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Monday, December 24, 2007

[vinnomot] At Last The Inevitable, Statues Stolen From Airport Tarmac

At Last The Inevitable, Statues Stolen From Airport Tarmac
 
 
At approximately 2 am on Dec 22, one of the 13 crates in the 2nd shipment of artifacts to Musee Guimet in Paris vanished from the tarmac of ZIA International Airport, Dhaka.
The missing crate is Crate # 5, which corresponds to Item 19 & 20 in the Artefact List From French Embassy.
Visnu/Clay/70 x 36 x 14,5 cm/Bangladesh National Museum/E-94.2385/19
Bust of Visnu/Clay/47 x 39 x 17 cm/Bangladesh National Museum/E-69.123/20
Catalogue
Page 144 (Visnu Text)
Page 145 (Visnu Statue)
Page 146 (Visnu Bust)
Chronology
1. Storm: For months controversy rages over proposed lending of artifacts to Musee Guimet. Shipment bound for France is blocked by authorities. Court case, led by Advocate Tania Ameer, blocks shipment for two months, forcing postponementg of October opening of Guimet show.
2. Protest: Finally Upper Court vacates lawsuit, clearing path for shipment to France. First shipment leaves for Paris in the face of protests at national museum. Debate escalates on national television. French Embassy & Musee Guimet respond to protester charges.
3. On Patriotism: The rhetoric heats up. Peoplesupporting the show are accused of being "France er dalal".
4. Final Countdown: A new court motion is filed by Barrister Amirul Islam, blocking the second shipment. Vacation bench of court overturns the Islam motion, clearing way for second shipment. On Eid day, second shipment of crates sent to ZIA airport.
5. The Fix: At 1:00 am French embassy officials complete all customs formalities for shipment of the artifacts. GOB videotapes proceedings. French officials leave airport. At 2 am representatives of Homebound count crates again and discover one crate has vanished. Joint Forces seal off ZIA Airport. Civil Aviation authorities questioned.
6. The Tamasha: Ansars working at Airport arrested. Jahangir Alam of National Museum & Zakaria of Varendra Museum arrested. Emergency meeting of Culture Ministry. Empty crate found at pond near airport.
7. The Big Payback: Crate 5 contained Statue of Visnu (terracota, black) & Bust of Visnu. High resale value on international underground art market as they are unique pieces.

4 Comments »

  1. […] Munir Uz Zaman/Drik News] 5. The Fix: At 1:00 am French embassy officials complete all customs formalities for shipment of […]
  2. Trusting the French with your artefacts is like lending your chicken to the fox! Those who have visited French museums, especially the Louvre, know who are the thieves de la thieves, looters of all looters…! They stole, looted, smuggled, procured by hook or crook the artefacts, antics, pieces of art from all the nations and tribes of the world, and are displaying those items proudly in their museums!!!
    Shame on the looters and shame on the native dalals, sons of Mir Zaraf!
    Comment by SR | December 24, 2007
  3. Couldn't agree more with SR … a visit to the Louvre, and especially it's Egyptian and Persian sections would make you speechless. Not just by the grandeur and the beauty of the artifacts, but by realizing by scale of the robbery the French pulled … shipping artifacts by the boatloads for centuries. No one could possibly bring so much and such huge items without the backing of a orchastrated and well organized campaign of deceit and thuggery.
    Comment by ASA | December 24, 2007
  4. […] Alam, who reported about the protests to stop the second shipment is furious: Their fear of items being stolen, or not being returned, was considered preposterous. News of the […]
    December 25, 2007

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