Turkey and The Cleveland Museum of Art: Art Ownership and Looting

Although not quite as problematic as the Elgin Marbles fiasco, the Cleveland Museum of Art, as well as several other art museums throughout the world, currently have a similar problem dealing with art ownership on their hands. Turkey has recently claimed that there are 22 art objects in the CMA’s collection that were looted from their country that should be returned to their native soil. Among these precious works of art is a statue of Marcus Aurelius and five pieces of Iznik ceramics. For a complete list of the items in question, click here. In the US Turkey is also attempting to repatriate additional works found in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, D.C. Internationally Turkey’s reclamation efforts extend to the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and others.

Turkey’s situation is lamentable, but there are a number of issues with their claims. First, Turkey seems to lack the necessary evidence to prove that these objects are their property and that they were illegally removed from the country. For objects like the statue of Marcus Aurelius, little to no information is known about the location of its creation. No one can prove that this object actually came from Turkey, though its materials and style do point to this. Second, for the pieces that have a known origin, the only evidence indicating that these items were looted is the lack of a permit for exportation. While this does make it appear very likely that these art objects were stolen, an absence of something is not substantial evidence. Third, Turkey is not limiting its search to art objects that were illegally removed from the country while contemporary laws against looting were already in place, but is instead reaching back centuries for potentially looted art works.

For additional information on this conflict, read Steven Litt’s article in the Plain Dealer.