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The 13th panel of the Gypsy Girl mosaic returns to Türkiye from the US
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced at a ceremony held at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum that the 13th panel of the “Gypsy Girl” mosaic had been returned from the United States.
The 13th panel of the “Gypsy Girl” mosaic, which had been missing for 60 years, was returned to Türkiye at a ceremony held at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced that the piece had been brought from the United States and added to the museum’s collection.
It was taken abroad through illicit excavations
Twelve panels of the mosaic, illegally taken abroad in the 1960s following illicit excavations at the ancient city of Zeugma, were returned in 2018 and began being exhibited at the museum. Minister Ersoy said the final panel had also been identified through scientific research.
Research by Dr. Camila Felag of Grenoble Alpes University and assessments by Prof. Dr. Kutalmış Görkay, head of the Zeugma excavations, established that the panel belonged to the same composition. After the Ministry determined that the piece had been put up for sale and had changed hands, it launched efforts with US authorities.
Cooperation with the US produces results
Although the buyer’s information could not initially be obtained, ministry experts identified during international auction monitoring that the panel had been put up for sale again. The request for its return was subsequently renewed, and the process conducted by the US Homeland Security Investigations unit was successfully completed, bringing the piece back to Türkiye.
Ersoy said, “As the missing pieces return, we are not merely completing a mosaic; we are repairing a damaged memory and filling the gaps in the pages of history.”
13,454 artifacts returned in 24 years
Minister Ersoy announced that a total of 13,454 cultural artifacts had been returned to Türkiye since 2002, with 9,139 of those returns taking place over the past eight years. He also announced that the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States in 2021 to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property had been extended for another five years.
Gaziantep Governor Kemal Çeber said the city was one of the provinces to benefit most from the return of historical artifacts, while Metropolitan Mayor Fatma Şahin expressed her satisfaction that the 60-year wait had come to an end.
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