with the emperor
statue, the marble head of a Demosthenes statue and terracotta
tablets originating from Düver will also be returned to our country."
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