On the 14th of May at 5 p.m. in Sofia, at the Serdika Ancient Cultural and Communication Complex under Independence Square (domed space), the official presentation of the project “Stories of the “Stolen” Past” will take place. Before the premiere of the documentary series, an expert roundtable will be held on the issues addressed in the films, which will include specialists from various institutions and fields. The project “Stories of the “Stolen” Past”, initiated by the Bulgarian National Committee of ICOM and funded by the National Fund “Culture”, is a comprehensive study of the mechanisms for preventing and countering the illegal trafficking of movable cultural values. The initiative is based on the understanding that the illegal trade in antiquities is a criminal activity on a global scale, which directly threatens material memory and requires a constant presence in the public space. By creating a series of three documentaries, the project illuminates the path of artifacts from the moment of their capture to their final exhibition in museum halls after the conclusion of lengthy legal proceedings.
The documentary series examines key cases of rescued objects that have undergone complex expert assessments by archaeologists, conservators, ethnologists and art historians. The first segment of the study focuses on finds from the Roman era seized at the border crossings of Kapitan Andreevo and Vrashka Chuka. Here, attention is drawn to gold jewelry and a silver standard with the image of Julia Soemia, associated with the historical figure Polemon, as well as three extremely rare silver salt vases. These artifacts serve as the basis for a narrative that connects the criminal plot with the historical context of the era, including the traditions of salt mining from Provadia and the salt roads in the Roman Empire.
The second stage of the project documents the fate of classical works of art that have become the subject of encroachment. The cases of stolen and subsequently returned paintings by Zlatyu Boyadzhiev and Vladimir Dimitrov – The Master from the funds of the National Gallery are analysed, as well as the replacement of graphics with fakes in the Municipal Gallery in Novi Pazar. Special attention is paid to the 1996 operation of the Bulgarian Anti-Money Laundering and Counterfeiting Department and the fate of the painting “Lucifer” by Franz von Stuck. The text traces how the period of absence of a work changes its biography and how museums turn the history of the crime into part of the contemporary cultural heritage.
The third emphasis in the series is on attempts to illegally export ethnographic materials, specifically collections of old hand-woven carpets. The study shows that craft traditions and folk art are just as threatened by organised trafficking as precious metals. By including interviews with representatives of law enforcement agencies and state institutions, the specificity of the profession of a museum specialist and the importance of international cooperation are revealed. The planned distribution of the films in the ICOM network among 180 countries aims to popularise the Bulgarian experience in the protection of monuments and to strengthen the country’s position in global efforts against the illegal trafficking of cultural assets.
Team:
Yuriy Dachev – screenwriter and director, member of the project team
Project team: Manager – Prof. Svetla Dimitrova
Consultants and co-screenwriters: film 1 – Elka Penkova, film 2 – Plamen Petrov and Kalin Todorov, film 3 – Aksiniya Buteva and Irina Krumova
Coordinators: Bilyana Milanova and Svetla Tsenovska
Project partners: Bulgarian Cultural Center Berlin and RIM Shumen
We express special gratitude to Acad. Vasil Nikolov, Corr. Art. Vezhdi Rashidov, Prof. Vesselina Inkova, Alexander Traykov, Anelia Nikolaeva, Borislava Borisova, Nikolay Solarov, Oleg Zhablyanov and Rositsa Mladenova for the valuable assistance they provided us with the realisation of the films and to Elena Boyadzhieva, artist.
We also thank the National Gallery, the Municipal Galleries in Kazanlak and Novi Pazar, the Regional Historical Museum Sofia, the Regional Historical Museum – Shumen, the Historical Museum – Provadia and the British Museum, London, as well as Neoclinic EAD for the institutional support.
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