The Allard Pearson Museum has transferred to Ukraine artifacts from four Crimean museums that were presented at an exhibition in Amsterdam, the National Museum of History of Ukraine reports.
“After almost 10 years of litigation, artifacts from four Crimean museums that were presented at the exhibition “Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea” in Amsterdam have returned to Ukraine. The Allard Pearson Museum transferred them to the National Museum of History of Ukraine. It is there that they will be stored until the de-occupation of Crimea,” the museum’s website said on Monday.
The press service reminds that the exhibition of artifacts was held from February to August 2014 at the Allard Pearson Museum. It featured items from the collections of the National Museum of History of Ukraine and four museums in Crimea: National Reserve “Chersonesos Tavriya” (Sevastopol), Central Museum of Tavrida (Simferopol), Bakhchisaray Historical and Cultural Reserve and Kerch Historical and Archaeological Reserve.
“In February 2014, Russia began the occupation of Crimea. Objects from the collection of the National Museum of History of Ukraine returned to Kyiv after the exhibition. At the same time, it became impossible to return valuables from Crimean museums to the territory not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities. However, the Crimean museums, which are de facto controlled by the Russian authorities, insisted on doing just that. A trial has begun in the Netherlands,” the statement said.
In December 2016, a court in Amsterdam ruled to transfer the artifacts to Ukraine in accordance with the law on heritage. In addition, the Court of Appeal decided to satisfy the claim for the transfer of Crimean artifacts to Ukraine, but on the basis of the Law of Ukraine “On Museums” and the order of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine of March 2014, according to which the Minister of Culture has the authority to decide on the transfer of artifacts for safe keeping if there is a risk of their loss/damage/destruction.
At the same time, the Crimean museums filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court of the Netherlands to overturn the decision of the Court of Appeal, but on June 9, 2023, the court dismissed the museums’ cassation appeal and upheld the appeal decision.
According to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, Ukraine had to pay the Allard Pearson Museum EUR111,689 with interest for the entire period of storage of the Crimean museums’ collections.
“After fulfilling the obligations undertaken by the National Museum of History of Ukraine and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, the Allard Pearson Museum refused the payment determined by the court in its favor,” the statement said.
Currently, experts are examining the condition of 565 artifacts, including ancient sculptures, Scythian and Sarmatian jewelry, and Chinese lacquer boxes that are 2,000 years old.
According to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, the Kyiv customs office has begun customs clearance of the Scythian Gold.
“Right now, a truck with 2,694 kg of cultural property known under the common name ‘Scythian Gold’ has entered the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, where Kyiv customs officers will identify the treasures in the Treasury of the National Museum of Ukraine,” reads a message posted on the telegram channel.
