On September 23, 2015, Viktor Ulyanitskiy pressed the Department of Culture to include the jewels of the Ülkes Antique Jewelry Collection in the cultural property inventory, asserting the collection’s rightful ownership. After the process began, another claimant appeared, declaring himself the sole heir and legal owner under a will, and presenting himself as the true holder of the fund.
From that moment, the story could easily fuel a suspense novel. It involved treasury concerns, investigations, and court actions. The reality, however, is grounded in fact. The treasure is a sequence of gold gems from the northern Black Sea region, dating from the V to III centuries BCE. Its value and uniqueness are such that no similar collection is known, especially noted by experts who compare it to works from the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg and trace a Western European origin and distinct style.
Benidorm marks the starting point and, for now, the conclusion of the tale because the collection, initially thought to be from the Netherlands, is held at the Archaeological Museum of Alicante as of May 16, 2019. This center safeguards the 26 jewels, 19 of which are wholly original and 7 showing minor modifications.
With doubts about ownership, the Benidorm Civil Court of First Instance issued Order No. 2. The case also touches on the possibility of returning cultural assets to their country of origin if illegally leaving an EU member state occurs. The evaluation of the Ülkes Collection involved Alicia Perea Caveda, a senior authority in our country and a CSIC member, along with Luis Pablo Martinez Sanmartin, the Portable Heritage Inspector of Alicante Regional Cultural Service, MARQ, the Valencia Conservation Institute (IVCR+i), and regional police.
The assessment concluded that the kit possessed exceptional collectible value and public interest for restoration, and that the essential forms of constitutive nature for international traffic could not be accredited. The Police entrusted the pieces to MARQ for safekeeping and examination.
“MARQ is one of the best archaeological museums I’ve ever seen”
This institution began an extensive restoration in June 2019, with some parts transferred to IVCR+i in Castellón and completed there by February 2020.
The authorities sought to protect the pieces and prevent their leaving Spain by declaring the Ülkes Collection a Cultural Interest Real Estate asset. The file was processed by the Department of Culture starting in April 2020 after positive reviews from the Consell Valencià de Cultura and the University of Alicante. A little over a year later, on July 7, 2021, the Consell approved this measure, noting there was no reference to international traffic in the decree published in the DOGV on July 14.
Part Description
The Ülkes Collection comprises antique jewellery made from gold alloys. A total of 35 pieces were studied by CSIC and MARQ experts; 19 are fully original, seven show minor alterations, six are highly manipulated, and three appear incorrectly classified according to the report. The collection is considered highly significant due to the potential for counterfeiting techniques and the insights they offer into ancient metalwork.
Original and lightly modified pieces form a coherent whole, consisting of 26 sets that reveal the work of skilled goldsmiths and the advanced techniques of the era. Their typology, iconography, and technical traits place them across chrono-cultural zones and help trace trade and cultural exchange.
Most of the gems align with Greek canon, yet several elements show Greek-Scythian influences that reflect a northern Black Sea horizon dating from the fourth to the third centuries BCE.
The study describes the pieces as extraordinary and rare due to their number, consistency, and overall quality, highlighting their status among archaeological jewellery. The collection is compared with notable examples from the Historical Treasures Museum in Kyiv and with fragments in the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
A notable item is a convergent chain and a pendant necklace in the shape of an acorn, a form common in the eastern Mediterranean, the Near East, and the Black Sea area since the fourth century BCE. A pair of earrings decorated with an Egyptian crown also appears, representing models from Ptolemaic Egypt and the Black Sea coast dating to the third and second centuries BCE.
Exhibition at MARQ
The judicial process has led the Ministry of Culture to handle the matter with discretion, and details about origin and provenance have not been publicly disclosed. No public images of the pieces have been released.
Nevertheless, the decree that declared the Ülkes Collection a Cultural Interest Property states that it was deposited with MARQ. The decree allows temporary public display only at the museum’s headquarters, and there has been no such display to date.
The decree also specifies that the Ülkes Collection should remain in MARQ’s temporary storage until ownership is established or until conditions related to origin and asset enrichment are fully resolved in collaboration with the Generalitat and the holder.