According to Dr Hartwig Fischer, the Director of the British Museum, over the past decade, the British Museum helped to return more than 2,500 historical items to Iraq, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and other countries. For example, in 2017 the British Museum assisted in the identification and successful repatriation of the stolen tile from the Chashmai-Ayub mausoleum in Bukhara. After the investigation by the law enforcement agencies of Uzbekistan, the criminals were brought to justice. Currently, this tile is placed at the State Art Museum of Uzbekistan in Tashkent.
Unfortunately, this January another case of smuggling the epigraphic glazed tiles was recorded at London Heathrow Airport. The enclosed documents declared that they were just copies purchased in Sharjah for 315 dirhams and intended for sale. The tiles were seized by the UK Border Force officers and they contacted the British Museum to clarify their real age and country of origin.
Despite the quarantine status of COVID-19, the British Museum has organized a consultative meeting with scientists from seven countries. After the mutual expansion, it was discovered that the armies date back to the late 13th-mid-14th centuries and may belong to the Shahi-Zinda monument in Samarkand.
When relevant scientific evidence was presented, the importers of troops into the United Kingdom renounced the right of ownership. Historical artefacts have been donated to the British Museum for repatriation to Uzbekistan.
The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan expresses its sincere gratitude to the British Museum for their work, in particular to the Director of the Museum Dr Hartwig Fischer, Senior Curator and Archaeologist of the Department of the Middle East Dr. St John Simpson, and other scientists. We will continue to strengthen our collaboration with the British Museum and UK law enforcement agencies to fight the illegal trade in artefacts.
The Ministry of Culture has kindly agreed to exhibit the tiles at the British Museum in December 2020. Recently, the British Museum also signed a Memorandum with the Culture and Arts Development Fund under the Ministry of Culture to cooperate in identifying and advising on stolen or trafficked artefacts from Uzbekistan.
The Ministry of Culture expresses special gratitude to the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in London for assistance in strengthening the cooperation with the British Museum and organizing the repatriation of artefacts to their homeland.
