Crimean museums do not give up
On June 9, 2023, the Dutch Supreme Court gave its final decision. It approved the decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, which ruled that the collection of Crimean museums should be transferred to Ukraine.
No public information about the fate of the ancient collection has emerged since then. It is unlikely that it will be handed over to Ukraine because in this case President Vladimir Zelensky will probably decide to announce an important symbolic victory and hold a ceremony. In the background of this silence, it was learned that a gang of antique dealers was detained in Spain in the second half of October. subtract Elements of the collection are from Ukraine.
“The security service, together with the Economic Security Bureau and the police of the Kingdom of Spain, neutralized a transnational criminal group that was illegally exporting Scythian gold products from Ukraine for sale in the EU,” the SBU said.
A total of 5 people were detained and 11 gold items were seized. According to initial estimates, B.C. 8.-4. The value of jewelry produced in the centuries exceeds 60 million Euros. All of these products were exported from Ukraine between 2014-2020.
socialbites.ca contacted Andrey Malgin, director of the Tavrida Central Museum, for comment. He said the museum plans to continue its legal fight soon but declined to share details.
“Until this happens, I cannot say which court or judicial authority we will appeal to. I think we will achieve this before the end of this year, within two months,” Malgin told socialbites.ca.
You may have to rush to get the collection. If Scythian gold falls on Ukrainian territory, it is unlikely that any court in Europe will recover it.
Who owns the Scythian heritage?
Scythians lived in the steppes of the northwestern Black Sea region in ancient times. At the same time, historical brands of proud and independent nomadic people were created, well-known both in Western countries and in Russia. Herodotus’ story about repelling the invasion of the Persians led by Darius I is especially famous.
The Scythians were horsemen and archers, and therefore did not engage a large army in open battle, but wore them out with constant raids and bombardments, and in the end they always fled. According to legend, the Persian king, in despair, tried to appeal to the pride of the Scythians: “Why do you flee from us, Scythians? If you consider yourself stronger, join us in the war. If you are weak, send “land and water” to our ruler and surrender.” Since the Scythians were steppe nomads and did not build cities, they had nothing to defend, and therefore the Scythian king answered Darius: “We are not running away from you, Persians. “We have been wandering around our steppes as we have been accustomed to for a long time.” As a result, the Persian ruler returned home with nothing but a greatly reduced army.
Another part of the Scythian brand is its gold jewelry. They created a unique animal style that amazes with its elegance and metalworking skill. Scythian masters also made warrior figurines or objects with abstract ornaments, but all of them were distinguished by a large number of small details: skin folds, beard curls, nose wings and small patterns on it are visible on the miniature golden deer. The warriors’ clothes can be seen. Scythian gold jewelry is mostly found in burial mounds, which are especially numerous in Ukraine.
Genetically and linguistically, the Scythians were far from the modern inhabitants of Russia and Ukraine. They spoke Iranian languages and were not at all like Slavs in appearance due to their high-bridged, strongly protruding noses. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries the Scythians became specifically associated with Russia. When Ukraine left the USSR, the heritage of this people was divided, along with many mounds and museums.
What Scythian gold is being transferred to Ukraine?
In July 2013, a temporary exhibition called “Crimea – a golden island in the Black Sea”, simply “Scythian Gold”, opened at the Rhine Regional Museum. Materials for the exhibition were brought from six Crimean museums, including the Bakhchisaray Historical and Cultural Reserve and the Tauride Chersonese National Reserve. In addition to gold jewelry, other items were donated: weapons, elements of military equipment, household items and stone statues. Many of them were created not by the Scythians, but by other inhabitants of Crimea – Sarmatians, Goths and Greeks. In total, more than two thousand works from ancient times and the early Middle Ages were presented at the exhibition.
For example, the Bakhchisaray Historical and Cultural Reserve sent the coffins from the Ust-Alma cemetery to the Netherlands. The wooden base was rotten and consisted almost entirely of varnish. Like almost every object of Scythian artefacts, it was covered with small, delicate ornaments that almost disappeared over the centuries. Only the Japanese master Shosai Kitamura managed to restore it. Scythian stone Serpent Goddess from the Kerch Museum-Reserve of History and Culture and the Decree dedicated to the historian Siriscus from the Tauric Chersonesos Museum-Reserve were also taken to the exhibition. Its text was written in ancient Greek and dates back to B.C. It was carved on a marble slab in the 3rd century.
On February 7, 2014, the exhibition moved to the Allard Pearson Archaeological Museum in Amsterdam. On February 22, Euromaidan activists overthrew Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, which ultimately led to an aggravation of the situation in Crimea and Donbass.
The situation around Scythian gold
In March 2014, Russia announced that Crimea belonged to it. Neither Ukraine nor the Netherlands, where the collection was located at the time, agreed with this decision. By default, after a temporary exhibition, objects are returned to the museums from which they were brought. To do otherwise requires compelling reasons. Therefore, when Ukraine demanded that the Scythian gold be transferred to itself and not to Russian Crimea, a long legal process began.
Ukraine’s stance is based on contracts with Dutch museums. It is stated that the owner of the collection worth 1.4 million Euros is the Ukrainian state. Russia refers to the place where these artifacts were discovered. “They were in Crimea, they are related to Crimea. And these objects have nothing to do with the territory of Ukraine,” said Andrey Malgin, director of the Taurida Central Museum.
As a result, the Allard Pearson Museum announced that it would not give the collection to anyone until the situation was resolved in court. An exception was made for 19 exhibits from Kiev museums.
The first process was completed in 2016. On December 14, the Amsterdam district court ruled that the Scythian gold (i.e. 565 pieces) should be returned to Ukraine, not Crimea. At the same time, 11 thousand euros were recovered from Ukraine in favor of Dutch museums due to the forced storage of works. Russian authorities in Crimea disagreed with the decision and filed an appeal in January 2017.
The case continued, but on October 26, 2021, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal confirmed the lower court’s decision and also ordered the transfer of gold jewelry and other exhibits to Ukraine. “Although the exhibits in the museum are of Crimean origin and in this sense can be considered the heritage of Crimea, they are part of the cultural heritage of Ukraine, since Ukraine has existed as an independent state since 1991. “The exhibitions in the museum belong to the Ukrainian State Museum Fund,” he said.
Finally, on June 9, 2023, following the decision of the Dutch Supreme Court, the Allard Pearson Museum began to transfer the collection to Ukraine.