Stolen 11th-century gold-embroidered Koran was offered to Christie's
Farhan Siddiqui
BY MICHAEL THEODOULOU IN NICOSIA AND DALYA ALBERGE
SCOTLAND YARD is investigating claims that a Turkish gang tried to
smuggle a stolen 11th-century gold-embroidered Koran into Britain, to
sell at an auction house.
A man, one of three arrested in the self-declared Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus over attempts to export antiquities, was found to have
a fax from a director of Christie's inviting him to bring the Koran to
its London saleroom.
According to police in Northern Cyprus the manuscript was recovered
two months ago when a Turkish Cypriot businessman, aged 36, one of the
three, was arrested as he boarded a plane to Britain.
The case of the missing "Topkapi Koran" shows the increasing dangers
facing British art dealers and auction houses in being offered stolen
art. Police say it is a fast-growing international crime. The
manuscript had been stolen from the Topkapi Palace museum in Istanbul
last year.
There was outrage in Turkey over the lax security when it was realised
there were no alarms on the glass display case. The thief had spent
the night in the museum and walked out with the Koran as the museum
reopened for business next morning.
Art dealers have confirmed that the Topkapi Koran could have fetched
hundreds of thousands in a private sale.
It is understood that one of the three arrested in Cyprus had
contacted Christie's asking them to sell the handwritten Koran. The
Yard's Organised Crime Group is studying correspondence between
Christie's and the man.
There is no suggestion that Christie's behaved in any way improperly.
Its London office had been sent photographs of the Koran. A spokesman
for Scotland Yard said it was liaising with Christie's, which "has
offered their full co-operation during our investigation".
A spokesman for Christie's said: "We have consulted and worked with
the art and antiques squad from Scotland Yard. We very much
co-operated from the outset."
Officials at Christie's refused to say what part, if any, they played
in the undercover operation in Cyprus to recover the Koran.
As well as the three men arrested there a middle-aged man from North
London, believed to be a contact of the three, was arrested in Britain
on suspicion of handling stolen goods but released on bail.
A lawyer on Cyprus, Mentesh Aziz, acting for the three men there, told
The Times that an associate of one of them had contacted the
auctioneers. A fax was then sent to one of the three on May 24 by
William Robinson, director of Christie's Islamic art and carpet
department, who noted the seller's wish for a "private sale". Thanking
him for two earlier faxes, he added: "From these, I gather that the
Koran is under your control."
In the next paragraph Mr Robinson wrote: "While I am not able to
guarantee a successful sale by the end of this week, I will proceed
with the sale as quickly as I possibly can. We have a number of
clients who would be interested to own such a spectacular piece. In
order to recommend it to them, however, I must see the original. This
is partly to be able to know exactly what I am recommending to our
valued clients."
This fax was forwarded to the Organised Crime Group soon after the
operation at Ercan airport.
Officials at Christie's would not say last night if their suspicions
were raised when first offered the Koran.
The North London man has been bailed until later this month as
detectives intensify their international investigation. They are
co-operating with security chiefs of Northern Cyprus, a republic
recognised only by Turkey.
Of the three men arrested in Northern Cyprus two have pleaded guilty
to illegal possession of antiquities and failing to declare them. Both
Muhlis Ciftci, 37, and Metin Karahan, 35. have been jailed, although
given lenient sentences instead of the ten years they could have
faced.
Ciftci received two years for illegal possession of antiquities and
another year for failing to declare imported antiquities. Karahan was
given 18 months on the first charge and nine months on the second.
The third man Gurdal Mehmetcik, who was allegedly caught with the
Topkapi Koran in his possession, faces three charges: illegal
possession, failure to declare and attempting to export antiquities.He
has pleaded not guilty to all three and his trial was adjourned until
November.
Mr Aziz, for the three suspects in Northern Cyprus, said that Mr
Mehmetcik claims he did not know that it was the stolen Koran, had not
intended personally to take it to Britain and was the victim of a
police attempt to "trap him into an offence". Northern Cyprus has long
been regarded as a favourite route for art smugglers.
The Koran has been returned to the Topkapi Palace museum.
The ornate manuscript was written by Osman el-Huseyin and was a prime
exhibit. While referred to as a Koran in the Christie's fax and the
Turkish Cypriot media, Mr Aziz said that the rare handwritten text was
part of an "encyclopaedia" in 14 chapters explaining verses from the
Koran. The book recovered in Northern Cyprus was the tenth chapter,
one of three chapters in the world that has survived the centuries, Mr
Aziz said.
An official from the Topkapi confirmed to police that it had been
stolen from the museum, which has the most extensive collection of
antique Korans in the world.
The document was scripted in 1091 under the Saljuks, a Turkmen dynasty
that was a key force in western Asia from the 11th to 13th centuries.
A leading British dealer said last night that the case showed the
difficulties of keeping check on items stolen worldwide. He said that,
even though he specialises in Islamic manuscripts, he had been unaware
of this theft.
Mark Dalrymple, chairman of the Council for the Prevention of Art
Theft, said that there was "a gradually mounting awareness that
auctioneers and dealers really do need to ask questions" about a
work's provenance before entering into any transaction.