Türkiye in contact with Denmark over return of bronze head of Roman Emperor Severus

ANKARA/ISTANBUL

Türkiye is in contact with officials in Denmark for the repatriation of a nearly 2,000-year-old bust of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dating back to 145-211 A.D., the Turkish ambassador in Copenhagen said.

“I am in favor of resolving this issue amicably,” Hakan Tekin told Anadolu referring to a possible repatriation of an ancient piece that was illegally taken out from the country in the 1960s and is now housed by Glyptotek Museum in Copenhagen.

Tekin said that Türkiye had requested historical artifacts from three museums in Denmark, including the Glyptotek Museum, and that the statue head of the Emperor was among them.

The torso of the head was among 12 artifacts that were returned to Türkiye from the US in March earlier this year.

The Turkish envoy said that the legal process has not started and Türkiye was waiting for a response from the authorities in Denmark.

The Ministries of Culture and Tourism of the two countries are in contact to ensure cultural cooperation and they aim for a solution-oriented dialogue with Denmark regarding the return of the artifacts, he added.

Meanwhile, Glyptotek Museum said on Wednesday that the Turkish Embassy contacted the museum “to discuss the possible repatriation of a bronze portrait of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus.”

The museum noted in a statement that previous research by the museum concluded that the head of the emperor matches a torso, which the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US recently returned to Türkiye.

“However, for many years experts have doubted the veracity of this claim," it said. "The doubt arises from the fact that there is no evidence that the fracture surfaces of the head and body fit together. This is due to the fact that the former investigations have not been documented.”

“Existing knowledge about the Septimius Severus work stems from more than 40 years ago,” it said. “Consequently, we are holding discussions with the Turkish Embassy about conducting a series of new technical investigations that meet modern standards.”

The museum said that this new research will form the basis for an assessment of whether the work should be repatriated and it has already embarked upon their investigations and is looking forward to clarifying the matter.

‘We have solid data,’ says Turkish envoy

Tekin also mentioned the history of Robert Hecht, who provided the artifact to the museum in 1970, and said that the artifact was illegally smuggled from Türkiye when the ancient city of Bubon in today’s Aegean Burdur province, was looted in the 1960s.

Referring to Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry experts’ data that the bronze statue head in the Glyptotek Museum belongs to the body in Türkiye, Tekin said: “We have solid data.”

The Turkish ambassador said that in a meeting with the museum's chief of archaeology last month, he proposed a joint investigation to ensure transparency and suggested that experts from a neutral third country be involved if necessary.

The Glyptotek catalog, which has been in use since 1976, states that the Severus statue in the museum is part of the body in Türkiye, but museum officials argue that the dimensions of the two pieces are disproportionate.

Oldest surviving complete musical composition is also being reclaimed from Denmark

Many artifacts, including the Seikilos epitaph, the oldest surviving complete musical composition, are also being reclaimed from Denmark.

Pointing out that the process for the return of Seikilos was initiated three years ago, Tekin said that the National Museum of Denmark officials argued that the artifact, which was smuggled from Turkey in 1870, did not violate the 1970 UNESCO Convention.

Tekin said that the other museum where the artifacts were found was a foundation museum and that after 30 years of negotiations, the authorities still declared that they were "very strict" about returning the artifacts and that they would not give them back. The Danish Culture Ministry could not intervene in the foundation museum in question, he added.