THE HAGUE – The Supreme Court of the Netherlands on Friday ordered the treasure of a Dutch museum with historical treasures to be removed Crimea be sent Ukraineupholding a lower court ruling that the 300 artifacts are part of Ukraine’s cultural heritage.
The collection of archaeological objects, some of which are more than 2,000 years old, was on display at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam at the time of Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, sparking a dispute over the repatriation of the borrowed pieces.
Both the Ukrainian government in Kiev and the four Crimean museums, which loaned the Allard Pierson bronze swords, gold helmets, precious stones and other artifacts, demanded that the objects be returned. The Amsterdam The museum opted for preservation instead the items until a court could decide their fate.
The legal tug of war ended when the Supreme Court in The Hague ordered the collection returned to Ukraine. Judges quoted the lack of national recognition for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea annexed by Russia.
“Although the museum pieces come from Crimea and can therefore also be considered Crimean heritage, they are part of the cultural heritage of Ukraine,” the judgment reads.
Mediation between all the museums involved and the Ukrainian authorities in 2014 failed, and the Allard Pierson Museum took the matter to court.
Among the highlights of the exhibition “Crimea – Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea” was a solid gold Scythian helmet from the 4th century BC. and a gold necklace from the 2nd century AD weighing more than a kilogram.
In 2016, the District Court of Amsterdam invoked the 1970 UNESCO Convention, finding that the objects must be returned to the sovereign state that loaned them and that the question of ownership should be decided by a Ukrainian court.
Museums in Crimea appealed and Russia threatened to stop loans to Dutch museums if the museum didn’t return the pieces. In 2021, an appeals court again ordered the objects to be sent to Ukraine.
In a statement, the Allard Pierson Museum said it could now respond to the decision and return the objects. According to the documents presented in the proceedings, the legal fees and storage have already cost the museum more than 500,000 euros.
It is unclear when the objects will be handed over.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed, or redistributed without permission.
