13.10.2012 Golden Seahorse Brooch

The original of the beautiful gold brooch returned to a museum in Turkey nine years ago. It is part of the so-called Lydian Hoard, which contains 363 valuable artefacts. In the past, they were part of a dispute between Turkey and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The museum in Turkey did have a brooch depicting a seahorse, but it turned out to be a fake. The beautiful jewel was eventually recovered. Experts estimate its age at 2,500 years.

The seahorse brooch is part of the so-called Lydian Hoard from the seventh century BC, also known as the Karun Treasure. A dispute erupted between Turkey and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art over the rare artifacts between 1887 and 1993.

In 1993, some artifacts were returned to Turkey. However, it was known that several items were stolen and sold to unknown locations. Some of the treasure was exhibited in the Turkish Museum in Uşak.

The treasure was said to be linked to a Lydian king of the Mermno family called Kroisos. He reigned from 560 to 547 BC. He was the first ruler to mint coins as currency, and he did so from electrum. Whether the objects belonged to the aforementioned king, however, cannot be said with certainty today.

In 1965, someone illegally dug up the treasure in western Turkey. He then sold it to a museum in New York. In 1993, it was returned to Turkey after a six-year legal battle, where it was put on display at the Usak Museum. Thirteen years later, the gold brooch turned out to be a fake. The museum's director, Kazim Akbiyikoglu, was arrested along with ten others and confessed to selling the artifacts to pay gambling debts. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

In 2012, the seahorse was finally recovered by the museum. It was in Germany and the owners agreed to return it. "I am very happy that it is finally coming home. Since I was in office in 2005 and 2006, I felt personally responsible for the theft," said Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Serif Ariturk.

Details of how the brooch was returned home remained secret. Turkey repatriated some 885 artifacts in 2011 alone. The Usak Museum owned 41,600 items but was only able to display a portion. So a new museum was built...

Sources: www.smithsonianmag.com, www.dailymail.co.uk