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The mosaics were recovered from Rice University’s Menil Collection in Houston, Texas by Esra Akça, an archeologist from the Culture Ministry’s Department of Monuments and Museums. The pieces, depicting the eternal love between Partenope and Metiox, were flown into Turkey’s southeastern province of Gaziantep under strict security measures and escorted by the police to their place of origin in the early morning hours on Tuesday.
“THE RESULT OF DETERMINED EFFORTS”
Culture Department Director for Gaziantep, Hasan Eliaçık, speaking to the press during the transport of the two cargo crates containing the mosaic pieces, said that the retrieval of the pieces had been “the result of determined efforts” of Turkey to stand behind its national heritage. Stating that this decisive stand on the part of the ministry would in itself be prohibiting for potential smugglers, Eliaçık stressed that eventually all historical artifacts stolen from Turkey would be brought back home.
LOVERS BACK HOME AGAIN
Meanwhile, Gaziantep Archeology Museum Deputy Director Hakkı Alhan said of the recovery, “The lovers Partenope and Metiox are finally back home again.” Hakkı Alhan went on to relate the story of the stolen mosaic.
In 1993 a research group led by the Gaziantep Museum and the University of Western Australia discovered that a mosaic floor had been revealed in an excavation carried out for a villa that was in process of being built in the area. Careful examination of the site showed that the mosaic floor, measuring 2.5 x 2.5 meters, had two missing pieces where the torsos of two figures had been cut off. Further investigation revealed that the pieces had been extracted and smuggled out of Turkey in 1968. The remaining mosaic was taken to Gaziantep Museum and it was later learned and proved through reconstructive experiments that the stolen torsos were under exhibit in Rice University’s Menil Collection.
Through a protocol concluded by the Ministry of Culture and US authorities, it was resolved that the missing mosaic pieces be returned to Turkey. The pieces brought back to Gaziantep will be settled into the missing part of the museum’s exhibit and the mythological romance of Partenope and Metiox will resume in their own homeland.
The transport of the mosaic pieces to the Gaziantep Museum was televised by a national TV channel and the subject was avidly pursued by the media.
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Zeugma left to its fate
