Türkiye and Denmark showcase cultural heritage cooperation in Geneva

At a UNESCO Regional Dialogue meeting in Geneva, Türkiye and Denmark presented their collaborative model for the repatriation of cultural assets and museum cooperation. The presentation, titled ‘Cultural Heritage Connects: Repatriation of Cultural Assets and Türkiye-Denmark Museum Cooperations’, was delivered by Zeynep Boz of Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Gertrud Hvidberg Hansen, Director of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen.

The collaboration follows the successful return of significant artifacts from the Boubon Ancient City in Burdur, Türkiye. Key items include a bronze head of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus and 48 terracotta architectural plaques from the Düver region. The bronze head had been part of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek collection since 1970 via art dealer Robert Hecht, while its body had been held in the United States before being returned to Türkiye in 2023.

The efforts to identify these scattered pieces were rooted in the research of Prof. Dr. Jale İnan, Türkiye’s first female archaeologist, who began studying the Boubon site in the 1970s. The partnership between the two nations now serves as a model for how the return of stolen or illicitly exported heritage can foster long-term institutional relationships between museums and states.